The modernisation challenge: Elevating the student experience

Higher education institutions need to keep up with the evolving digital landscape to maintain student engagement from enrolment to graduation.

Hybrid-learning goes beyond making classes accessible remotely. In a digitally driven higher education landscape, students and staff expect inclusive, efficient and effective digital environments that enhance their experience.

The pandemic fast-tracked “connected campuses”, seeing higher education organisations implementing modern technologies to provide end-to-end visibility of their data and facilities, supporting an increase in data-driven decisions and improved resource allocation.

This shift can be seen in CAUDIT’s latest Top Ten report. Three themes were identified from the higher education sector’s priorities when it comes to digital transformation: deploying digital strategies, securing environments, and driving outcomes—all of which focused on delivering a seamless, simple and secure experience for students and staff.

Unpacking student expectations: A barrier to retention and success

With this rapid evolution of education delivery, both staff and students are pushing for more modern, digital experiences throughout their entire education journey.

In a survey by TechnologyOne, 68 per cent of the more than 1,000 students surveyed said that remote access to course resources and materials was paramount, while 75 per cent of students said managing enrolment and administrative experiences online was important.

With these considerations in place, the survey found that there was a dramatic increase in the number of students prepared to change their place of learning for a better technological experience.

Modernising the way institutions and providers communicate and interact with their students is key to student retention. Not only are students looking for more digitally inclined higher education institutions, but having modern technologies, like Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), in place allows universities and TAFEs to offer strong support and to spot early warning signs before struggling students risk walking away from their academic studies.

Managing the student relationship isn’t just about getting them in – it’s also about keeping them engaged. Campuses that show dedication to student wellbeing have increased academic performance, retention, and graduation rates.

Organisations that have modern systems in place not only bring in top student talent, they also attract and retain teaching and support staff, a real competitive advantage in the current skills shortages.

The struggle with legacy systems: A roadblock to modernisation

Student retention is not the only issue higher education organisations are facing by remaining on legacy systems. For students, teachers and admin staff, the requirement to be able to work anywhere, anytime and on any device went from a ‘nice-to-have' to ‘critical’.

Antiquated, disparate systems run the risk of staff working in silos and doubling up on tasks. With a connected and seamless digital experience, they can spend less time on repetitive, manual tasks, and instead use their skills for what they were intended: to add value and support students.

On top of administrative tasks, the shift to largely online learning has had a massive impact on budgets. Assets like classrooms, lecture theatres and research labs sat largely unused during the pandemic but still cost providers money in maintenance and upkeep until the time when students eventually returned.

The uncertainty surrounding policies and funding has rendered the strategic planning process, essential for any higher education institution, exceptionally challenging. Having adaptable solutions in place can help these institutions avoid operational inefficiency, lack of scalability, and security vulnerabilities.

The future-proofing dilemma: Ensuring scalable, data-driven decisions

All of this is to say that investing in modern digital infrastructure is the way forward for modern education. Campuses that have done so are showing higher student wellbeing scores as well as increased academic performance, retention, and graduation rates, which is key to universities and TAFEs’ financial sustainability.

The TechnologyOne perspective

TechnologyOne's integrated, SaaS ERP and student management solutions offer a pathway towards overcoming obstacles that higher education institutions face.

Beyond the end-user experience, SaaS provides educational institutions with more resilience, flexibility and streamlined processes, enabling them to function more effectively and take advantage of cost-effective scalability and accessibility.

By implementing SaaS, universities and TAFEs will streamline administrative processes, enhance online learning capabilities, and leverage data analytics to optimise resource allocation and student support, ultimately leading to long-term operational efficiencies and improved academic outcomes.

TechnologyOne’s homegrown solution built specifically for the education industry also offers the benefits of other innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and new generation, customer-facing technologies like TechnologyOne’s Digital Experience Platform (DXP).

TAFEs and universities that lay comprehensive modern foundations today will benefit from more efficiencies tomorrow. A strong SaaS foundation is a necessity to future-proof institutions and enhance students’ outcomes.

Find out more about TechnologyOne’s OneEducation and Student Management solutions designed specifically for Australian higher education institutions.