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Education and Training | Student Affairs Administrator

Student Affairs Administrator

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Student Affairs Administrator provides administrative support for the student affairs office at a college or university. The office plans and arranges social, cultural, and recreational events and activities of various student groups, according to university policies and regulations; meets and coordinates with student and faculty groups to plan activities; evaluates programs and suggests modifications.

Job Outlook

There were 29 Student Affairs Administrator job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 898 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the College / University Administrator industry, which includes the Student Affairs Administrator career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Student Affairs Administrator jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $90,727.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $85,633.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Student Affairs Administrator postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $78,776.

Education and Experience

Posted Student Affairs Administrator jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree62.69%
Master's Degree34.08%
Doctoral Degree10.24%
Other15.7%

Posted Student Affairs Administrator jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years46.15%
3 to 5 years49.63%
6 to 8 years3.3%
9+ years0.92%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Student Affairs Administrator positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Communication (57.24%)
  • Planning (40.65%)
  • Coordinating (38.98%)
  • Leadership (38.75%)
  • Customer Service (31.63%)
  • Management (30.18%)
  • Operations (28.29%)
  • Writing (25.84%)
  • Advising (24.61%)
  • Interpersonal Communications (22.72%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Administrative Support (18.16%)
  • Student Services (93.51%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Budget Management (3.77%)
  • Academic Advising (7.19%)
  • Academic Affairs (9.08%)
  • Newsletters (6.25%)
  • Student Development (9.55%)
  • Student Recruitment (3.54%)
  • Marketing (17.1%)
  • Higher Education (16.16%)
  • Higher Education Administration (8.02%)
  • Purchasing (7.67%)
  • Event Planning (18.87%)
  • Statistics (6.13%)
  • Student Information Systems (7.55%)
  • Registration (4.72%)
  • Finance (9.2%)
  • Project Management (8.61%)
  • Student Engagement (17.45%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Student Affairs Administrator skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Student Affairs Coordinator
  • Student Affairs Assistant
  • Student Affairs Manager
  • Student Affairs Specialist
  • Coordinator of Student Life
  • Student Life Coordinator
  • Student Life Specialist
  • Student Life Administrator
  • Director of Student Affairs

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Student Affairs Administrator jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • University of California (29)
  • Austin Community College District (23)
  • University of Chicago (18)
  • California State University (16)
  • University of Wisconsin System (15)
  • The University of Texas System (13)
  • Lone Star College (11)
  • University of Colorado (9)
  • New York University (9)
  • Lee College (9)

North Carolina

  • Elizabeth City State University (8)
  • University of North Carolina (6)
  • Duke University (4)
  • Lenoir-Rhyne University (1)
  • Edward Via College Of Osteopathic Medicine (1)
  • South Piedmont Community College (1)
  • United Therapeutics Corporation (1)
  • Halifax Community College (1)
  • Shaw University (1)
  • Central Piedmont Community College (1)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!