The higher education sector has been navigating a period of immense disruption over the past five years, driven by multiple external and internal pressures. We see this both through the work we’re engaged in with universities and our long experience of working in the sector.
This has shifted the focus of what we offer to best support these challenging times for the sector. There are already lots of articles on ‘how we got here’ so instead we’re discussing what this means for university data, and how best to respond. We believe the two key data challenges are the impacts on decision making and the drive to reduce operational costs.
1. Financial Challenges & Budget Constraints
One of the most critical issues is, and will continue to be, financial sustainability. Universities have faced a decline in government funding, a fixed UK undergraduate fee and increasing operational costs, exacerbated by the long-term impacts of Brexit and COVID-19. Brexit resulted in the loss of access to EU research funding and was the catalyst for a decrease in international student enrolment, reducing income streams for many institutions. COVID-19 further deepened financial difficulties, as the sector was forced to pivot to online learning, requiring significant investment in digital infrastructure. Additionally, a post-pandemic recovery in student numbers has been slower than expected - some of that an outcome of the cost of living crisis.
Impact: These financial constraints are leading to delays in strategic initiatives and investments. Many institutions are being risk-averse with their budgets, prioritising only essential projects and cutting costs wherever possible. Universities are more focused on cost-efficiency and short-term gains.
2. Rising Operational Costs & Digital Transformation
As operational costs rise due to inflation, increased staff wages, and growing administrative complexity, universities are under pressure to do more with less. This has coincided with the rapid push toward digital transformation, accelerated by the pandemic. It is fair to say the success of these transformations is patchy at best. Still, universities are increasingly reliant on technology to manage teaching, student services, and professional services operations. However, many institutions are struggling with legacy systems and data silos, and the integration and effectiveness of new digital solutions has been uneven.
Impact: Universities are looking for consultancies that can help them optimise existing resources and develop sustainable digital strategies without requiring excessive upfront investment. Decision-makers are focused on cost-effective transformation.
3. Declining International Student Numbers & Recruitment Pressure
The pandemic disrupted student recruitment, particularly from international markets, which has traditionally been a major source of income for many UK universities. More recent government policy changes around study visas have further exacerbated the situation Additionally, student expectations have evolved, with a demand for more personalised learning experiences and digital engagement. This has forced universities to rethink their offerings and put pressure on retaining students through improved support services.
Impact: There is a focus on data-driven strategies to support student retention and recruitment efforts, with decision-makers prioritising solutions that can help predict, manage and assure student outcomes. Consultancy services that can offer insights on improving student experience and targeted recruitment are the services we’re asked about most often.
4. Regulatory Compliance
Universities must jump through a lot of hoops to show they’re following the rules, often doing much more than their usual work. Even though the Office for Students (OfS) is trying to cut down on unnecessary red tape, universities are still struggling with the sheer volume and complexity of data they need to provide. The obvious example is Data Futures which continues to be an increasing pain-point. While it aims to improve data accuracy and timeliness, it means universities need to constantly collect and validate data, adding even more to their workload.
Impact: Understanding data transformation, barriers, and enablers in regulatory returns is crucial for senior management to grasp risks around staff, compliance, funding, and reputation. This is challenging as staff often lack time to review complex data practices across university domains. Consultants can help by partnering with key staff to introduce practical data governance frameworks, easing the burden of internal and external data requests.
5. Workforce Challenges & Mental Health
The workforce in higher education has been facing increasing strain, with many universities dealing with the fallout of strikes, workload pressures, and concerns over mental health, both among staff and students. There have been numerous instances of major redundancy programmes and freezes in recruitment, leading to concerns about institutional stability and morale.
Impact: Workforce pressures make it challenging for universities to consider external consultancies, as layoffs or strained staff resources can lead to internal sensitivities about bringing in outsiders. Decision-makers may face internal pushback against hiring consultants if it is perceived that resources should be focused on preserving jobs or reducing workload. We fully understand this and have suffered similar while working in institutions ourselves.
We have responded to these challenges by focussing our services on:
Cost optimisation and efficiency. These words are often used to describe some large yet unknown cost savings in an institution that has been under heavy cost pressure for several years. Our approach is different- we know there are many manual processes and repeated data cleansing that can – with the right support and environment – be improved in a sustainable way that benefits individual teams and the wider university.
Filling in the gaps. We’re providing advice and mentorship to develop or enhance data capabilities across the institution. These span everything from best practice data collection and management through development of sophisticated MI/BI solutions. Our approach is to ensure the individuals and teams we work with are self-sustaining so not requiring long term support. Those skills we help build will help the university make better decisions using trusted data.
This is a difficult time in our sector and we’re very sensitive to the perception of bringing consultants in when there are staff redundancies and strict cost saving initiatives being embedded. In any of our engagements, our approach is to support and partner with those in post with the aim of creating actionable outputs and added transferable skills and capabilities to staff.
Connected believe in partnerships not outsourcing. We measure the success of every engagement in two ways; did we deliver an outstanding response to the agreed brief, and have we added skills and capabilities to individuals and teams? When we say “if we do this right, you won’t need us to do it again”, that is absolutely our aim.
Further we appreciate everyone is being asked to do ‘more with less’. We have significant experience in alleviating the pressure on staff by identifying (and more importantly working with you to deliver pragmatic and sustainable solutions) processes and capabilities that can operate more effectively. We do this in an open and transparent way to ensure staff are engaged and supportive of any changes recommended.
Finally, we work on fixed priced engagements. We firmly reject the ‘day rate’ model which we see as adding risk to the university with no benefit. Our proposition is if the value in our engagement outweighs the cost, then this is a far better way to make decisions on spending. We do offer flexible pricing and engagement models we can discuss with you.
If these services and our collaborative engagement approach fit the needs of your institution, please do get in touch at hello@ed-connect.co.uk. We also post best practice techniques and examples of our work on LinkedIn when we have time: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ed-connect-co-uk/
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