| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Education and Teaching |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Vice Chancellor |
| Direct reports | Head of Department (College), Academic Coordinator, Instructional Designer |
| Experience | 15+ years of teaching in higher education, including 5 years in academic administration |
Dean Academics job description template
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Job title: Dean Academics
Department: Education and Teaching
Reports to: Vice Chancellor
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Dean Academics leads teaching and learning across a university or a large college. The role owns the academic calendar, curriculum revision through the Boards of Studies, faculty workload norms, outcome-based education and the academic evidence that NAAC and NBA reviewers examine. The dean usually reports to the Vice Chancellor and works closely with Heads of Department, the Controller of Examinations and the IQAC. A good dean keeps programmes current and makes teaching quality visible in data, not just in files.
Key responsibilities
- Frame the academic calendar for odd and even semesters, fixing teaching days, internal assessments, end-semester exams and breaks.
- Steer curriculum revision through Boards of Studies and the Academic Council, including NEP 2020 changes such as credits, electives and multiple exit options.
- Set workload norms for faculty and approve department timetables so that no core course runs without a qualified teacher.
- Drive outcome-based education by approving course outcomes, programme outcomes and attainment calculations, then following up on the gaps found.
- Review syllabus coverage, student attendance and internal assessment marks mid-semester, and step in where a department falls behind.
- Run student feedback on teaching every semester and agree improvement plans with faculty whose scores fall below the agreed threshold.
- Approve new programmes, value-added courses and academic MoUs after checking faculty strength, labs and library resources.
- Plan faculty development programmes, workshops and induction for newly appointed faculty together with the IQAC.
- Compile criterion-wise academic evidence for NAAC, NBA and NIRF submissions with HoDs and the IQAC coordinator.
- Chair academic grievance and attendance shortage committees, and decide condonation requests within the university's rules.
Requirements
- PhD in any discipline, with a master's degree of at least 55 percent marks
- Service as professor, with experience as Head of Department or IQAC coordinator
- A record of publications and research guidance expected of professor-level posts
- 15+ years of teaching in higher education, including 5 years in academic administration
KRAs and KPIs for a Dean Academics
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 |
|---|---|
| Academic calendar adherence | At least 90 teaching days delivered each semester, with no exam starting before the syllabus is covered |
| Curriculum currency | Every programme's syllabus reviewed by its Board of Studies at least once in two years |
| Outcome attainment | Course outcome attainment computed for 100 percent of courses each semester, with action plans for every gap |
| Teaching feedback | Department-wise student feedback averaging 4.0 or higher on a 5-point scale |
| Accreditation readiness | Academic criteria data for NAAC and NBA updated within 30 days of each semester's end |
| Faculty development | Every faculty member completes at least one FDP or workshop in the academic year |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Academic ERP, Learning management system such as Moodle, MS Excel, NAAC and NBA online portals, Timetable software, Google Workspace.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Pro Vice Chancellor, Principal, Vice Chancellor
Interview questions for a Dean Academics
- How would you introduce multidisciplinary electives without overloading departments that are already short of faculty?
- Explain how you calculate course outcome attainment and what you do when a course falls short.
- Two departments want the same professor for core courses in one semester. How do you decide?
- What evidence would you prepare for NAAC criterion 2 on teaching, learning and evaluation?
- A senior professor's student feedback has been low for three semesters. How would you handle it?
- Tell us about a curriculum change you led and how you judged whether it worked.
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What does a dean of academics do in a university?
A dean of academics plans and supervises teaching across the university. The role sets the academic calendar, leads curriculum revision through the Boards of Studies, fixes faculty workloads, runs student feedback on teaching, oversees outcome-based education and prepares academic evidence for NAAC, NBA and NIRF. The dean also decides academic grievances and attendance shortage cases.
What is the difference between a dean academics and a head of department?
A head of department runs one department: its timetable, faculty, labs, results and students. The dean academics sets the rules and standards every department follows, such as the calendar, workload norms, curriculum process and feedback system, and steps in when a department falls behind. HoDs usually report to the dean on academic matters.
Who does the dean academics report to?
In a university, the dean academics reports to the Vice Chancellor or a Pro Vice Chancellor. In an autonomous or large affiliated college, the equivalent post reports to the Principal or Director. The dean works closely with the Registrar, the Controller of Examinations and the IQAC coordinator on calendar, exams and accreditation.