Closing the Divide | Professional services and academic leaders must unite to drive change on campus
Nous Group is an international management consultancy with over 800 people working across Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. With our broad consulting capability, we can solve your most complex strategic challenges and partner with you through transformational change. Together, Nous and Cubane form one of the most authoritative higher education service businesses operating today – a true leader in higher education with global expertise.
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Nous Group Study of Higher Education Professional Services Leaders 2023
Professional services leaders are vital for academic and institutional sustainability and success. The current environment offers an opportunity for professional services in universities to better align to what the university does and to prove the value they offer. Delivering on this potential requires prioritisation and investment, sound financial management, and partnerships with academic colleagues to drive whole-of-university change.
Professional services leaders must transition from ‘riding the divide’ to ‘closing the divide’ to support their institutions through transformational change.
About the REPORT
OUR FINDINGS ARE DISTILLED INTO Six ThemeS:
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THEME 1
2
Compelled to invest
1
Hybrid is here
3
Financial unsustainability looms
70 university
operational
leaders ACROSS
CLOSE X
Hybrid is here
The days of oscillating between closing and opening campuses are finished. The new challenge for professional services leaders is to create a hybrid learning experience that brings current students back on campus and attracts new students. Leaders know that the student experience needs to be re-conceptualised using technology and innovation.
Our big priority is campus development. We have to get it right. We have to understand why students, staff and our community come to campus in a hybrid learning environment. We need to give them a reason to be on campus and not just a transactional one.
COO, Australian university
Australia
New Zealand
UK
Canada
IRELAND
Get the latest insighst from our University COO Survey report.
This report was made possible by the generous contributions of more than 80 senior professional services leaders from across Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
For this study, a survey of professional services leaders was conducted between December 2022 and February 2023. Survey results were complemented by 24 in-depth interviews. Additional insight was provided by higher education leaders from Nous and NousCubane.
Data is drawn from the surveys and interviews conducted for our 2022 study and this 2023 study. Mentions of lessons from the UniForum program (an initiative of NousCubane) and its members are based on publicly available insights and qualitative insights from Cubane. No UniForum member data was accessed or used in this study.
Haseeb Kamal
Managing Director, NousCubane Canada & USA
haseeb.kamal@nouscubane.com
Paul Taylor
PRINCIPAL, GLOBAL HEAD OF HIGHER EDUCATION
paul.taylor@nousgroup.com
AUTHORS
Additional contributions provided by Peter Green and Michael Natzler.
4
Pulled in all directions
For the 2023 study, Nous Group engaged more than 80 university professional services leaders from across Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom through surveys and interviews to understand their concerns and ambitions. In collaboration with our colleagues at NousCubane, we have distilled six themes to characterise what great university leadership teams will do next. These themes relate to professional services leader s’ priorities, challenges and enablers.
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Historically, many universities took a one-size-fits-all approach to student experience. However, our study found unequivocally that universities realise this no longer works.
They recognise that the student group is becoming more diverse, and that expectations are shifting accordingly. As a result, it is increasingly vital for universities to understand who contemporary university students are and what matters to them.
The ability to collect and analyse data and partner with students is crucial if universities are to better understand their individual and collective needs.
OBSERVATION 1
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INTRODUCTION
University leaders say they need to ‘ride the divide’ between academic and professional services teams. But as universities strive to transition back to on-campus operations and deliver compelling hybrid experiences, professional services leaders and academic leaders must close the divide to simultaneously meet rising student expectations and their universities’ financial and strategic challenges.
Download the Nous Group Study of Higher Education Professional Services Leaders
Student expectations relate not just to on-campus social activities and general wellbeing but also to what students learn, how they are supported to undertake that learning, and how they apply that learning outside university in day-to-day life and the world of work. Student experience relates to the academic experience, administration services, support services, and the level of engagement and connection the student has with the institution. It includes on-campus and online experiences.
To meet these expectations in an increasingly competitive market, many universities have sought to understand how they can deliver not just a ‘good’ experience but an ‘outstanding’ one. A university’s competitive edge will come through creating and curating a leading experience for all students.
5
4
Pulled in all directions
6
Better together
5
From support staff to professional services
6
Better together
From support staff to professional services
Haseeb Kamal
MANAGING DIRECTOR,
NOUSCubane CANADA
& USA
haseeb.kamal@nouscubane.com
Paul Taylor
PRINCIPAL, NOUS GROUP
paul.taylor@nousgroup.com
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Download the Higher Education Professional Services Leaders 2023 report
Get the latest insighst from our University COO Survey report.
On-campus student experience is top of the agenda for leaders across all regions
Priorities to achieve institutional strategic goals
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Compelled to invest
As the world moves on from the pandemic, universities find themselves at a crossroads. Initially, professional services leaders were reluctant to resume delayed capital projects due to uncertainty around classroom and office utilisation. However, with a clearer vision of post-pandemic life taking shape, they are now focusing on revitalising the campus experience to meet the digital and physical needs of a hybrid environment.
