What Is a Higher Education Software System?
Although educational institutions use a variety of software and technologies,higher education softwaretypically refers to higher education information systems or student information systems, which are programs that help educational institutions manage data and processes related to the students’ educational journey: admission, enrollment, academic records, academic advising, curriculum management, financial aid, and more.
Here’s another way to think about it: companies have a human resource (HR) system to manage a worker’s“employee lifecycle,”which encompasses processes such as hiring, onboarding, skills development, and more. Likewise, colleges and universities also need a system to manage the end-to-end educational journey for students—from recruiting and admission to graduation and beyond.
Most of the software systems at educational institutions were installed before email, social media, and the internet were anywhere close to mainstream, so institutions have continually been updating higher education software platforms to integrate with the latest technologies. But these often patchwork, hybrid systems are especially under pressure given the changing needs of students, who bring an average of seven connected devices to campus with them, and new modes of education, including morepersonalized learningand online learning.
As learning trends and student demographics continue to shift, schools will increasingly look to engage with students throughout their entire academic career, and to have access to information to help match students with courses, co-curricular activities, advisors, mentors, and more. A seamless student experience is the best student experience, and with all data in one place, institutions and students can unlock insights when and where they need them.
Ultimately,higher education softwaremust foster student success. To do that, administrators, faculty, and students need a system that is as intuitive and easy-to-use as the other technologies they use in their daily lives.