Top 2018 Trends in Higher Education
January 26, 2018
This article appears in the OnBase blog by Laurel Stiller
With almost one month under our belt in 2018, our Hyland Higher Education team has spotted a few industry trends that are sure to shape the year ahead. We’ve spent these last few weeks diving into our customers’ needs, our goals and the industry forces shaping both. These three categories rose to the top as our higher education trends to watch in in 2018.
1. Security
Security, security, security. I can’t say it enough. At EDUCAUSE 2017, there was a nearly unanimous conclusion that it’s not “if” an attack will hit your campus, it’s “when.” In the U.S., across industries, Bloomberg cites a 40 percent year-over year increase in data breaches in 2016, which exposed everything from social security numbers to user account log-in information. Recently, almost half the U.S. was compromised in the Equifax breach. Institutions must creatively approach security with shared CISO resources that cross institutions, vendors, institution type and state lines. We must harness our power across higher ed with collaboration on a scale we have not seen before. Here at Hyland, we are also looking ahead to GDPR compliance and multi- factor authentication.
2. Mandating digital disruption in higher ed
We have made significant progress in digital transformation across higher ed with multiple generations of ERPs, CRMs, mobile apps, portals, websites, etc. We’ve embraced the cloud and improved student service. Now CIOs must hold each other accountable to bring disruptive innovation to the tradition of higher ed. Institutions must find a new norm to live comfortably with constant change to stay adaptable to external pressures. Digital processes, by the way, are adaptable but can provide consistency. Have you really looked at your business processes lately? Do you know them as well as you know your data? Insight into those workflows is a good foundation for staying nimble.
3. The holistic student experience
We serve the student lifecycle infinitely better than before. Completion is improving and is our guiding light. But we must be thinking about the student experience outside the boundaries of our walls and portals. Transitions from high school to two-year to four-year institutions must be seamless. Online to on-premises courses must be an equal option. Artificial Intelligence to help discern how each student learns best and to adapt materials for them will prepare us for the future. Together, these forward-looking solutions will lead to the careers that students seek from their higher experience.
Our Hyland team is keeping a close eye on these three areas, and we get excited thinking about how to create solutions to important industry-wide challenges. Our goal is not only to meet the needs of our customers when it comes to security or enterprise-wide digital transformation, but to create systems for a campus of the future, giving institutions a competitive advantage in serving their students.
