What Does an Academic Advisor Do?
Almost every college student has a degree plan that is mapped out during the first year and rewritten after that. These plans set the courses, prerequisites, and deadlines that make a student's path to graduation shorter and more certain. Academic advisors help students build and keep those plans, meeting them one on one in college advising offices.
Also known as: Student Academic Specialist, Pre-Professional Academic Advisor, Senior Academic Advisor
Academic Advisor Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of an academic advisor include:
- Meet students one on one to plan courses, check degree progress and set graduation timelines.
- Run degree audits and explain unmet requirements in plain terms.
- Advise new students at orientation, helping them register for first-semester classes.
- Contact students flagged by early alerts for low grades or missed classes.
- Refer students to tutoring, counseling, disability services or financial aid when needs go beyond advising.
- Approve course substitutions, overloads and withdrawals within college policy.
- Guide pre-professional students on prerequisites and timelines for medical, law or other graduate schools.
- Record advising notes in the student system so any advisor can pick up the conversation.
- Explain academic probation, appeals and readmission steps to students who fall behind.
- Keep up with changes to majors, catalog rules and transfer credit policies.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as an academic advisor, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Degree audit and student systems such as Banner or PeopleSoft
- Knowledge of FERPA privacy rules
- Active listening and clear explanations
- Managing a large caseload of students
- Knowledge of majors, prerequisites and transfer rules
- Cultural awareness with a varied student body
- Organized, timely note-taking
- Calm support for stressed students
Education and Training
While some colleges hire advisors with a bachelor's degree and advising experience, most posts ask for a master's in higher education, counseling or student affairs. Many advisors start out as graduate assistants or peer advisors in an advising office. With experience, you could progress to senior advisor or advising coordinator.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $51,270 - $82,870 per year, with a median of $64,330.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors.
According to BLS, employment of educational, guidance and career counselors and advisors is projected to grow about 3 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 27,800 openings a year. Academic advisors are one part of that group. Hiring often is tied to enrollment and student success budgets, but advisors always will be needed as colleges try to keep students enrolled and on track to finish.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors.