In 2003, the average salary of directors of financial aid at all institutional types was $56,971, according to the results of the 2003 NASFAA Salary Survey. From 1992 to 2003, the average salary of aid directors grew about 8% in inflation-adjusted value. These results do not include changes in fringe benefits or other forms of compensation received by aid administrators.
Changes in salary varied widely by job category. Over the past decade, salaries of aid personnel in the category "manager/supervisor/division chief" had the highest growth in salary, 25%, followed by "secretary/receptionist/clerk/processor" (15%), "other clerical" (12%) and "associate director" (10%). The average salary of administrators in the "dean/vice president" category actually fell about 2% in inflation-adjusted dollars.
For directors of financial aid, average salaries in 2003 varied by type of institution. The average pay for directors at four-year public colleges and universities, $68,225, was roughly $13,000 higher than the average at four-year private non-profit and two-year public colleges ($55,197 and $55,173, respectively). Aid director salaries also varied by region. Those in the WASFAA region had the highest average pay ($63,907) while directors in SASFAA had the lowest ($52,687). "I am excited that financial aid administrators will be able to use the regional specific data from this report to affirm current salaries or justify pay raises by job category," said Colleen MacDonald, director of financial aid at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and chair of NASFAA's Research Committee.
The survey findings are posted on the NASFAA Web site in PDF format and are available at no charge to both Member and non-member institutions.
The salary survey also provides some demographic information on persons in the financial aid profession. On average, aid personnel in all job categories had nearly 12 years of professional experience, up considerably from the 1995 survey results (about 7 years). Aid administrators are also highly educated—76% had a bachelor's degree or higher in 2003. The vast majority of aid personnel (73%) were women; however, 42% of those in the "dean/vice president" position were men.
"The results suggest that nearly 40 years after the passage of the Higher Education Act, the financial aid profession is strong and a distinct career in its own right," said Mark S. Williams, president of the Center for Higher Education Support Services and author of the salary survey report. "We improved upon the prior research studies by gaining a better understanding of the factors that affect gross salary. The next step needs to be an examination of overall compensation including benefits."
The 2003 Salary Survey results are based on valid responses received from 3,744 aid personnel employed at 1,563 postsecondary education institutions. The survey includes aid professionals at both NASFAA Member and non-member schools. The salary results are based on pay received from July 2002 to June 2003. The salary survey was a project of NASFAA's Research Committee and was funded as part of NASFAA's Sponsored Research Grant Program. NASFAA receives a generous contribution from Lumina Foundation for Education to support the Sponsored Research Grant Program.
By Kenneth Redd
NASFAA Director of Research and Policy Analysis
Posted March 25, 2004 on www.NASFAA.org, Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Copyright 2004. Redistribution to nonmember institutions is prohibited
Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org
