Debt, drinking, late nights and studying are traditionally all words synonymous with university, but, whether we like it or not, changes are taking place across the higher education sector that will ensure that words like profit and business are also included alongside the aforementioned.
Legislation means that universities in England can charge up to £9,000 in tuition fees to students, and with this freedom to charge will come a fresh war for talent. But what does this mean for the rest of the higher education sector? With rising costs, there is every chance that families will be priced out of the university option and instead will opt for college to educate their children and prepare them for the world of work.
And, for colleges, there has never been a greater need for efficiency and effective marketing to ensure that the maximum return is squeezed from the new university rules, because this could be a golden opportunity.
Dave Evans, commercial director at training management software provider accessplanit, explains: “There is certainly a new window of opportunity for colleges now that the operation of universities has been transformed by this new legislation. Colleges need to gear themselves up for a battle, they will need to be able to compete for the best talent leaving schools, and to do that they need to make they are as efficient as possible.”
Technology has a role to play, and colleges not implementing the most basic of IT-based platforms to market, manage and report on their courses, are missing a trick. One such technological advance that no college should be without is connected to the thankless task of administration.
Now is the time for colleges to be competing for the surplus talent, the students that cannot afford university fees but are keen to learn and can boost college ratings with good results. Software today allows colleges to streamline administration tasks, reduce the manpower traditionally associated with data entry and then free up employee time to concentrate on generating interest around courses and boosting college profile.
Software advances have also taken the hassle out of booking individuals onto courses, and this is something that traditionally has been slow and cumbersome. But thankfully for colleges, the days of keying in details for each student are gone, this can all be automated at the touch of a button, and again such technology frees up the college employees to concentrate to bringing in the top students.
“This is a critical time for colleges, employees and senior management do not need to be wasting their time taking student bookings over the phone then keying in data. Today all of this can be automated,” adds Evans.
Clearly colleges are entering into a period of huge potential, those that have built a robust and efficient system via the latest technological advances are the most likely to benefit. Those keen to follow a more traditional route, may well find themselves overlooked as students hunt for the best post-school options.