Sam Sanders & Ted Edmondson

27th March 2014

“Working together for a better student experience” 

2© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Sam SandersSenior Manager, KPMG

Process Improvement & Organisational Redesign

Ted EdmondsonSenior Manager, KPMG

IT Enabled Strategy & Improvement

■ Ted is a Senior Manager in KPMG’s Public Sector Consulting practice.

■ He has over 10 years experience of working with clients both in the HE and the broader public sectors, leading IT-supported transformation programmes.

■ Ted leads KPMG’s IT Transformation capability within HE

■ Sam is a Senior Manager in KPMG’s Public Sector Consulting practice.

■ He has over 10 years experience of working with public sectors clients both in the UK and Australia, delivering organisational improvement and cost optimisation projects.

■ Sam leads KPMG’s People & Change capability within Higher Education (HE)

3© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

2. Intended objectives of this session (30mins)

Objectives:

1. To provide you with one perspective on what it takes to drive-up student satisfaction, based on our experience of delivering change within the sector; and

2. Hopefully, elicit some of your views on what has (and hasn’t) worked well in your own personal experiences

1. Treat your

students like ‘customers’

2. Use your most

valuable assets to the best of their

advantage

3. Think holistically, not functionally

4. Free-up and

reinvest wasted effort

5. Performance

improvement OR cost reduction?

Both.

Our 5 key learning points:

...out of scope, academic offering

4© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

3. Context: A changing environment...

1. The sector is becoming more market driven and customer- centric

2. Fees won’t increase leading to real term reductions

3. Demand is becoming increasingly unpredictable

4. Relaxing the cap on overall numbers will increase competition

5. The sector has a high degree of fixed costs

6. There will be winners and losers

The challenge:

• Achieve more with less

• Become more adaptable and more flexible

• Become better equipped to deliver change

Institutions will need to:

• More effective use of data and technology

• Increased focus on the elimination of waste

• Clear understanding of what is ‘core’ and what is ‘non-core’ business

To achieve this there will need to be:

5© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

4. What are the main factors that influence ‘satisfaction’

Right Student

Selection

Academic reputation

Teaching quality

Academic contact

Prospects / employability

VfM

Student fees, bursaries etc.

Timetabling

Assessment & re-enrolment

Mitigating circumstances

Etc.

Removal of‘Distractions’

Pastoral Care

Counselling

Accommodation

Absence / issues monitoring

Financial concerns

Misconduct complaints

Course / discipline

School

Faculty

University

Student body

Sense of Community

Enhanced Student

Experience

... underpinning it all: engagement

6© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

Key question:

Q: How do you utilise your most valuable assets to help enhance all of these factors?

5. The key question

A: You focus on improving core business processes in order to:

• Free-up academic and professional staff time; and

• Improve, the speed quality and breadth of service delivery.

1. People 3. Technology2. Data

7© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

6. Typical challenges across the sector

Example issues identified:

• Inaccuracies in student data leading to excessive data integrity checking and manual correction

• Lack of adequate access to personal data (e.g. Student finances, module selections, outstanding library fines etc.)

• Slow and inefficient management of core student processes (e.g. Selection, enrolment, timetabling etc.)

• Lack of alignment between core induction and enrolment processes

• No joined up use of data to inform strategic reporting and decision making

• Lack of student awareness of how to access key services

• Lack of understanding of ‘customer demand’

• Delays in core selection processes such as assessment of overseas qualifications

• Inability for students to access their information from any device, anywhere

• Inability to assess the likelihood of previous study credit prior to offer acceptance

• Overly complex modular course structure, eroding a sense of ‘course community’

• Lack of sufficient accommodation for new and international students

• Overly cumbersome paper based processes for basic student admin

PPPPPPPPPPPP

1

2

3 P

8© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

People

Process-led

Active Student Engagement

Focus (80/20)

‘Bottom-up’ approach

Leadership behaviours

Evidence-based

Pace and momentum

1. People

Data

2. Data

Technology

3. Technology

7. An approach to tackling these issues

9© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

8. Example solutions and benefits

Case Study 1Metropolitan Technology

University

(Australia)

Solution:

• Redesign and simplification of student selection activity & implementation of a new centralised selection model

Benefits:

• Enhanced speed and consistency of decision-making

• Freed-up 12.1 FTE of Academic time across the University ($1.8m p/a)

• Identification of cashable savings from reduced administrative headcount ($960k p/a)

Case Study 2Large Metropolitan

University - Ongoing

(UK)

Solution:

• Redesign of student management system data structure for module and course coding

Benefits:

• Delivery of enhanced data quality through the eradication of 20+ common data errors and an anticipated reduction in unnecessary data queries of over 37,000 p/a

• Anticipated savings in terms of freed-up administrative staff time: ~170k p/a

Case Study 3Large ‘94 Group’ University

(UK)

Solution:

• Vision, design, procurement, selection and implementation of a new Virtual Learning Environment

Benefits:

• Adoption increased from 20% of academics to 80% within six weeks of go-live

• Ongoing significantly increased academic and student engagement with the VLE

• Increase in NSS scores and move up the league tables

Thank you

The information contained herein is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation.

© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

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