Change is coming, whether higher education likes it or not

Nearly 20 years ago, Tom Coates, an early adopter of the internet at the BBC, wrote about media companies who were terrified that broadband might kill linear TV. He compared the reaction to their plight to people being pursued by a giant snail. Doom was inching ever closer, yet their feet remained pinned to the floor. Rather than make any movement, there was a lot of shouting. Still the snail advanced. We can all see how that’s turning out for linear TV. 

When it comes to the digital transformation of higher education, there is widespread agreement that universities must adapt, bringing in the skills and technologies needed to thrive in an era of mass online learning and artificial intelligence. With a handful of notable exceptions, however, the sector seems to find it hard to translate those words into tangible, radical change. 

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Universities are institutions where multidisciplinarity, experimentation and optimising for learning are deeply embedded. Yet that isn’t always the case when it comes to the fabric of the organisation itself. There are good reasons for that. The substrates of old IT systems, ropey data and steering committees create friction, a problem far from unique to universities. A cultural gap between academics and professional services can mean a lack of trust on both sides. And higher education also faces a real and growing cybersecurity threat. Building a shining city on a hill when foundations are rocky is not straightforward. 

Yet however formidable the challenge, the giant snail is not going away. There are practical, tangible ways for universities to make headway and build momentum with their digital transformation. 

Switch your mindset

Delivering the benefits of digital transformation requires a change of mindset. Organisations built before the internet best navigate this disruption when they fundamentally change how they think about technology. 

Rather than starting with business requirements, successful examples began by establishing what users – students, staff, alumni – need through data and qualitative research. All universities must meet two different types of need: transactional (“submit an assignment”) and advisory (“prepare for remote learning”). 

A new mindset goes beyond just thinking differently about services. Instead of building everything upfront and launching to an unsuspecting audience, successful efforts employ a test-and-learn approach. This means starting small, building prototypes, gathering feedback – and repeating that cycle. Instead of the burden falling on the IT team, delivering services is a multidisciplinary endeavour, often requiring the incorporation of new skills into the mix. 

Rather than layers of governance boards checking in on deliverables, leaders set outcomes, track the data that indicates progress and work to remove blockers to momentum. If an organisation as complex as the government can pull this off during a crisis in teams like the Covid Vaccine Taskforce, so can others.

Lead from the front

Create clear, accountable leadership roles for the services that matter most to users. Responsibility for services often seems either distributed across multiple individuals, or focused at senior executive level far away from day-to-day delivery. Identifying service owners and empowering them to lead improvements makes ownership clearer, speeding up decision-making and turning the focus to what users are asking for, rather than the institution talking to itself. 

The Open University recently appointed Nick Macarte as the first service owner for their enrolment service. His goal is to radically simplify student enrolment by spotting and removing friction for those going through the process. Early on, he learned the importance of prioritisation, stating, “It’s the first time there’s been a single point of accountability for the enrolment service. We’ve worked hard to set focus and priorities, based on understanding the needs of our students. This allows us to be clear about what changes we will make now and what will come later.”

Live the change

Another crucial trick of digital transformation is to show, not tell. Many will be fed up with promises of technology-enabled change that never seem to amount to much. Winning the argument for this kind of change on paper with abstract arguments and business cases can only take you so far. Pick one or two simple but highly visible exemplar services to change – like “find a bursary” or “attend an open day” – and demonstrate what you mean by new ways of working by living them. Build prototypes. Record people’s reactions. Show stakeholders how much change you can make in a couple of weeks. By doing so, you quickly uncover the longer-term structural changes – to legacy technology, data and processes – the institution needs to secure bigger prizes. 

Collaborate to innovate

No institution is alone in facing these problems. As Professor Mark Thompson pointed out at the THE Digital Universities conference in April, there is a compelling logic for the sector to work more closely together to address common challenges. Higher education institutions usually require the same components of digital services – systems for taking payment, for example – where there is no competitive advantage to be gained from building one’s own. Collaborating on developing and running these utilities could save institutions time to focus more on what makes them unique, while saving money. 

Higher education faces a tough time on several fronts. Among them, the giant snail of digital disruption will continue to advance. Best start moving.

Andrew Greenaway is managing director of Public Digital and an independent member of council at the University of Exeter.

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