How to hire education administrators, postsecondary

A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.

$50.29U.S. median hourly pay
$80,870–$144,370Middle half, yearly
180,470People in this job in the U.S.

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Advise students on issues such as course selection, progress toward graduation, and career decisions.
• Design or use assessments to monitor student learning outcomes.
• Direct, coordinate, and evaluate the activities of personnel, including support staff engaged in administering academic institutions, departments, or alumni organizations.
• Establish operational policies and procedures and make any necessary modifications, based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other research information.
• Formulate strategic plans for the institution.
• Plan, administer, and control budgets, maintain financial records, and produce financial reports.
• Provide assistance to faculty and staff in duties such as teaching classes, conducting orientation programs, issuing transcripts, and scheduling events.
• Recruit, hire, train, and terminate departmental personnel.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Master's degree]
• Strong critical thinking, reading comprehension, active listening, monitoring, speaking and writing skills
• Working knowledge of English Language, administration and management, education and training and customer and personal service
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $50.29 an hour ($104,590 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Check your finished job post

Interview questions for education administrators, postsecondary

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

  1. Tell me about a time you had to advise students on issues such as course selection, progress toward graduation, and career decisions. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  2. Tell me about a time you had to design or use assessments to monitor student learning outcomes. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  3. Tell me about a time you had to direct, coordinate, and evaluate the activities of personnel, including support staff engaged in administering academic institutions, departments, or alumni organizations. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  4. Tell me about a time you had to establish operational policies and procedures and make any necessary modifications, based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other research information. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
  6. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
  7. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
  8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What education administrators, postsecondary do

  • Advise students on issues such as course selection, progress toward graduation, and career decisions.
  • Design or use assessments to monitor student learning outcomes.
  • Direct, coordinate, and evaluate the activities of personnel, including support staff engaged in administering academic institutions, departments, or alumni organizations.
  • Establish operational policies and procedures and make any necessary modifications, based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other research information.
  • Formulate strategic plans for the institution.
  • Plan, administer, and control budgets, maintain financial records, and produce financial reports.
  • Provide assistance to faculty and staff in duties such as teaching classes, conducting orientation programs, issuing transcripts, and scheduling events.
  • Recruit, hire, train, and terminate departmental personnel.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningMonitoringSpeakingWritingEnglish LanguageAdministration and ManagementEducation and TrainingCustomer and Personal Service

Education, experience and outlook for education administrators, postsecondary

  • Typical education to start: Master's degree (BLS)
  • Experience usually needed to start: Less than 5 years (BLS)
  • Job outlook: +1.8% over ten years, little or no change · about 14,500 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay education administrators, postsecondary

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

StateMedian yearly pay
New York$139,640
New Jersey$131,570
Massachusetts$128,970
Washington$127,630
California$125,460
West Virginia$84,660
Hawaii$81,020
Arkansas$78,240

See education administrators, postsecondary pay in every state

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Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.