There are some people who exist in the world at any given time who feel purpose-driven to be impactful to at least a small portion of the world. This desire to make a difference often leads to professions like teaching, a truly altruistic and noble career choice that benefits both the instructor and the student when a connection is made.

Yet the path of a teacher doesn’t always stop in the classroom. After a few years of instruction is under their belt, some instructors feel the call to move forward and begin impacting the school on a different level. The familiarization of the classroom, instructional expectations, student behavior issues, and campus environment in general makes the next career path choice of becoming a dean a natural transition.

Moving From Instructor to Dean: What Does it Involve?

A large part of being a classroom teacher is knowing how to handle student behavior and discipline. Because it often becomes an intrinsic part of the daily routine, it’s not surprising that the next path of a teacher becomes stepping into the role of a dean. But depending on where you work, the job of a dean may look different.

The essential role of a dean in college, for instance, is the expectation of overseeing a specific department or a specialized field of study. Corralling students in the classroom takes on a new meaning as the dean attempts to plan for strategic decisions that affect all the faculty and learners in their scope of responsibility. Deans determine how resources are allotted and they meet with the directors of programs and professors to attempt to plan future changes in order to better improve the service of students and the roles of faculty and staff.

Some dean roles move even further into administrative development, ensuring that daily operations are upheld and communicating with stakeholders. Through goal-setting and metric measurements, as well as serving on committees, their job is full and demanding, but ultimately rewarding.

The Expectations of a Dean

When you’re a dean, you’ll be involved in the classroom and administrative roles. You work with almost every department in the institution in order to create and attain the school’s goals for student academic achievement, retention, and financial resource allotment. A dean holds a position of responsibility and authority over the department, so to obtain and successfully keep this position, you must have diverse knowledge of both hard and soft skills.

One of the most important skills is the ability to use metrics to monitor multiple sections of your department to oversee growth and look for opportunities for advancement. Growth within most institutions begins from within before a new position is advertised to outside sources. Part of the dean’s job is to know the potential of each staff member to know where they’d best fit, grow, and thrive within the school, and hire new staff when necessary.

Another essential part is to encourage and support student retention through creating standards for enrollment, offering advice to those involved in curriculum development, and helping students to choose the right program to reach their goals.

Suggestions to Help Your Career Path Change

If a dean might be in your future, here are some tips to help you make the transition smoother, no matter where you’re starting out:

●      Start with the right degree choice. In order to get in the instructional door at any institution, you need a bachelor’s degree. However, to become a dean or get a job at many of the more prestigious schools, a master’s degree is required. Even for assistant deans and many teaching positions, you’ll need to hold this higher degree. If you’re looking to become a dean, you might be surprised to know that your bachelors doesn’t have to be in education or business, but rather it can be held in your specialization.

●      Don’t rush your experience. Candidates to be a college dean typically have a post-secondary educational background. This is usually in the role of an instructor in their specialized field, but not always. They may have gained the experience in undergrad work in a dean’s office or as an intern or resident aid.

●      Take on as many leadership roles as you can. You’ll be a key leader in your institution and you’ll need all the skills you can procure before you engage in your new position. The ability to manage multiple responsibilities and tasks is a crucial part of your job. You’ll be required to see the big picture and all the small pieces that make up the whole design, including faculty and student engagement and activity, budget and resources, and asset and risk management. These are all skills that should not be taken on lightly.

The job of a dean is one that must be made as a commitment, as it will consume a lot of your time and energy. However, when done well, it’s a job with immeasurable rewards.