# Education Administrators, Postsecondary

US SOC code 11-9033. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/11-9033

Also called: University administrator, College administrator, Provost, Dean, Academic dean.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **180,470** US postsecondary education administrators, with median pay of **$104,590** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.aacrao.org/resources/newsletters-blogs/aacrao-connect/article/the-evolution-of-the-registrar-and-the-faculty-status-debate) of **1,200** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for postsecondary education administrators: Modern cloud ERP, 2008 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 1.8% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9033&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **47.6%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Education Administrators, Postsecondary employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1754
- Latest US employment: 180,470 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $104,590 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: +1.8% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [26]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 40020)
  - Employment, 2020: 17,785. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 40020 Administrators - post-secondary education and vocational training, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$96,000. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [14]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 40020 Administrators - post-secondary education and vocational training, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 1,200 (estimate) | n/a | Est., AACRAO [1] |
| 1950 | 28,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., StateUniversity.com [2] |
| 1960 | n/a | $9,500 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [8] |
| 1976 | 112,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Center for Education Statistics [3] |
| 2000 | n/a | $59,480 | BLS OEWS 2000 [9] |
| 2003 | 98,160 | $66,640 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 101,530 | $68,340 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 105,360 | $70,350 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 103,330 | $73,990 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 101,160 | $75,780 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 97,410 | $80,670 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 105,900 | $82,800 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 110,360 | $83,710 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 113,620 | $84,280 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 122,930 | $86,490 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 126,340 | $87,410 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 131,070 | $88,390 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 135,690 | $88,580 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 138,430 | $90,760 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 142,160 | $92,360 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 143,430 | $94,340 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 144,880 | $95,410 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 140,880 | $97,500 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 155,990 | $96,910 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 167,060 | $99,940 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 167,270 | $102,610 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 176,420 | $103,960 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 180,470 | $104,590 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (93)

### Employment series

1. [AACRAO — "The Evolution of the Registrar and the Faculty Status Debate" (registrar professionalization timeline: 42% of institutions had full-time registrars by 1900)](https://www.aacrao.org/resources/newsletters-blogs/aacrao-connect/article/the-evolution-of-the-registrar-and-the-faculty-status-debate), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
2. [StateUniversity.com — Higher Education in the United States: historical enrollment and institutional counts (1900: 237,592 students, 977 institutions; 1950: 2.3M students, 1,708 institutions)](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2044/Higher-Education-in-United-States.html), StateUniversity.com / encyclopedic reference
3. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2010 (Chapter 3) — postsecondary staff by category: executive/administrative/managerial was 5% of employees in 1976, rising to 6% by 2007](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/ch_3.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
5. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

8. [University of Missouri Libraries — "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1960s" (BLS historical salary references for professional and managerial occupations)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1960-1969), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
9. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
11. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
14. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

15. [Undercurrents / Susquehanna University — "A Brief History of American Higher Education: Part One — Colonial Colleges" (colonial college structure and governance)](https://wordpress.susqu.edu/undercurrents/2021/07/16/a-brief-history-of-american-higher-education-part-one-colonial-colleges/), Susquehanna University
16. [AACRAO — "The Evolution of the Registrar and the Faculty Status Debate": 10% of institutions had full-time registrars in 1880, 42% by 1900, 76% by 1910, over 90% by 1920](https://www.aacrao.org/resources/newsletters-blogs/aacrao-connect/article/the-evolution-of-the-registrar-and-the-faculty-status-debate), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
17. [Wikipedia — LeBaron Russell Briggs: "first officer in the history of American higher education charged with responsibility for student relations as separate and distinct from instruction" (appointed 1891)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBaron_Russell_Briggs), Wikipedia
18. [StateUniversity.com — Higher Education in the United States: by 1947, half of all college students were veterans; GI Bill sent 2.2M veterans to college by 1947](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2044/Higher-Education-in-United-States.html), StateUniversity.com
19. [Higher Education Act of 1965 — Wikipedia: Title IV established federal student financial aid eligibility requirements, accreditation linkage, and institutional compliance obligations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_Act_of_1965), Wikipedia
20. [ListEdTech — "Brief History of Ellucian": Datatel first Colleague client 1979 (Willamette University); 100th client 1989; merger with SunGard formed Ellucian 2012](https://www.listedtech.com/blog/brief-history-of-ellucian-and-its-potential-sale/), ListEdTech
21. [Benjamin Ginsberg — "The Fall of the Faculty" (Oxford UP, 2011): administrators grew 85% between 1975-2005 vs 51% for faculty; administrator-to-student ratio fell from 1:84 to 1:68](https://academic.oup.com/book/40915/chapter/349089301), Oxford Academic
22. [Wikipedia — Blackboard Inc.: founded 1997 by Matthew Pittinsky and Michael Chasen; acquired WebCT 2006; combined market share estimated at 80% of North American academic LMS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_Inc.), Wikipedia
23. [MatrixBCG / Workday company history: founded 2005, Workday Financial Management launched 2007, higher-education push through Workday Student 2008-2015](https://matrixbcg.com/blogs/brief-history/workday), MatrixBCG
24. [EAB Navigate360 AI — 850+ institutions, 25% average staff capacity increase, 10+ hours per week recovered per staff member (EAB product page, 2026)](https://eab.com/navigate360-ai/), EAB
25. [Mainstay / Georgia State University case study — 50,000+ student messages handled; fewer than 1% required staff attention; Georgia State Pounce chatbot enrollment impact](https://mainstay.com/case-study/how-georgia-state-university-supports-every-student-with-personalized-text-messaging/), Mainstay

