Community: a conduit for transformative change in higher education

Key takeaways

• When like-minded people start connecting, collaborating and sharing, that’s the real power of community
• Ellucian’s deep-rooted knowledge and expertise in higher ed means we can guide our customers and recommend new approaches and ways of tackling challenges
• Different regions have their unique challenges and opportunities, but one thing remains constant—our commitment to community

If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that community endures no matter the struggles we face. It’s through shared experiences, shared triumphs and shared goals where we experience true growth, whilst feeding the need to be part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s why nurturing community is a critical part of the way we operate at Ellucian—and it all begins with our people.

We spoke to our regional leaders in Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions to learn more about how they are continuing to support the higher education community while fostering innovation. Darren Hunt, SVP and Managing Director EMEA and APAC, explains the value Ellucian places on community and how this approach helps drive transformative change for our customers:

“We’ve recently expanded our leadership team to welcome Matt Searles, Europe Senior Director, and Ashlee McCusker, APAC Senior Director. Together with Debbie Kirkham, Middle East Senior Director, the team brings a collective 50 years of experience in the higher education sector to Ellucian, ensuring we continue to act as a trusted advisor for institutions across the regions.”

“With the team’s expertise deeply rooted in higher education, we’re able to continue pushing the boundaries of the community and help our partner institutions reach their goals.”

Community First

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
–John Donne, poet

Perhaps particularly relevant today when much of the world has been forced into some level of isolation, John Donne’s words still resonate 400 years on. Developing a strong community isn’t something that happens overnight—it’s a collective effort. The most important part of what makes a community thrive is passion—a drive to learn more and make a difference.

Matt Searles explains, “Fostering community is more than having structures in place for group discussions and engagement—it’s about the attitudes of the people you surround yourself with. At Ellucian, most of the people in the business have worked in the higher education sector long term. They’re looking to make a difference to the sector. And that, for me, is at the heart of what makes our approach to community effective.”

A strong community is built on the people within that collective, which is critical for Ashlee McCusker.

Ashlee comments, “Taking care of people first, for me, is what makes the difference when it comes to creating a community. When we’re talking to our customers, whether it’s just to reach out and see how they are coping in the current COVID-19 pandemic or to support with a technical query, simply being there and checking in is what drives a sense of community. It’s through having those conversations that we can truly support our customers in working towards their institutional goals.”

Ensuring ongoing collaboration

Creating collaborative spaces for sharing stories and learning how others in higher education have implemented new digital strategies has been key for us to help our customers grow. Ellucian’s Customer Centre, an online platform for knowledge sharing, is a place for our customers to bounce ideas off each other and learn how they have approached or tackled challenges.

Debbie Kirkham explains, “When like-minded people and institutions start connecting, collaborating and sharing—that’s the real power of the community. Our Customer Centre enables our customers to hear from each other on how they are implementing cloud technology at their institution, sharing best practices and how they’re making the most out of their technology investments.

“Being part of this community also means we can respond to business challenges with solutions that truly add value. Our Research & Development team participates in conversations in the Customer Centre to ensure that new releases consider the challenges of our customers—and you can’t get that level of detail without collaborative, community-based discussions.”

These opportunities to share stories and learn from experiences are a key part of creating community, but it’s the relationships formed that ensure the community endures.

Ashlee comments, “With many of our customers working in small teams at their institutions, we’ve found that some simply want the chance to engage with their peers. At Ellucian, we run a number of user groups that are customer-led. While we participate in these user groups, they are a space for our customers to connect, learn from one another and share best practices.

“Being involved in these discussions means we are ideally placed to support our customers as trusted advisors, as they look to tackle their own challenges, harnessing the collaborative recommendations of their peers.”

Strategic partnerships for transformational change

Ellucian focuses on strategic partnerships with customers and with our partner eco-system. It enables us to tap into our higher education background and deep understanding of each regional market to lead our customers as they embark on transformative change.

In the Middle East, for example, where change in the higher education sector is happening at a rapid pace, our strategic partnership approach has led partner institutions to look to Ellucian for support in what the next step change should be.

Debbie comments, “Over the past 20 years, we’ve leveraged our knowledge of the educational and socio-economic goals in the Middle East. This means we’re able to support our customers in aligning their development aims and growth targets in tandem with regional transformation initiatives. It’s this strategic approach that enables us to truly act as an advisor, not just a software provider. This has proved truly invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting our customers through these changing and challenging times.”

In addition to aligning with regional transformation initiatives, Ellucian’s leading position in the global higher education community means we’re well placed to focus on business outcomes for the institutions we partner with.

Matt explains, “Our team has extensive and diverse higher education expertise, either from having worked with a number of leading institutions or joining Ellucian from the institutions themselves. This means we understand the key characteristics of our higher education customers and the business outcomes they’re looking for. Furthermore, with our knowledge and expertise we can guide our customers and recommend new approaches or new ways of tackling a problem collaboratively.”

Culture is queen

If data is king, culture is queen. As a technology business, data is integral to what we do—day in, day out. But how we use data to support transformational change for our customers is through our deep-rooted understanding of higher education, our appreciation of culture and how it manifests in the different regions in which we operate. Through ensuring our regional teams have diverse cultural backgrounds that are reflected in the institutions we work with—and by taking the time to understand not just the business needs of our customers but their cultural needs, too—we’re able to act as a trusted advisor.

One of the main areas of higher education where culture plays a vital role is in change—how change happens and how it differs region to region. As COVID-19 continues to impact higher education, our leaders are seeing institutions in their regions adapt and change in different ways.

Matt comments, “Universities in the UK traditionally didn’t compete, but as the higher education sector has evolved, they now do, but they still cooperate with each other. This climate of co-opetition creates an ideal space for growth and adoption of technology in the sector, and it drives real change in the way universities operate in the region. However, it’s key that we recognise the competitive nature of institutions in the UK when engaging with our customers so we can help them in making contributions to the sector and society more broadly.”

In Australia, institutions are looking at who their student-mix is, and how they can adapt processes in line with their changing demographics.

Ashlee explains, “We’ve seen in Australia that the period of lock-down has meant there’s a large group of individuals looking to use their downtime to re-educate and upskill, and universities are responding. These institutions are now providing shorter courses, aimed at post-grads, reacting in a short space of time to the changing market. It’s critical that when responding quickly to such changes that we’re in a position to support, pivoting with the needs of our customers as they change.”

Whilst the higher education sector in Australia adapts it’s approaches to student intake, in the Middle East, the requirement for adaptability is more or less a constant.

Debbie comments, “In the Middle East, there have been huge investments in education over the past 20 years, due to the young population and countries like Saudi Arabia where women are now becoming empowered to get higher education when previously it wasn’t possible. The next 10 years look to be equally transformative. So, the education system of today in the Middle East will likely look vastly different by the end of the next decade.

“Being able to tap into regional changes at a cultural level is absolutely critical in order for us as a business to support our customers. Change is happening at such a rate; our solutions need to be just as flexible.”

Together we thrive

Darren concludes, “While we operate across multiple regions, each with their unique challenges and opportunities, one thing remains constant—our commitment to community. From encouraging collaboration and focusing on strategic partnerships, to keeping a finger on the pulse of cultural nuances, it’s this constant focus on people that enables Ellucian to drive change for our customers.”

To learn more about how Ellucian is working with institutions to drive transformative change in the higher education sector, join our global community of experts, users and partners at Ellucian Live Online 2020. You can connect virtually with your peers through chats, forums, one-to-one and small group meetings. Fostering relationships has never been more important. Find out more and join our community here.

To stay connected, contact us at [email protected].