Senior and executive leadership career positions in higher education administration carry titles such as Director, Dean, Provost, Chancellor, and President (and their subordinates, "assistant", "associate", "vice", or "deputy"). Most of these roles fall into one of three areas: academics affairs, student services, or business/administrative support. Each is rich in its areas of responsibility. However, only positions in academic affairs require a teaching and research background. So, while a Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences must have been a professor in a department in the College, a Chancellor of Student Services need never have been an academic at all. Instead, positions in student services and university administration go to professionals with degrees in higher education administration.
An advanced degree in higher education administration, ideally a Master's in Education or Ph.D. in Education, is key to a career running a university's business end or student services. The U.S. Department of labor reports there were 132,000 postsecondary administrators in the United States as of 2004. Job growth is projected to increase 9 to 17 percent, so job opportunities should remain excellent. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education provides further evidence of growth at universities: the high school graduating class of 2008-09 is projected to be the largest in history, with some 3.2 million students poised to continue their education. This means administrators will be needed to manage this foreseeable growth in the student population.
Higher education administration isn't just a first career choice. Many career shifters have valuable transferable skills for academic leadership. The Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com notes that many ex-lawyers, for example, love to design, plan, strategize, and invent--key requirements for student services and business support leadership roles in higher education. Similarly, others with technical skills such as accountants, database administrators, architects, and business leaders possess abilities that will transfer easily from the private sector to academic institutions. The chart below shows some of the many administrative positions available to graduates with Higher Education degrees. Only career paths listed in the center column require a background in teaching and research:
| Major Higher Education Administrative Domains and Functions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Student Services | Academic Affairs | Business/ Support |
| Admissions/ Registration | Community and Employment Services | Accounting |
| Athletics | Continuing Education | Administrative Technology |
| Counseling | Faculty Leadership | Bookstore |
| Advising | International Programs | Contracts, Leases, and Special Projects |
| Financial Aid | Instructional Budgeting and Projects | Financial Services |
| High School Programs | Instructional Technology | Human Resources |
| Multicultural Services | Literacy and Community Programs | Institutional Research |
| Student Programs/Housing | Professional/Technical Education | Institutional Advancement |
| Veterans Affairs | Pre-college/Transfer Education | Purchasing |
| Women's Programs | Program Development | Safety and Security |
Higher education administrative roles cover a diverse spectrum of responsibilities and skill sets, providing abundant career options. Most institutions today require a minimum of a Master's degree to work in administrative leadership positions where previously a Bachelor's degree sufficed; however, the Ph.D. in Education Administration is eclipsing the Master's as the degree of choice for career-minded professionals. To be competitive for senior and executive level jobs in academia today, an Education Administration Ph.D. is necessary to stand out.
Aside from the bountiful job choices and higher degree expectations of education institutions today, there are two more reasons to earn your Education Administration Ph.D.--pay and professional advancement.
Peak Pay for Top Administrators
First, the pay is getting better all the time, climbing to compete with non-education administrative jobs and often topping them in benefits. The Chronicle of Higher Education (the "industry" journal for higher education) reports in its February, 2006, issue that administrators' pay raises beat inflation for the ninth consecutive time. To put the pay into perspective, the chief executives of two-year colleges earned a median salary of $141,685, while the chief executives at doctoral institutions earned a median salary of $295,008. In Higher education administration, the intellectual and social rewards of the career path are matched by the financial rewards.
Room at the Top
Second, the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows about 6,000 jobs in higher education administration will have to be filled annually between 2004 and 2014, the result of the field's growth and the retirement of current workers. The Chronicle comments in its September, 2006, issue that "the crunch may have already begun: Andy Brantley, chief executive of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, notes that 'search firms and universities are beginning to experience difficulty in finding qualified and prepared individuals for certain positions'." The graying of America continues and pursuing the Education Administration Ph.D. now will have big dividends.
The Route Is Well Marked
The Education Administration Ph.D. degree path includes core courses in leadership, legal aspects, supervision, human resources administration, education finance and marketing, planning and operations, and technology management in education. As with all doctorates, the degree requires original research and courses in advanced research methodologies. Years of refinement by the very schools you'll work for have produced a degree that is well-thought-out and matches national needs, yet it's highly attainable for the working professional. The curriculum is designed to produce active, reflective, and conscientious administrators whose decisions and practices are born of the best available theory, research, and experiential wisdom.
Whether it's prestige, good pay and benefits, or the ongoing reward of helping people succeed, administrative jobs at colleges and universities await those who earn the degree to qualify for them.
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