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
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.