Estates and digital are the big investment priorities
VP Operations, UK university
Change in major capital investments
THEME 2
The number of leaders increasing capital investments has more than doubled from 20% in 2022 to 44% in 2023.
The % refers to the proportion of leaders describing how their major capital investments had changed over the past 12 months.
The % shown refers to the number of professional services leaders who ranked the
option in their top three priorities among 10 options.
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Financial unsustainability looms
The financial sustainability of many universities is in question and achieving sustainability will take years of intentional action. Revenue and growth are only part of the response as constrained government funding and market pressures create challenges. Leaders must constrain rising costs and drive service efficiency while supporting their academic colleagues to find creative and compelling ways to deliver online and in-person.
Professional services are willing
and ready to participate in the conversation on financial sustainability – but how prepared are other institutional leaders to actually have the conversation?
COO, Australian university
Overall financial projections compared to previous years
Leaders were asked to indicate overall how financial projections fared in comparison to previous years.
THEME 3
Leaders are projecting significantly worse financial performance this year
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Pulled in all directions
Universities are balancing social responsibility and fiscal responsibility, investing in indigenous issues, sustainability and student affordability alongside technology and digital. Professional services leaders are struggling to prioritise what really matters to core mission with what they are being asked to deliver right now.
We’re trying to do everything at the same time.
COO, UK university
THEME 4
CLOSE X
From support staff to professional services
Professional services leaders are seeking substantial change over the next five years. In pace with administration’s continued professionalisation, recruiting for key skills will enable transformation. Change management, digital and business analytics skillsets are the keys to enabling professional services to deliver.
We need to change from support services that get out of the way of academics to professional services that deliver value to the broader institution. Imagine what we could accomplish if we were working together towards the common good of the university.
VP, Canadian university
Priority skills to succeed as professional services leaders
Leaders were asked to select from the seven options the two highest priorities in their role.
THEME 5
Professional services leaders see a growing priority for in evidence-based decision-making, while the emphasis on internal engagement is reduced as pandemic pressures dissipate
We get wrapped up in the day-to-day operations and issues and lose the desire to solve transformation questions around the business model. It feels like we are waiting for a crisis to get the attention of the board, because otherwise, we are stuck.
VPFA, Canadian university
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Better together
Professional services leaders need to mobilise university support and resources around priorities. This is essential to enable excellence in student experience in a hybrid environment and attract investment in physical and digital infrastructure. Leaders’ ability to do this rests on their ability to unify stakeholders. Cross-portfolio co-leadership between operational and academic leaders is a critical enabler of institutional priorities.
Covid showed we can respond to a crisis, work across teams and cut through bureaucracy to implement change.
COO, Australian university
Attributes of a successful senior leadership team
Leaders were asked to select up to two attributes of a senior leadership team that are most important, from a list of five.
THEME 6
Leaders see a growing need to co-lead major initiatives across the academic and professional services portfolios
As the world moves on from the pandemic, universities find themselves at a crossroads. Initially, professional services leaders were reluctant to resume delayed capital projects due to uncertainty around classroom and office utilisation. However, with a clearer vision of post-pandemic life taking shape, they are now focusing on revitalising the campus experience to meet the digital and physical needs of a hybrid environment.
X
As the world moves on from the pandemic, universities find themselves at a crossroads. Initially, professional services leaders were reluctant to resume delayed capital projects due to uncertainty around classroom and office utilisation. However, with a clearer vision of post-pandemic life taking shape, they are now focusing on revitalising the campus experience to meet the digital and physical needs of a hybrid environment.
Compelled to invest
THEME 2
X
As the world moves on from the pandemic, universities find themselves at a crossroads. Initially, professional services leaders were reluctant to resume delayed capital projects due to uncertainty around classroom and office utilisation. However, with a clearer vision of post-pandemic life taking shape, they are now focusing on revitalising the campus experience to meet the digital and physical needs of a hybrid environment.
Compelled to invest
THEME 2
X
The financial sustainability of many universities is in question and achieving sustainability will take years of intentional action. Revenue and growth are only part of the response as constrained government funding and market pressures create challenges. Leaders must constrain rising costs and drive service efficiency while supporting their academic colleagues to find creative and compelling ways to deliver online and in-person.
Financial unsustainability looms
THEME 3
X
The financial sustainability of many universities is in question and achieving sustainability will take years of intentional action. Revenue and growth are only part of the response as constrained government funding and market pressures create challenges. Leaders must constrain rising costs and drive service efficiency while supporting their academic colleagues to find creative and compelling ways to deliver online and in-person.
Financial unsustainability looms
THEME 3
X
Professional services leaders are seeking substantial change over the next five years. In pace with administration’s continued professionalisation, recruiting for key skills will enable transformation. Change management, digital and business analytics skillsets are the keys to enabling professional services to deliver.
From support staff to professional services
THEME 5
2022
2023