Adapt, adapt, adapt. Perhaps one of the most used words by higher education educators in 2020, and it will no doubt remain on everyone’s lips well beyond this academic year. A challenge made even harder when the institution’s legacy administrative systems and operating models, far from simplifying, are teetering between over-complexity and inertia. 

In fact, the first question must be why is student engagement so important?

Well, its the lifeblood of your university. Without happy, inquisitive, thought-provoking and challenging students, a university would be a very sterile place – not conducive to learning, stifling creative thinking or crushing ambition. 

There is no doubt that the past twelve months has made everyone, regardless of sector, think on their feet and adapt to new ways of living and working. One sector that has shone throughout is Higher Education, switching their focus from centuries of face-to-face teaching to a completely digital provision within days, showing just how adaptable and resilient they are.  

Picture the scene… you have this amazing idea that you’re sure will have a huge positive impact on the way your university recruits’ students. You and your team have documented shortcomings in your current processes and the software supporting them for what seems like forever.  

The events of 2020 have rapidly shaped the way the world lives, works, and learns and getting staff and students back on campus safely is the goal for universities everywhere. Never before have any of us faced such a challenge - knowing what to do if there is a positive case and dealing with it promptly and professionally. 

How your admissions process could be affected this year

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented disruption to the academic calendar. Having faced the initial hurdles, universities across the globe are considering what the current situation means for recruitment and admissions over the summer and beyond.

How students really feel about their data

When we stop to think that every minute 450,000+ Tweets are posted; every hour 4.2 Million photos are uploaded to Instagram; and each day 2.5 Quintillion (no, not a made-up number) bytes of new data are created worldwide, we can appreciate the need to maintain order and establish security for the most sensitive forms of information.

6 key findings from ‘Education at a Glance’

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) has launched its 2019 Indicators Report, Education at a Glance.

Tribal recently held an evening of wide-ranging discussion and opinion on the state of higher education.  This included a contirbutions on how the policy framework and rapid technological change interact with each other; increasing participation levels over time; investment in the student experience; and fax machines!   

Based on the many challenges we face as a sector, we asked four colleagues for their thoughts on what higher education will look like in the future.

Does policy-making support or restrict advances in Higher Education technology?

When it comes to education, can Government policy-makers ever hope to keep up with rapid technology change? Should it even be a consideration? Does, in fact, policy-making conflict with the rapid technological advances within Higher Education?  And does either improve student success? So many questions, but do you agree with the experts on this?