TechnologyOne User Group – Higher Education Panel Summary

The UK higher-education sector is no stranger to change but today, institutions face an unprecedented convergence of financial pressure, policy uncertainty, demographic shifts and transformation in student expectations. At TechnologyOne’s User Group, sector leaders gathered to confront these realities head-on under the theme “Bold Moves and Real Change.”

The panel brought together:

• Claire Taylor – Principal Consultant, SUMS
• Nick Hillman – Director, Higher Education Policy Institute
• Jo Coward – Academic Registrar, University of Hertfordshire & Vice Chair of Academic Registrars' Council
• Mel Gomes – IT Commercial Lead, Royal Holloway
• Caroline Beck – Director of Student Administration, Royal Holloway

What followed was a candid, wide-ranging discussion on policy flux, business-model evolution, student-centred design, and the cultural and organisational change required to future-proof universities.

A Sector at a Crossroads

The panel opened with the post-16 review and the government’s recent whitepaper that, according to speakers, have raised more questions than answers.

Unlike previous landmark publications, such as the legislation that created the Office for Students, this one provides no cohesive vision, instead reflecting fragmented ministerial priorities over time. Conflicting messages abound: institutions are encouraged both to specialise and to fill geographic “cold spots,” two ambitions that do not easily align.

Claire Taylor noted that while policy turbulence is not new, the urgency has escalated. Universities have spent years chasing incremental efficiencies; yet incrementalism will no longer suffice. With spiralling costs, flat income, and intensifying competition, institutions must consider whether their fundamental business models still work.

“Bold doesn’t mean tweaking,” she argued. “Bold means asking: What kind of institution do we want to be? Where do we deliver value? What are we willing to stop doing?”

Transformation in a Time of Constraint

From her vantage point, Jo Coward reflected on the long-standing challenge registrars face: delivering more value with fewer resources. But the pace and scale have accelerated dramatically.

She pointed out that many of the whitepaper’s “new” ideas, such as breakpoints in study, already exist in practice. The deeper challenge, she emphasised, is organisational agility. University structures have changed little in a century, even while expectations from students and government have transformed beyond recognition.

Crucially, universities must avoid viewing students as a monolith. Commuter students, in particular, have become a major population whose needs differ sharply from traditional cohorts. “Even within a single group like commuters,” Jo noted, “there is no single profile. We need curriculum, services and systems designed for diversity, not uniformity.”

Student-Centred Design: Lip Service vs. Reality

For Royal Holloway’s Caroline Beck, transformation starts by returning to first principles.

For two decades, she observed student experience has been a mantra across the sector, but often one defined by institutional convenience rather than genuine student need.

With AI reshaping assessment, new pedagogies emerging, and the student demographic shifting rapidly, including growth in commuting students from across Greater London, Royal Holloway has embarked on a programme of deep self-examination.

“Instead of asking ‘How do we deliver what we currently do, better?’ we’re asking ‘What do students actually need and how should we deliver that?’”

One example: moving to self-certification for extenuating circumstances, eliminating the need for medical evidence that students often cannot obtain. This required difficult conversations with academic colleagues, but represented a meaningful shift toward trust and equity.

At a larger scale, Royal Holloway has launched a major student-record transformation using TechnologyOne. Caroline emphasised that success depends not on technology alone, but on cultural discipline: “My job is to challenge every assumption. Don’t replicate old processes, start with outcomes.”

Commercial Innovation and the New Procurement Landscape

Mel Gomes provided insight into the commercial side of transformation. Royal Holloway intentionally used the new Procurement Act, PA23, to pursue a more innovative approach, selecting partners through a Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP), where the university were able to design their own procurement, enabling it to prioritise the sourcing outcomes of true SaaS accountability and risk ownership from a partner.

A key decision was requiring TechnologyOne to deliver both product and implementation, removing the traditional (and costly) third-party system integrator layer.

This commercial model creates:

• Lower risk
• Clear lines of accountability
• Greater standardisation
• Faster access to innovation
• Future-proofing through interoperability

The message was clear: bold change is not only academic or operational, it is also commercial and architectural.

Culture Change: The True Barrier and the True Opportunity

Jo returned to the theme of cultural transformation, noting that modernising a student-records system is “80% change, 20% technology.”

Real change means challenging long-held practices, job roles, and structures. And it must be driven from the top: boards and executive teams must be explicit, unified, and persistent in their expectations.

Equally important, she stressed, is that return on investment cannot be viewed purely in financial terms. Benefits include better student experience, improved data integrity, streamlined workflows, and organisational adaptability.

“People’s roles will change. Some roles may no longer exist. But we must keep our eyes on the long-term institutional vision.”

Governance and Student Voice: Leading Through Uncertainty

Nick Hillman of HEPI highlighted progress in university governance, including improved skills-based board recruitment. Yet challenges persist, particularly the limited influence of student representatives, who often serve short terms and lack deep governance support.

Claire underscored the importance of embedding student voice into every project, both in governance and design. Institutions that talk about co-production must ensure they practise it, she warned, especially in areas like timetabling where student experience is most acutely felt.

Closing Reflections: Staying True to Purpose

Panelists were united in one message: amid policy turbulence and structural uncertainty, institutions must stay anchored to their purpose.

Claire pointed to the transformative potential of AI, not only to change how services are delivered, but to redefine what higher education itself becomes.

Nick urged institutions to hold firm to their missions, rather than oscillating with every policy shift: “Policymakers come and go. Our job is to inform them, not simply receive what they hand down.”

Jo reminded the room of the civic and personal transformation universities deliver to students and communities: “This is why we work in higher education. The values that brought us here should guide us through turbulent times.”

Mel emphasised commercial courage: robust operating models, architectural discipline, and incentivising innovation through smart procurement.

Together, the panel painted a picture of a sector under pressure, but also a sector with extraordinary opportunity. For universities willing to rethink, re-design, and re-centre around the students of the future, bold moves today can create real change for the decade ahead.