Description
Education administrators organise and manage the administration, support systems and (student) activities of an educational institution. They perform a range of administrative, secretarial, financial and otherwise supportive tasks to enable the efficient and cost-effective running of the school. They may assist in student recruitment, alumni relations, funding, work on committees, including academic boards and quality insurance.
Includes executive secretary.
Duties
Education administrators typically do the following duties:
- provide administrative support to a team of lecturers, tutors or teachers
- manage the student life cycle from registration/admission to graduation/leaving
- work with academic boards, governing bodies and task groups
- assist with recruitment, public or alumni relations and marketing activities
- draft and interpret regulations
- deal with queries and complaints procedures
- coordinate examination and assessment processes
- maintain high levels of quality assurance, including course evaluation and course approval procedures
- use information systems and prepare reports and statistics for both internal and external use
- participate in the development of future information systems
- contribute to policy and planning
- manage budgets and ensure financial systems are followed
- purchase goods and equipment, and process invoices
- supervise other administrative staff
- communicate with partner institutions, other institutions, external agencies, government departments and prospective students
- organise and facilitate a variety of educational or social activities.
Other titles
The following job titles also refer to education administrator:
university administrator
specialist administrator in education
higher education administrator
school secretary
college administrator
education administration practitioner
administrator in education
further education administrator
education secretary
school receptionist
specialist education administrator
school administrator
school executive assistant
Working conditions
Education administrators are employed by public and private schools, school districts, colleges, and universities to plan and oversee educational policies. Administrators are also hired by private preschools, museums, and libraries to manage curricula and educational programs.
The day-to-day activities of education administrators generally include meetings with teachers, parents, and school staff. Work is completed in an office environment, with paperwork often being necessary. While the job has a typical work day and work week, after-hours meetings and attendance at school events are often necessary. Many education administrators use their computers to maintain spreadsheets, review student records and make schedules.
Minimum qualifications
Generally, a degree is not necessary to work in education administration. However, this depends on the role, and some posts, for example, senior roles in university administration, may require a degree. Having a degree may also help you stand out from other applicants. Many employers likely prefer candidates with at least a bachelor’s degree in education, business management, or a related field.
ISCO skill level
ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:
- the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
- the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
- the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.
Education administrator is a Skill level 3 occupation.
Education administrator career path
Similar occupations
These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to education administrator.
student financial support coordinator
international student exchange coordinator
office manager
bank account manager
grants administrator
Long term prospects
These occupations require some skills and knowledge of education administrator. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of education administrator with a significant experience and/or extensive training.
admissions coordinator
headteacher
dean of faculty
middle office analyst
budget analyst
Essential knowledge and skills
Essential knowledge
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of education administrator.
- Customer service: Processes and principles related to the customer, client, service user and to personal services; these may include procedures to evaluate customer’s or service user’s satisfaction.
- Budgetary principles: Principles of estimating and planning of forecasts for business activity, compile regular budget and reports.
- Office software: The characteristics and functioning of software programs for office tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, email and database.
- Electronic communication: Data communication performed through digital means such as computers, telephone or e-mail.
- Education administration: The processes related to the administrative areas of an education institution, its director, employees, and students.
Essential skills and competences
These skills are necessary for the role of education administrator.
- Trace financial transactions: Observe, track and analyse financial transactions made in companies or in banks. Determine the validity of the transaction and check for suspicious or high-risk transactions in order to avoid mismanagement.
- Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
- Manage school budget: Conduct cost estimates and budget planning from an educational institution or school. Monitor the school budget, as well as costs and expenses. Report on the budget.
- Maintain records of financial transactions: Collate all the financial transactions done in the daily operations of a business and record them in their respective accounts.
- Manage educational institution’s administration: Administer multiple activities of a school, university or other educational institution such as daily administrative operations.
- Communicate by telephone: Liaise via telephone by making and answering calls in a timely, professional and polite manner.
- Handle financial transactions: Administer currencies, financial exchange activities, deposits as well as company and voucher payments. Prepare and manage guest accounts and take payments by cash, credit card and debit card.
Optional knowledge and skills
Optional knowledge
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of education administrator. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Financial management: The field of finance that concerns the practical process analysis and tools for designating financial resources. It encompasses the structure of businesses, the investment sources, and the value increase of corporations due to managerial decision-making.
- Primary school procedures: The inner workings of a primary school, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
- Accounting techniques: The techniques of recording and summarising business and financial transactions and analysing, verifying, and reporting the results.
- Accounting: The documentation and processing of data regarding financial activities.
- Kindergarten school procedures: The inner workings of a kindergarten, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, policies, and regulations.
- Student financial aid programmes: The different financial support services offered to students by the government, private organisations or the attended school such as tax benefits, loans or grants.
Optional skills and competences
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of education administrator. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Cooperate with education professionals: Communicate with teachers or other professionals working in education in order to identify needs and areas of improvement in education systems, and to establish a collaborative relationship.
- Provide information on school services: Present information on the educational and support services of a school or university to students and their parents, such as career guidance services or offered courses.
- Consult student’s support system: Communicate with multiple parties, including teachers and the family of the student, to discuss the student’s behaviour or academic performance.
- Maintain internal communication systems: Maintain an effective internal communication system among employees and department managers.
- Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
- Evaluate budgets: Read budget plans, analyse the expenditures and incomes planned during certain period, and provide judgement on their abidance to the general plans of the company or organism.
- Manage office facility systems: Keep management and service ability of the various office systems needed for the smooth and daily operation of the office facilities such as internal communication systems, softwares of common use inside the company, and office networks.
- Use office systems: Make appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It includes administration of systems such as customer relationship management, vendor management, storage, and voicemail systems.
- Handle mail: Handle mail considering data protection issues, health and safety requirements, and specifications of different kinds of mail.
- Maintain contract administration: Keep contracts updated and organise them according to a classification system for future consultation.
- Perform clerical duties: Perform administrative tasks such as filing, typing up reports and maintaining mail correspondence.
- Provide information on education financing: Provide information to parents and students concerning tuition fees, student loans and financial support services.
- Secondary school procedures: The inner workings of a secondary school, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
- Deliver correspondence: Distribute mail correspondence, newspapers, packages and private messages to customers.
ISCO group and title
3343 – Administrative and executive secretaries
References
- Education administrator – ESCO
- Education administrator job profile | Prospects.ac.uk
- What does an education administrator do? – CareerExplorer
- What Does an Education Administrator Do? | Indeed.com Hong Kong
- Featured image: By Nidal Adnan, CC BY-SA 4.0