30 Academic Dean Interview Questions (with Answers)

1.

Why are you the best Academic Dean for us?

The interviewer would like to know why you feel you are the best choice for this position. What makes you stand out from other potential applicants? Now is the time to brag about yourself and your abilities a little bit. Don't be shy! Highlight qualities that are unique.

Rachelle's Answer

"I feel that I am the best academic dean for you because I am highly educated, having recently completed my Ph.D. in Education. I would be a diverse leader for the student body. I have traveled all over the world and also speak four languages. I also stand out because I have been a Professor at two of the most well-respected universities in the United States."

Rachelle's Answer

"I feel that being newer to my career as an academic dean gives me an advantage to many other applicants. I plan to carve a long-term career with your university while incorporating fresh perspectives that a more tenured dean will likely not possess."

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Anonymous Answer

"I could say that I am the best Dean for you because of my in-depth knowledge of curriculum at all levels, or my experiences in serving language learners at all levels, but that is not the best reason I'm your person. What makes me the best is my passion and love of instruction. My excitement and my ability to motivate others, as well as my ability to think outside the box to meet student needs, are qualities that will make me a great Dean."

Rachelle's Answer

Highly impressive how you solidified the fact that you're qualified through experience, while adding in more heartfelt reasons why you're the best for the job. This answer is well rounded and will make an impact on the interviewer.

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Anonymous Answer

"My skill sets and experience are the perfect matches for the job requirements. As a former Dean of the School of Business, my work ethic makes me an ideal candidate for the position. For example, I led my Business program through its reaffirmation of accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP) single handily. Upon the review of the On-site Team of Evaluators, the program was reaffirmed of its accreditation. Moreover, I upgraded graduation requirements that gave confidence to our students that they could compete on the graduate level and I also mentored junior faculty to become Major Coordinator, Department Chairs as well as Deans."

Stephanie's Answer

Excellent response! It is evident that your professional experience aligns very well with this role, and you're able to provide specific examples to illustrate this.

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2.

Give me an example of a new academic rule or regulation that you have created.

As an Academic Dean, you should have experience with creating and enforcing academic rules and regulations. Discuss your experiences with the interviewer and be sure to highlight your most significant wins when it comes to academic rules.

Rachelle's Answer

"A few years ago I created a new school policy to include bullying and cyber-bullying. Because cyber-bullying is a newer concept, our school did not have a policy in place to address those concerns. I created a zero-tolerance environment, and any breach resulted in expulsion. The improvement for our students was impressive, and I am very pleased with the results related to the change in policy."

Rachelle's Answer

"I have not yet had the opportunity to create any new academic rules. With that said, I have a keen interest in creating a safe environment for students. If the opportunity arose, I would first choose to update our school's bullying policies to include cyber-bullying."

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Anonymous Answer

"I am currently working on developing our college's learning and teaching policy. I am really concerned about our programs' quality; I feel we need to improve our course Sylvi making it competency-based and aligning to industry needs. Also, due to increasing plagiarism cases, develop new college-based plagiarism in line with the university policy."

Rachelle's Answer

Excellent answer! You are clear on some of the significant projects you are tackling and its positive impact on your college. Well done.

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Anonymous Answer

"We jokingly say at my current school that all rules are there for a really good reason. I've helped create several policies regarding our student galleries. Working with the academic council, I helped established GPA thresholds for reviewing at-risk juniors for student progress assessment and helped build CCAD Pro, a support workshop for students."

Cindy's Answer

Great. I'd pick a policy, discuss its necessity and intent, how you rolled it out and integrated it, and its impact. Policy creation and integration can tell a lot about a leader and this provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate your leadership skills.

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3.

When have you worked among a diverse group of people?

Are you accustomed to working with a very large or diverse team of individuals? Assure the interviewer that you can handle an environment that offers diversity.

Rachelle's Answer

"I have worked with diverse groups of people most of my career, including my time in University. I am most comfortable, and happy, in this type of environment because it offers a great learning opportunity."

Rachelle's Answer

"In my current role, I work alongside diverse, cross-functional teams on a daily basis. Together, we manage the school very effectively."

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Anonymous Answer

"I would say that every organization that I have work with has valued diversity. I see diversity as a valuable strategic advantage in today's global economy."

Stephanie's Answer

Your views on diversity are very positive and strengths-focused; however, I suggest that you are a bit more specific about what diversity entails. I have provided an example in the "Revised Answer" section.

