3 approaches for transforming higher education

Many higher education institutions are under pressure, with nearly half (44%) reporting continuously low or decreasing funding between 2019 and 2024, according to the European University Association. This is forcing institutions to find new ways to differentiate themselves and sustain growth.

Technology is transforming higher education by elevating the employee experience, strengthening operations, and improving student outcomes. Progress in these areas can unlock a more connected and competitive future for universities and colleges.

How are institutions making this transformation happen? Let’s look at three ways universities and colleges are revamping higher education, based on insights from the Public Services Forum in London.

1. Revolutionising employees’ work

A UK university noticed that its faculty and staff spent too many hours navigating disparate systems and data sources. Leaders implemented a digital portal using ServiceNow^® Employee Centre to streamline employee access to internal services and information.

By creating a single pane of glass for employee services, the university is accelerating access to knowledge, enabling effective communication, and connecting the entire tech ecosystem through seamless integrations.

The portal delivers:

• An AI-powered chatbot that searches the university’s website and knowledge base articles to provide quick answers to common questions
• A central destination to raise requests, log incidents, and find apps that support working life
• Personalised news and service recommendations
• Integration with collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams

The university is reaping productivity benefits. The project team tracked traditional user journeys—such as finding a system or knowledge base article through internal communications channels—and recorded faster completion times, showing a clear return on investment.

Each simplified interaction gives the university’s workforce more time to focus on the high-value activities that matter most, such as supporting students struggling with learning.

2. Strengthening business processes

A lack of visibility into IT assets created challenges for an international university with campuses in the UK and the Middle East. Decentralised budgets obscured where investments were needed, and limited data made it difficult to track which assets required replacing, and when.

Teams would spend weeks trawling datasets for answers. Many assets were missing, resulting in productivity losses and unnecessary spending.

The university implemented a robust IT Asset Management solution on the ServiceNow AI Platform. Since the university was already using ServiceNow for IT Service Management, it had a development team and product owner in place to manage new workflows, and staff were familiar with the user experience.

A third party, recommended by ServiceNow, cleaned the university’s data and helped the development team build a minimum viable product for asset management.

While the final product is still in development, the university can already locate devices easily and generate fast, accurate reports on everything from warranties to software licences. It’s providing the data needed for better budget management and long-term planning.

3. Enhancing student admissions

A world-renowned arts college wanted to improve its admissions process to attract top talent. Inconsistent communications and arduous manual processes created a poor experience for applicants and data management challenges for employees.

Rather than buying an off-the-shelf system, the college used ServiceNow Customer Service Management and workflow automation to build an end-to-end service layer on top of its existing student record system. It’s a one-stop shop for student services where applicants can find portfolio submission tools, real-time application updates, and financial advice.

The new system streamlines operations for the admissions team. It triggers automated internal record updates and emails to support planning and communication.

A real-time internal dashboard keeps employees informed about how applications are progressing and helps identify bottlenecks in the process, such as portfolios getting stuck in academic review. Staff can quickly understand where applicants need more support, accelerating offer delivery.

Employees also have access to live data to inform decision-making. For example, the admissions team can track which model of enrolment the college will achieve ahead of time. The system enables leaders to know whether they’ll need to adjust budgets for the next academic year based on student numbers.

These just a few examples of how technology is transforming higher education. Find out how ServiceNow can help you enhance experiences for students, faculty, and staff.