What Is a Campus Director?
At every college campus, there is a campus director in charge of promoting the school to potential students, ensuring that the campus looks inviting, and taking care of the campus-level budgeting. Campus directors work with directors-in-training or other campus employees on a variety of activities. They organize student recruitment activities, such as open houses and contests, as well as set up and run student retention measures.
While student recruitment is important, directors understand that keeping current students is essential to campus health as well. Directors may set up information sessions for struggling students or arrange for academic counseling. Campus directors run their own offices, taking care of the finances associated with keeping a campus clean and operational.
This is a position of leadership, so all directors must have excellent communication, organizational, and managerial skills. Directors often begin working at small campuses, moving up to larger and more complex campuses as they gain experience.
How to Become a Campus Director
There are no official training processes for campus directors, but there is an education mandate. In order to qualify for a position of campus director, you must have at least a bachelor’s degree.
However, it should be noted that most employers now prefer to hire those with a master’s-level degree as well as work or education experience in business administration, education administration, or educational leadership. During your degree program, you should take courses in leadership, organization, and administration. You should also familiarize yourself with the education field.
Those new to this job should begin first by looking for open positions at smaller schools and campuses, as these are more likely to hire those with relatively little experience. From there, campus directors can gain experience and work their way up to bigger and more intricate campuses and schools. No licensure is required, though prospective directors can gain computer skills-related certification in order to boost their employability.
Campus Director Career Outlook & Salary
The salary for campus directors varies greatly depending on where the director is working. A director for a large, well-known institution typically earns more than one working at a smaller and more obscure school. The national average annual salary for campus directors is $46,000, according to SimplyHired.com, a salary research website.
At bigger schools, campus directors may be given other duties and job titles focusing on one particular aspect of the position, such as directors of admissions, who earn an average of $55,000 annually, and administrative assistants, who earn an average of $30,000 annually.
The job prospects for campus directors will be positive well into the next decade due to the education industry experiencing a boom. Though many other sectors lost jobs, the education industry gained jobs due to the renewed interest in obtaining a higher education. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for education administrators, such as campus directors, to increase 2.4% from 2008-2018.
