The 2018 TDX Higher Ed Pulse Study is Here and This is What We Learned

For the third year in a row, the issue of resources constraints (at 47%) continues to top the list of key challenges for 2018 among Higher Ed IT professionals by a sizeable margin. To show just how prevalent this issue is across the board, the second-highest vote getter—IT security and compliance—came in at a distant 13%.

So, if participants have been singing the same tune for three years, there’s nothing new to learn, right?

As it turns out—no. What we’re starting to see in this year’s survey is a shift to more of a holistic approach that’s geared toward campus-wide efficiency and an improved student experience.

What’s New in 2018

Higher Ed IT departments are struggling with limited resources and the pressure continues to mount with a constant influx of new users (i.e., students, faculty, and staff) expecting a seamless technology experience. However, there is good news for colleges and universities looking for answers—resources can be better optimized by bringing service management and projects together.

Key Findings

After a close examination the responses, these three key findings emerged as this year’s top trends:

• 45% of study participants have an initiative to roll out one service platform across the entire campus, including IT, Facilities, Residential Life, Human Resources, and more.
• Managing projects and specific work requests will no longer be done in isolation as 50% of the participants are bringing project portfolio management and service management together on one platform.
• Student portals were given 2.77 stars out of 5; areas identified for improvement include better workflow and automation behind the portal as well, as using one portal across campus.

While much of the focus of resource optimization tends to fall squarely on IT, the full extent of the issue extends across the campus and ultimately impacts the day-to-day experience of every student. And even though each department has its own clear set of priorities and responsibilities—and sometimes even its own language—the important thing to understand is that from a student’s perspective, each of these department exists to provide a specific service to them individually as well as to the school community at large. And through that lens, institutions that take a holistic approach to resource optimization by unifying service and project management have the greatest chance of success.

The 2018 TDX Higher Ed Pulse Study is now available and you can get your copy here!