What Does a Bursar Do?
College students and their parents deal with the bursar's office at least once a term, usually over a tuition bill, a payment plan or a refund that has not arrived yet. The bursar is in charge of all of it, from the billing calendar and payment plans to the cashiers, the student account staff and the registration holds placed on overdue balances.
Also known as: Assistant Bursar
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Accounting Supervisor, Banking Center Manager (BCM), Branch Manager, Business Banking Manager, Credit Administration Manager, Credit Manager, Financial Center Manager, Financial Planning Manager.
Bursar Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a bursar include:
- Direct tuition and fee billing for each term, including payment plans and due dates.
- Place and release registration holds on student accounts under written institutional policy.
- Issue refunds after financial aid posts, meeting federal Title IV timing rules.
- Supervise cashiers, student account staff and the collections team.
- Oversee collection of past-due balances, including referrals to outside collection agencies.
- Produce 1098-T tuition statements and answer student and parent questions about them.
- Protect student account data under FERPA and card data under PCI rules.
- Reconcile student receivables, deposits and third-party sponsor billing to the general ledger.
- Bill employers, embassies and scholarship sponsors that pay tuition on a student's behalf.
- Work with financial aid and the registrar to settle disputed charges before term deadlines.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a bursar, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Student systems such as Banner, PeopleSoft Campus Solutions or Workday Student
- Title IV and FERPA rules
- Cash handling and PCI DSS controls
- Supervising front-line and collections staff
- Patience with worried students and parents
- Receivables reconciliation and reporting
- 1098-T reporting
- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or business
Education and Training
A job in student accounts or cashiering is the common first step, though some bursars move over from financial aid or general accounting. Colleges generally require a bachelor's degree, plus several years of student accounts experience that includes supervising staff. Assistant bursar is the usual last stop before the top job.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: varies widely for this role, and BLS does not publish pay for it separately. In the wider BLS group it belongs to (Financial Managers), the middle half of earners made $125,490 to $219,980 a year, and the median was $166,570.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Financial Managers.
BLS expects employment of financial managers to grow about 10 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 65,600 openings a year. While that group spans banks, companies and hospitals, bursar posts exist only on college campuses, so openings here depend mostly on retirements and turnover in higher education. Assistant bursars are the usual successors.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Financial managers.
Bursar Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $94,310 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $125,490 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $166,570 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $219,980 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $323,270 |
Highest-Paying States for Bursars
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are New York ($219,880), Massachusetts ($206,760), New Jersey ($199,110), District of Columbia ($188,880), Virginia ($185,220). Pay is lowest in Arkansas ($116,570), West Virginia ($113,140), Mississippi ($111,390).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $140,500 |
| Alaska | $127,030 |
| Arizona | $139,830 |
| Arkansas | $116,570 |
| California | $180,770 |
| Colorado | $182,690 |
| Connecticut | $174,830 |
| Delaware | $181,580 |
| District of Columbia | $188,880 |
| Florida | $153,280 |
| Georgia | $166,790 |
| Hawaii | $134,210 |
| Idaho | $127,210 |
| Illinois | $165,880 |
| Indiana | $135,840 |
| Iowa | $133,320 |
| Kansas | $159,380 |
| Kentucky | $130,650 |
| Louisiana | $126,800 |
| Maine | $133,610 |
| Maryland | $158,750 |
| Massachusetts | $206,760 |
| Michigan | $139,370 |
| Minnesota | $163,410 |
| Mississippi | $111,390 |
| Missouri | $143,460 |
| Montana | $131,060 |
| Nebraska | $140,360 |
| Nevada | $132,490 |
| New Hampshire | $144,730 |
| New Jersey | $199,110 |
| New Mexico | $133,700 |
| New York | $219,880 |
| North Carolina | $166,780 |
| North Dakota | $135,890 |
| Ohio | $140,870 |
| Oklahoma | $132,460 |
| Oregon | $156,460 |
| Pennsylvania | $145,610 |
| Rhode Island | $166,940 |
| South Carolina | $136,160 |
| South Dakota | $159,700 |
| Tennessee | $141,010 |
| Texas | $164,860 |
| Utah | $150,450 |
| Vermont | $128,690 |
| Virginia | $185,220 |
| Washington | $174,840 |
| West Virginia | $113,140 |
| Wisconsin | $139,720 |
| Wyoming | $124,910 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as financial managers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 100% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 99% use email every day
- 95% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 93% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 85% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 73% usually work more than 40 hours a week
- 58% are on the phone every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 56% |
| Post-baccalaureate certificate | 21% |
| High school diploma or GED | 14% |
Tools and Software Bursars Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Writing, Monitoring.
Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Economics and Accounting, Mathematics, Administrative.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Bursar Job
- Business cover letter sample
- Resume or CV: which to send
- How to describe your work experience
- Job interview tips
- Interview thank-you note
The Job Explorer never charges candidates any money. If someone asks you to pay to apply for a bursar job or to get hired, treat it as a warning sign.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 11-3031.00 (Financial Managers). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.