The Evolving Role of Academic Operations: Insights from Over 250 Colleges and Universities

Do your administrative functions help or hurt students at your institution? Effective academic operations can mean the difference between a student getting into a class they need and not. Academic operations work spans critical functions such as curriculum management, catalog administration, class scheduling, space management, demand analysis, and degree audits. It touches every corner of an institution while directly shaping the student experience.

AACRAO surveyed 281 undergraduate-serving institutions to capture a clearer picture of academic operations across higher education. The results shed light on the many functions academic operations span and uncover notable differences and trends across institutions.

Centralized Offices Lead Academic Operations Across Higher Education

Not all institutions structure academic operations the same way. Some rely on a centralized model, where a single unit manages all aspects of the function, controls technology and data input, and leads policy development. Others take a decentralized approach, distributing responsibilities across colleges and academic units with minimal coordination. A hybrid model is an option that blends both, a reflection of the varied and complex realities institutions face. Understanding how institutions structure these functions offers valuable insight into how institutions carry out academic operations and who holds accountability.

Among the functions surveyed, catalog administration emerges as the most centralized, with 63% of institutions reporting a centralized approach. It is the only academic operations function to exceed 50% in any single configuration, which underscores the catalog's role as a foundational institutional document. Other functions show more variation. 8% of institutions report that they do not perform course and program demand analysis and 2% do not perform classroom space management.

At most institutions, a central academic affairs division holds executive oversight of academic operations, with enrollment management, student services, and other academic units also playing key roles. Staffing levels across functions tend to be modest, with one to four full-time employees supporting each function at half or more of institutions. This combination of centralized oversight and lean staffing highlights both the importance institutions place on academic operations and the considerable demands staff members face.

Academic Operations Supports a Broad Range of Institutional Functions

Understanding who oversees academic operations is only part of the story. The survey data also reveals the remarkable breadth of functions that fall under the academic operations umbrella. Respondents had the opportunity to share additional functions within academic operations at their institutions, and the responses paint a picture of a function with an exceptionally wide reach.

More than 75% of respondents include accreditation compliance, degree-audit management, faculty management and hiring, and transfer articulation in their academic operations responsibilities. Beyond those functions, respondents also cite registrar-related work, institutional review board administration, academic advising, student affairs, and financial aid as part of the academic operations scope at their institutions. Together, these functions span academic affairs, student services, compliance, and beyond.

Academic Operations and Strategic Enrollment Management are Strongly Linked

With such a wide range of functions under its umbrella, academic operations naturally intersect with some of higher education's most pressing strategic priorities. At 38% of institutions, that intersection takes the form of a direct link to strategic enrollment management initiatives.

Respondents describe efforts that include classroom space optimization, schedule optimization, academic program review, the creation of institution-wide strategic enrollment management plans, and technology adoption across core academic operations functions. These are not peripheral projects; they reflect a deliberate effort to put academic operations at the heart of enrollment strategy. Institutions that align academic operations with strategic enrollment management put themselves in a stronger position to make data-informed decisions that serve both students and institutional goals.

The barriers to progress, however, remain significant. Survey respondents identify a lack of staff resources, competing institutional priorities, budget constraints, limited technology, and insufficient buy-in as the primary obstacles to advancing these initiatives. For institutions that want to strengthen the link between academic operations and strategic enrollment management, addressing these barriers is the next step.

Academic Operations Shapes Institutions' Ability to Meet Goals

Academic operations sits at the intersection of structure, strategy, and student experience, and quietly shapes outcomes in ways that are both immediate and long-term. As its scope continues to expand, so too does its influence. The institutions that recognize this shift and act on it will not only improve how they operate, but also how they deliver on their mission.