### Forecasts and exposure studies

26. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 11-9033 Education administrators, postsecondary (2025: 231.8 thousand; 2035: 235.9 thousand; +1.8%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9033&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 11-9033.00, human-rated β 0.476)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

28. [Susquehanna University / Undercurrents — "A Brief History of American Higher Education: Part One — Colonial Colleges"](https://wordpress.susqu.edu/undercurrents/2021/07/16/a-brief-history-of-american-higher-education-part-one-colonial-colleges/), Susquehanna University
29. [National Archives — "Morrill Act (1862)": created land-grant college system; 17.4M acres allocated; foundation of state university systems](https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/morrill-act), National Archives
30. [Research for Life — "The History of Johns Hopkins University: The First Research University": Daniel Coit Gilman first president; German research university model imported to US](https://researchforlife.org/blog/history-of-johns-hopkins/), Research for Life
31. [Wikipedia — LeBaron Russell Briggs: appointed Dean of Harvard College 1891; "first officer in the history of American higher education charged with responsibility for student relations as separate and distinct from instruction"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBaron_Russell_Briggs), Wikipedia
32. [StateUniversity.com — Higher Education in the United States: GI Bill impact; by 1947, half of college students were veterans](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2044/Higher-Education-in-United-States.html), StateUniversity.com
33. [Higher Education Act of 1965 — Wikipedia: Title IV financial aid, institutional compliance requirements, accreditation linkage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_Act_of_1965), Wikipedia
34. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2010 — executive/administrative/managerial staff at 5% of employees in 1976; Ginsberg (2011) documents 85% administrator growth 1975-2005](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/ch_3.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
35. [AGB — "Impacts of the Enrollment Cliff in 2025-2026": 15% decline in college-age population 2025-2029; 120+ institutions closed or merged since 2016](https://agb.org/blog-post/impacts-of-the-enrollment-cliff-in-2025-2026/), Association of Governing Boards

### Predecessors & successors

36. [Chronicle of Higher Education — "How More Than 200 Scholars Reached the Provost's Office, and Where They Went Next": the academic-to-administrator career path](https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-provost-s-path), Chronicle of Higher Education
37. [O\*NET 30.3 — Education Administrators, Postsecondary: "participate in faculty and college committee activities" and serve in rotational leadership roles](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9033.00), O\*NET / BLS
38. [Chronicle of Higher Education — "How AI Is Reshaping the Provost's Office" (January 2026): market for ex-administrators in higher-ed consulting](https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-ai-is-reshaping-the-provosts-office), Chronicle of Higher Education

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Education Administrators, Postsecondary (11-9033.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9033.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [EDUCAUSE 2025 Higher Education Trend Watch — AI adoption in administrative operations and student success](https://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/research/trend-watch), accessed 2026-05-23
- [EAB Navigate360 — AI-powered student success platform: 750+ institutions, 40% faster time-to-intervention (case studies 2025)](https://eab.com/solutions/navigate360/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Mainstay AI (formerly AdmitHub) — Chatbot case studies: ASU and Georgia State University yield and retention lift (2025)](https://mainstay.com/case-study/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Chronicle of Higher Education — "How AI Is Reshaping the Provost's Office" (January 2026)](https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-ai-is-reshaping-the-provosts-office), accessed 2026-05-23
- [AACRAO 2025 Technology in Enrollment Management Survey — AI CRM adoption in admissions and registrar offices](https://www.aacrao.org/research-publications/research), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Postsecondary Education Administrators (2024–2034)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/postsecondary-education-administrators.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Anthology (Blackboard) — Student Success platform: automated student-communication workflows, early-alert notification, LMS-integrated outreach (2025)](https://www.blackboard.com/higher-education-products-and-services), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Ad Astra — AI-powered scheduling optimization: automated section-demand modeling, classroom utilization maximization; 2025 Higher Ed Scheduling Summit findings on staff time savings](https://www.aais.com/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Coursedog — AI course scheduling and curriculum management: automated section builds, enrollment demand forecasting, catalog management (2026)](https://www.coursedog.com/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Element451 — Bolt Agents: end-to-end AI enrollment CRM with automated outreach sequences, applicant scoring, and financial-aid nudge automation (2025)](https://www.element451.com/product/ai-agents), accessed 2026-05-23

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.