In an educational setting, a dean is a person with significant authority .

Although most High school, or secondary school, is the last segment of compulsory education in Hong Kong, United States, Australia, Canada, China, Korea and Japan. ...high schools are led by a A principal is: The head of an institution. ...principal, some (particularly private In the United States a preparatory school, or prep school, is usually a private secondary school (or high school) designed to prepare a student for higher education. ...preparatory schools) refer to their chief authority as a dean.

The term is much more commonly used in Higher education is education provided by universities and other institutions that award academic degrees, such as university colleges, and liberal arts colleges. ...higher education. Although usage differs from one institution to another, a dean is usually the head of a significant department or collection of departments within a A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ...university. Almost every American, when used as an adjective, can mean of the United States of America or of or relating to the Americas; when used as a noun, United States citizen, residing in the Americas, or less frequently American English. Immigrants to the United States are usually called first-generation Americans, regardless...American In the United States, the institution where future lawyers obtain a legal degree is called a law school. ...law school and Medical school generally refers to a tertiary educational institution (or part of such an institution) which is involved in the education of future medical practitioners (medical doctors). ...medical school refers to their highest ranking administrator as a dean, and most have several assistant or associate deans as well.