| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Education and Teaching |
| Level | Entry level |
| Reports to | Centre Head (Coaching) |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | Fresher or up to 2 years in education counselling or sales |
Academic Counsellor job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Academic Counsellor
Department: Education and Teaching
Reports to: Centre Head (Coaching)
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
An Academic Counsellor in a coaching institute guides students and parents from the first enquiry through enrolment and then through the course. The role explains programmes, fees and scholarships, runs admission tests, converts walk-ins and leads into admissions, and later follows up on attendance, test scores and instalments. It reports to the Centre Head. A good academic counsellor gives honest advice, converts well and keeps enrolled students from dropping out halfway through the session.
Key responsibilities
- Meet walk-in students and parents, understand the target exam, current class and scores, and recommend the right course and batch.
- Call leads from seminars, website forms and scholarship tests within 24 hours, and log every conversation in the CRM.
- Explain course structure, faculty, study material, fees, instalments and the refund policy clearly and in writing.
- Run admission or scholarship tests and follow each result with a counselling session for the student.
- Complete admission forms, fee receipts and ID cards, and hand new students over to the batch coordinator.
- Review enrolled students' attendance and test scores each month, and call parents when either slips.
- Remind parents about instalment due dates and record commitments for overdue fees.
- Arrange parent-teacher meetings and one-to-one sessions for students at risk of dropping out.
- Collect student feedback on faculty and facilities and share a summary with the Centre Head each month.
- Staff seminars in schools, housing society camps and education fairs during the admission season.
Requirements
- Graduate in any stream
- Experience in counselling, inside sales or front office is an advantage
- Fluency in English and the local language
- Fresher or up to 2 years in education counselling or sales
KRAs and KPIs for a Academic Counsellor
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Admissions | Monthly admission target met, with walk-in conversion of 35 percent or higher in season |
| Lead follow-up | Every new lead called within 24 hours and logged in the CRM |
| Instalment collection | At least 95 percent of instalments on the counsellor's list collected by the due date |
| Student retention | Dropouts among assigned students below 4 percent in the session |
| Parent updates | A progress call made to every assigned parent each month |
| Admission records | Complete admission file for 100 percent of enrolments |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: CRM for leads, Coaching institute ERP, MS Excel, Phone and WhatsApp, UPI and card payment machine, Google Sheets.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Senior Academic Counsellor, Admissions Manager, Centre Head (Coaching)
Interview questions for a Academic Counsellor
- A Class 10 student with 55 percent in maths wants to join the JEE batch. What do you advise?
- A parent says our fees are higher than a rival institute's. How do you respond?
- You have 60 leads today. How do you decide whom to call first?
- A student has missed 8 classes this month. What steps do you take?
- What would you say if a parent asks you to guarantee a selection?
- Tell us about a time you persuaded someone by listening more than talking.
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Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What does an academic counsellor do in a coaching institute?
An academic counsellor advises students and parents on the right course, explains fees and scholarships, runs admission tests and completes enrolment. After admission, the counsellor follows each student's attendance, test scores and fee instalments, calls parents when problems appear and works to stop dropouts.
Is an academic counsellor a sales job?
Partly. Most coaching institutes give counsellors admission and collection targets, so selling is a real part of the job. The difference from pure sales is responsibility after enrolment: a good counsellor gives honest course advice and keeps supporting the student, because retention and results matter as much as new admissions.
What skills are needed to be an academic counsellor?
The core skills are clear communication in English and the local language, patient listening, honest handling of objections, disciplined follow-up and comfort with a CRM and fee records. Knowledge of the exams the institute prepares for, such as JEE or NEET, helps counsellors give credible advice.