Technology has permeated nearly every aspect of higher education. From online or hybrid class offerings to full-fledged online degree programs and even educational apps that enhance classroom learning, students, faculty, and staff are all familiar with technology’s increasing role in higher education.
Some reports suggest that up to 50% of all campus-based colleges and universities will either merge or close within the next 10 years due to increasing financial pressure and the role that technology plays in higher education.
Given the significance of this prediction, let’s take a look at what roles technology plays in higher education business auxiliary services and how it could affect our industry’s future.
The Business of Higher Education
Although the central tenet of higher education is just that—education—institutions must also contend with successfully running a business. “Business” in higher education refers to all areas that are not specifically related to academics, including auxiliary services, human resources, and IT, among many others.
While technology is already transforming student and faculty experience through online education, it also “…holds untold potential to transform higher education by introducing significant efficiencies and dramatic cost reductions in serving students,” the report states.
Overcoming Resistance
Of course, any mention of modern technology likely stokes the fear of spending a lot of money. However, technology—in particular, cloud computing in the business side of higher education—doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive, especially if we consider what role it will play in this “business.”
But another, perhaps bigger, hurdle to implementing technology in higher education is resistance from staff members who have been keeping track of information, data, and files a certain way for years and are unwilling to learn new technologies that may in fact make their lives easier. In this case, we recommend showing staff members how easy it will be to track data, increase revenues, and cut business costs if they adopt new technologies in the workplace and embrace—rather than reject—the changing scene of higher education.
Final Thoughts
By reducing business auxiliary service costs through more easily gleaned quantifiable data and insights into how higher education runs, your institution will undoubtedly see a reduction in tuition and, thus, an improvement in student satisfaction, retention, and success. However, this can only be achieved if institutions embrace technology and improve the way they run their business.
RevenueVision is a financial and operational management platform designed specifically to improve revenues, reduce costs, and optimize performance for auxiliary businesses in higher education. RevenueVision allows you to blend data from diverse sources and manage partners and contracts to make informed, proactive decisions about your auxiliary operations. Using the RevenueVision data platform, you can produce the analyses and forecasts needed to improve your operations and your bottom line.
Contact us today for more information about our services.
