Higher Education Administrator

Is this a career for you?

Postsecondary education administrators oversee student services, academics, and faculty research at colleges and universities. They also typically need a master’s degree. However, there will be some opportunities for those with a bachelor’s degree. Employers typically prefer to hire candidates who have experience working in a postsecondary education administrative office, especially for occupations such as registrars and academic deans.

Duties of High Education Administrators

Education administrators’ duties depend on the size of their college or university. Small schools often have small staffs that take on many different responsibilities, but larger schools may have different offices for each of these functions. For example, at a small college, the Office of Student Life may oversee student athletics and other activities, whereas a large university may have an Athletics Department.

Postsecondary education administrators who work in admissions decide which applicants should be admitted to the school. They typically do the following:

• Determine how many students to admit to the school
• Meet with prospective students and encourage them to apply
• Review applications to determine which students should be admitted
• Analyze data about applicants and admitted students

Job Outlook

Employment of postsecondary education administrators is projected to grow 4 percent from 2019 to 2029, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment growth in the occupation is tied to student enrollments at colleges and universities.