A survey instrument was sent to 527 administrators of seven types of community college allied health programs and to 451 administrators of eight types of senior college allied health programs. Usable responses were received from 253 (48%) of the community college and 201 (46%) of the senior college administrators. Respondents rated the usefulness of 24 administrative competencies to their role as allied health administrators, and indicated how they learned the behaviors associated with each competency. While senior college administrators rated the 24 competencies as more useful to them than the community college administrators, a consistent pattern of ratings was found for each item and for all items considered together. Training "on the job" and "as a student, augmented by on the job experience" were reported as the general modes for learning the 24 behaviors. A large percentage of both groups reported "no training" in the competencies, and the fewest number of respondents reported formal training "as a student", with senior college administrators reporting smaller percentages of formal training than the community college administrators. In addition, an increase in the usefulness ratings of the competencies were found with each increasing level of prior or formal training, indicating that with each level there is a correspondingly greater appreciation of the utility of administrative competencies in general. (LH)