Universities are complex institutions that balance public funding, responsible investment, and high-quality operations to support tens of thousands of students, but as operating costs escalate, funding and endowments erode, and tuition increases, TAFEs , colleges and universities are faced with the challenge: do more with less.

As such more and more of these institutions are opting to set up Shared Services Centres as a more effective and efficient means of running their operations. According to SSON data, of the 51 universities across Australia and New Zealand, 27 run Shared Services (51%). There has been significant growth in the adoption of Shared Services across universities in ANZ over the past 10 years.

Ahead of Shared Services Transformation for Higher Education 2019 we explore the growing movement toward shared services within higher education, including how the model fits within the unique mission and attributes of the higher education environment. Featuring insights and perspectives from three Australian universities, the Australian Catholic University, University of Southern Queensland, and Western Sydney University, we explore the strategies that helped them transform their shared services and allowed them to drive cost savings and operational efficiency. 

Universities are complex institutions that balance public funding, responsible investment, and high-quality operations to support tens of thousands of students, but as operating costs escalate, funding and endowments erode, and tuition increases, TAFEs , colleges and universities are faced with the challenge: do more with less.

Looking to more effectively deliver services to their 100,000 students and staff, in 2011 Melbourne based Monash University, which operates four campuses in Melbourne, as well as campuses in Italy, India and Malaysia, embarked on a shared services transformation journey.

By centralising their Human Resources, IT and Finance functions, and introducing automation elements into operations, the higher education provider is successfully reducing costs, increasing efficiency and driving operational excellence. 

Ahead of the Shared Services for Higher Education Summit 2019 we chat to Connie Mogg, Director, Research and Revenue Accounting Services at Monash University. In this article Connie explores how Monash established a centralised shared services model and delves into the benefits of investing in shared services in the higher education space.

With Monash some eight years into their shared services transformation journey Connie also shares her top tips and lessons learned from the process. 

Universities are complex institutions that balance public funding, responsible investment, and high-quality operations to support tens of thousands of students, but as operating costs escalate, funding and endowments erode, and tuition increases, TAFEs, colleges and universities are faced with the challenge: do more with less.

As a result, universities are turning their attention to transformation of their core administration functions and student facing service functions in order to streamline back office functions, improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Of the 51 universities across Australia and New Zealand, 27 run Shared Services (51%). There has been significant growth in the adoption of Shared Services across universities in ANZ over the past 10 years. Since 2014, the number of Shared Services has doubled, in fact compared to 2010, the number of SSCs has increased five-fold (SSON Network 2019).

Ahead of the Shared Services for Higher Education Summit 2019 we look at the strategies employed by five universities across the APAC region to streamline their shared services and further explore the impact these transformations are having on efficiency, operational costs and the student experience.