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There’s an entrenched contradiction at the heart of higher education: it’s all about fostering innovation, yet internal systems and processes tend to be “old-school.”
While legacy and tradition still have a place in certain aspects of university and college life, there’s no room for outdated technology. Even before 2020, the pressure was mounting on post-secondary institutions to accelerate their digital transformation and become leaner, more agile operations.
Read more: See how the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Northampton, and Florida Atlantic University are using technology to improve campus communications.
Knowledge sharing, collaboration, and communication are central to the mission of higher education. Yet the sector has lagged in implementing technologies that support and tackle these issues.
With a modern intranet in place, colleges and universities can modernize their operations. They can bring a diverse, geographically dispersed workforce – staff, instructors, researchers, and administrators – together on a single information hub that provides everything they need to work efficiently, productively, and cost-effectively.
The U.S. saw a college enrollment decline during the pandemic. Total college enrollment (undergraduate and graduate) fell 4% from fall 2019 to fall 2023, taking a financial toll on post-secondary institutions.
The sector has also become increasingly competitive. Students are demanding more value for their money, governments are tying funding to key performance indicators, and there are more options for online education outside of traditional institutions.
Almost all North American universities are over a century old – some are 300+ – so it’s no wonder they have long-standing conventions. According to the New York Times, they may be at the leading edge of research in every other field, but they’re “very risk-averse” in their own ways of doing things.
When it comes to keeping employees connected and productive, many post-secondary institutions have relied on in-person meetings and email. If they have intranets or campus apps, they’re usually extensions of campus portals with limited usability, poor functionality, and little unity across departments and divisions. The shift to remote and hybrid work forced a rapid, reactive adoption of multiple collaboration tools and unsanctioned apps.
The negative impacts of depending on old, disjointed technology in higher education include inefficient workflows, inadequate knowledge management, ineffective collaboration, weak culture and engagement and potentially exposed data.
Read more: See how the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Northampton, and Florida Atlantic University are using technology to improve campus communications.
Dropping enrollment and tense competition are pushing post-secondary institutions to reconsider how the latest technology can help them survive and thrive. One sign of this shift: more than 200 institutions now have senior roles with words such as “innovation” or “digital” in their title, such as chief innovation officer.
Like organizations across sectors and industries, many colleges and universities are using Microsoft 365 – especially SharePoint and Teams – to manage remote and hybrid work. By integrating these familiar tools in one digital workplace, users across the institution can enjoy a seamless experience that allows them to:
1. Create better workflows
Colleges and universities are large, complex organizations whose customers – students (a group that turns over every few years) – have multi-layered needs and expectations. An intranet for education speeds up workflows by connecting different tools and automating routine tasks, integrating with third-party systems such as SuccessFactors and other HR software, and guiding user experiences with AI chatbots.
2. Find and share knowledge quickly and easily
Higher education institutions are in the knowledge business, so there’s no end to the massive volume of information that needs classifying, storing, and sharing. A modern campus communication solution can help organize that knowledge while ensuring simplicity for users seeking forms, policies, guidelines, and other frequently accessed information. Advanced search capabilities allow users to find what they need fast and get back to work.
3. Collaborate at scale
Email and messaging alone aren’t up to the task of keeping large, dispersed teams connected across a post-secondary institution – whether they’re research groups analyzing reams of data or staff managing endless student documentation. A mobile campus app allows different teams and departments to create dedicated spaces where they can consolidate all their key information and events, keep conversations in context, share ideas, and generally collaborate with ease and efficiency.
4. Locate the right people and expertise
Colleges and universities have thousands of employees, often spread across different campuses, which makes it hard to keep track of who’s an expert on what subject or who manages which workflow. A modern campus communication solution takes user profiles – a critical ingredient in effective collaboration – to the next level by enabling features found in consumer apps (like LinkedIn), such as AI-powered endorsements and gamification tools.
5. Gain a sense of belonging
A modern campus communication solution has strong, built-in social capabilities to keep employees connected and engaged to their colleagues and the institutional culture. Consumer-like features empower users to publish blogs, stories, videos, images and more, while following and commenting on others.
6. Safeguard data
Post-secondary institutions are treasure troves of sensitive data, from proprietary research to students’ personal information. The right campus communication solution eliminates the need to use risky, unapproved tools, delivering the highest level of security while maintaining an intuitive user experience. Higher education is at a critical point in its long history. A modern campus communication solution enables colleges and universities to meet ever-increasing demands for 21st-century efficiency while preserving their core mission in teaching and research.
Appspace is a one-stop solution for your campus communication and campus management needs. From a secure educational intranet/app, digital signage, and a broadcasts/alerts system to a space reservation system for booking rooms and meeting spaces, Appspace has you covered.
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