Professional development has become increasingly important for enhancing administrative effectiveness in higher education, yet empirical research focusing on administrators in private higher education institutions remains limited. This study addresses this gap by examining the impact of professional development on administrative effectiveness among administrators in private higher education institutions in China. The objectives of this study are: to examine the overall level of professional development and administrative effectiveness; to investigate the relationship between professional development and administrative effectiveness; and to assess the predictive effect of professional development on administrative effectiveness. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The sample consisted of 200 administrators from private higher education institutions in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. The instrument used was a structured questionnaire adapted from Chen and Yang (2023) measuring professional development and administrative effectiveness, using a five-point Likert scale. Data were collected via an online survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis, grounded in human capital theory. The results indicate that professional development has a moderate mean score (M = 3.37), while administrative effectiveness has a relatively high mean score (M = 4.13). A significant positive relationship was found between professional development and administrative effectiveness (r = 0.62, p < 0.001), and regression analysis showed that professional development significantly predicts administrative effectiveness (? = 0.58, p < 0.001), explaining 38% of the variance in administrative effectiveness (R² = 0.38). Future research should incorporate additional variables such as organizational culture and leadership styles, and employ longitudinal designs to examine causal relationships.
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