Higher Education: managing radical change

Budget reductions in the region of 15 – 20% dominate conditions in the UK’s Higher Education (HE) sector, along with the need for close integration with the workings of UCISA (Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association).

Back office efficiencies

The volume of transactions – financial and organisational, in student applications and throughout their alumni experience – points towards process improvements and efficiencies that can be made, particularly in Universities’ back office functions.

Facing increased cost pressures, there is a growing need for Universities to extend student record systems into full self-service student experience management systems, for example.  Implementations can simultaneously improve service delivery to the student population while reducing Universities’ administrative overheads.

Additional revenue streams

Facing a capped number of undergraduate places and restrictions on tuition fees, Universities have to look for additional revenue from elsewhere, notably in successful applications for research grants.

Although vital, the grant application process is typically convoluted and time-consuming, and causes further administration when a grant is made to create a live project management environment with the supporting financial information.  Grant application, general ledger and project management systems need to be integrated to streamline and support this process successfully from end-to-end.