Skills
College Administrator Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in college administrators, and how to build and show them.
What skills do college administrators need?
College Administrators need technical skills such as higher education policy, budgeting, and enrollment management, plus people skills like leadership and communication. They also use tools such as Student information systems and CRM software.
Technical (hard) skills
- Higher education policy
- Budgeting
- Enrollment management
- Data analysis
- Compliance
- Program planning
People (soft) skills
- Leadership
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Diplomacy
Tools, equipment and technology
- Student information systems
- CRM software
- Data dashboards
- Budget software
- Degree audit systems
- Spreadsheets
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how college administrators put their skills to work:
- How to improve first-year retention
- How to plan an admissions recruiting cycle
- How to hear a student academic appeal
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Higher education policy” and “Budgeting.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “leadership,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Master’s in higher education near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our college administrator glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our College Administrator training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.