Tertiary institutions keen – but many falling short on execution.
In this opinion piece, Peter Nikoletatos Industry Director – Education, TechnologyOne, and Adjunct Professor*, relays his insight into the findings of a new survey affecting tertiary education.
Digital transformation is seen as high priority by many tertiary education stakeholders – but there is still a long way to go for many who may recognise the advantages but have not yet managed to enjoy them.
That’s one of the main findings in TechnologyOne’s new Digital Transformation Index Report for Tertiary Education 2022, surveying senior executives and management within the tertiary education sector across New Zealand and Australia during August.
On one hand, the report showed a rise in awareness around the benefits of digital transformation in SaaS (software as a service). Eighty per cent of respondents placed digital transformation as a high priority – while 83 per cent had either implemented, or were in the planning stages of implementing, their digital vision.
While the value of digital transformation cannot be disputed, we know large-scale projects are not easy and this is also reflected in these latest results. Over half of the respondents (53 per cent) are struggling with resourcing to achieve their transformation ambitions, with under half (41 per cent) having the budget to support them.
This suggests a catch-22 situation where digital transformation is needed to, for example, increase enrolments and staff retention – but the strain on budgets means institutions are hesitant about an initial outlay that could bolster them financially in the long-run.
Given the level of disruption experienced by this sector in recent years (approximately 20,000 employees left the sector), institutions understand the urgency to reinvent themselves in progressive ways and retire ageing legacy systems that are a hindrance to growth.
For those institutions still labouring over the next step in transforming digitally, an understanding of the benefits of digital could be the sticking point. Almost half (47 per cent) indicate that the impact of digital change is not fully understood by staff, and 63.5 per cent say their executive team is not actively engaged in pursuing and leading transformation.
However, there are some key trends providing motivation for change. Digital transformation sits high on the agenda for leading tertiary institutions because expectations have been reset – and workplaces are finding it increasingly competitive to attract or retain employees. Graduate expectations and employee expectations have shifted.
Today, working from home or having a hybrid arrangement sits among the highest expectations of graduating students and staff. At the same time, the accelerated move toward digital transformation has also highlighted some key lessons for tertiary institutions – the largest being that no business can ignore customer experience, whether that customer is a student or a member of staff. It’s a 360-degree relationship and this has now risen to be amongst the highest priority in every conversation.
It’s exciting to note that tertiary educators are keen to up their game on staff and student experience, recognising that digital transformation is the most effective means to achieve their desired outcomes – with 81 per cent of respondents identifying the improvement of student experience as a high priority. Meanwhile 76 per cent cite increased productivity of employees as either high or a medium priority for advancing to digital.
Built-for-purpose, secure and reliable digital transformation – extending from back-end processes right through to front-end engagement – is now emerging as the most powerful way to attract both staff and students in a competitive tertiary education landscape.
Our value proposition is simple – enter the data once and we ensure our business processes optimise the way this data is stored and used and, most importantly, presented to the end user. The frustration many staff and students have is entering the same data multiple times across a myriad of systems. A fully integrated platform removes that need.
This means making administration far easier on all levels for internal and external stakeholders – with an intuitive user-interface people actually enjoy using. Institutions we work with who have taken this digital step have a distinct competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining students and staff.
For students, introduction of mobile apps and self-service online options are key components of an enhanced experience. The survey shows 64 per cent of respondents have either implemented, or are planning to implement, mobile apps for students. A healthier figure of 86 per cent have either implemented, or are planning to implement, self-service online options for their students.
Given proper transformation requires a whole-of-organisation approach, these results indicate that the sector could benefit from educating itself further about digital transformation and different ways to realise it. That way, a transformation strategy with all stakeholders engaged and on board can be successfully implemented.
Even those institutions at an advanced stage in their digital transformation journey understand that continual improvement is an important part of any digital strategy. Leading institutions see digital transformation as not just as a project-based initiative but incorporated into the ongoing digital vision of their institution.
All institutions sitting in the “best-in-class” quadrant of this survey host core systems (finance, HR, research management, student management facilities, asset management, etc) within SaaS. They use digital transformation to improve student experience, increase enrolments and boost employee productivity. They also have an engaged executive team leading the transformation process.
Cybersecurity has emerged as a key concern in the survey – 95 per cent have enterprise risk management strategies that include cyber security controls, given the rising volume in data security breaches since the pandemic. However, a large number of institutions (71 per cent) are resourcing cybersecurity internally, despite best-in-class institutions recognising it is far more resource-, security- and cost-effective to leverage cybersecurity expertise and scale from specialist SaaS providers.
As the tertiary education sector emerges from a difficult period, we’re seeing a decisive push for institutions to become more digitally progressive. Such a trend means we anticipate even greater digital maturity and transformation in the sector with next year’s report.
Download the full report www.technologyonecorp.com
*Peter Nikoletatos is Adjunct Professor - Computer Sciences and IT, La Trobe University.