"I am fortunate to have worked among many diverse groups of people, in terms of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other distinguishing characteristics. Every organization I have worked for has valued diversity, which aligns well with my own core values. I view diversity as a valuable strategic advantage in today's global economy."

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Anonymous Answer

"I have spent my entire career working with diverse groups of people and students. I believe working with diverse people has made me a better person because I value, respect, and appreciate the cultural differences each of us have brought to the table. I would not have wanted it to be any different."

Rachelle's Answer

Well said!

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4.

Tell me about a time when you improved communication between yourself and a co-worker or client.

Possessing the skills to improve communication in the workplace is a precious asset. Talk to the interviewer about your ability to enhance communication in the workplace.

Rachelle's Answer

"In my current position I have one particular board member who is an exceptionally brief communicator. If I ask two questions, he will answer just one. I learned quickly that he would not acknowledge anything he did not have a direct answer for. I began to ask him questions in a different way. For example, I will say 'Do you have an answer for me on question X?' and he will say yes or no. We then go from there. This is a useful method of communication for that particular individual."

Rachelle's Answer

"I had a faculty member who often missed email updates. It caused us to cross our wires a few times. I suggested that we book a quick call every week to review any outstanding areas that need to be addressed. This process worked well for us."

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Anonymous Answer

"While I have done numerous performance plans (sometimes with HR), I most proud that when I was promoted to Chair, I struggled to communicate with a long-term faculty member who had more experience than me. I sensed that she had wanted the promotion I ultimately received, and she was no longer in leadership. What I did was informal. I had an office by hers, and I made sure my door was open when I knew she was between classes. We would chit chat and I got to know her concerns, her struggles, her life. She had stories to tell, as we all do, and this informal approach made it easier for us to communicate in more formal settings. It seemed like a trust issue. We didn't trust each other until we really got to know each other, and it helped me understand where her strengths were so I could put her in positions where she could succeed. For example, she's wonderful with first-year students as she has a daughter around the same age, and we decided to put her in our introduction to Fine Arts course, which has proven to be very successful."

Cindy's Answer

That's a great example, and the story-telling format is effective. You could expand on why you had issues with this faculty member and why you think the informal approach worked. Was it ultimately a trust issue? Did you learn anything after you solved the problem?

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Anonymous Answer

"We tend to be a very email oriented institution. While that has benefits, sometimes, a phone call if the client or co-worker is distant or a brief meeting improves communication. I have utilized these methods with students, faculty, peers, superiors, and clients. There is an additional level of communication and clarification that occurs face to face or over the phone and especially face to face that improves communication. An example is when I took members of our Registrar's office to lunch. I also have F2F meetings with the lead coordinators of projects weekly or biweekly."

Rachelle's Answer

Wonderful. Your answer is clear, and you make a very solid point re: the importance of phone calls when the situation needs it.

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5.

What is your proudest moment as a teacher or leader?

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Academic Dean Interview Questions

Why are you the best Academic Dean for us?

Academic Dean Interview Questions

Why are you the best Academic Dean for us?

Give me an example of a new academic rule or regulation that you have created.

When have you worked among a diverse group of people?

Tell me about a time when you improved communication between yourself and a co-worker or client.

What is your proudest moment as a teacher or leader?

How active do you plan to be with your faculty?

As an Academic Dean you will be exposed to a wide variety of people, situations and environments. Do you feel prepared for this?

How do you handle communicating bad news to a fellow worker or subordinate?

How will you earn the trust of your faculty and coworkers?

Would you consider returning to school to complete your PhD?

When you suffer a setback, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?

How would you handle a situation where one of your faculty members was causing difficulty in the workplace?

How do you like to encourage ideas in your faculty or student body?

How do you assess academic performance?

Why do you want a career as an academic dean?

What are your salary expectations?

Rate your communication skills from 1-10 with proper examples backing your given rating.

How do you handle a larger than average workload?

Do you consider yourself a patient person? How do you increase your patience level in challenging situations?

How do you like to be recognized for your accomplishments?

Do you think honesty is always the best policy?

What sources do you look to when solving complicated problems?

What questions do you have for me in regards to this school, or position?

Tell me about an organization or group outside of work that you contributed to.

Are you familiar with this States academic criteria?

Tell me about your exposure to budgeting and fundraising in your last position.

Outline your formal education and training.

What three words would you use to describe yourself as an Educator?

How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?

What motivates you to succeed?