Leadership role
Provost / Academic VP
The chief academic officer of a college or university, responsible for faculty, academic programs and educational quality.
Reporting and scope
Reports to the President and works with the board's academic affairs committee. Authority covers all academic units, deans and faculty.
Core responsibilities
- Oversees deans, faculty hiring, promotion and tenure
- Sets academic priorities and approves new programs
- Leads accreditation and institutional assessment
- Manages the academic budget with the CFO
- Supports research, libraries and student academic services
- Acts for the President when needed
How it differs
The Dean / Associate Dean leads a single school or college within the university. The Chief Learning Officer leads training in non-academic organizations. The Academic Director works at program level.
By organization size
At small colleges the provost may also handle student affairs and enrollment. At large universities the provost leads several vice provosts and a large academic budget.
Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Provost; Chief Academic Officer; VP of Academic Affairs; VP Academic Affairs; VP for Academic Affairs; Interim Provost