Global Mobility Tour
The inaugural TechnologyOne Global Mobility Program focused on the student experience and examined the way higher education providers are driving digital transformation on their campuses.
Digitisation
by degreesHow the world’s leading universities exert a balance of technology transformation and human connection to deliver a pathway for success.
In November 2019, TechnologyOne hosted its inaugural Global Mobility Program, providing our UK customers with an opportunity to visit top Australian tertiary institutions to see how they are transforming their businesses to improve the student experience. As part of this program, TechnologyOne hosted a roundtable with leading universities across Australia and the UK where the discussion found that ‘technology for technology’s sake’ is not widely employed by institutions across Australia and the United Kingdom. Human involvement is still recognised as vital to the provision of an optimal student experience and for many, the key lies in doing more with less.
Whereas some industry sectors and transaction types lend themselves to a completely digital framework, higher education still benefits from personal interaction throughout the entire student lifecycle. Some transactions require virtually no human connection to facilitate – buying an insurance policy online, for example, is a straightforward exercise requiring little extra input beyond responses to routine questions. When further assistance is needed, a chat bot can generally provide guidance and keep the process moving along to conclusion.
Higher education doesn’t quite work that way. While significant efficiency improvements are realised through application of technology in student management systems, most universities still recognise the value of leaving room in the chain for some human interaction.
The key to success, according to our roundtable participants, is harnessing the power of the vast amounts of data provided by an enterprise software solution and utilising it effectively.
For many, this means using data to determine what information empowers institutions to provide better support through clear understanding of each student’s requirements. From an IT perspective, the data is the enabler, with a human element remaining critical in pulling the threads together to coherently apply these learnings in a way that delivers an engaging student experience.
Humans are, by nature, social beings, so it’s not surprising that on-campus learning remains a favoured delivery model, despite the universal availability of fast internet. With the whole-life student experience in mind, institutions uniformly seek to find the balance between the human and digital experience.
The relationship between learner and institution extends beyond a smooth administrative process brought about by effective technology implementation. It equally involves one-on-one engagement with peers and teachers – by utilising available data to inform the best path forward for each student. That process begins long before classes have started, thanks to a solid technology foundation. Higher education is a journey, with the ultimate endpoint being successful employment in a chosen field. A continued focus on human interaction at the university level better positions students to cope in the real world once they’ve graduated, something the sector sees as a crucial element in the overall learning experience.
Beyond universal availability of course resources and materials, today’s students demand uniformity across all course touch points and interactions. Investment in technologies that foster a consistent experience throughout the entire student lifecycle will better position institutions to attract, retain and ultimately deliver on their desire to offer the best possible student outcomes.
The inaugural TechnologyOne Global Mobility Program focused on the student experience and examined the way higher education providers are driving digital transformation on their campuses.