For digital transformation success, start with a digital strategy that advances the university mission

Higher education’s appetite for digital transformation has grown significantly in the past few years. Help desk chatbots and app-based digital assistants have become commonplace as institutions look to boost efficiency and meet the digital expectations of students and staff alike.

The shift to widespread virtual instruction and operations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic underscores that digital transformation is no longer a luxury but a necessity for business continuity. Institutional leaders who had not made necessary investments find themselves asking: where do I begin, and do I need a ‘digital strategy’?

The answer is yes.

Institutions must build more digital dexterity into their organisational structure—and the best place to start is by creating a plan. To ensure your digital strategy actually drives change rather than gathering dust on a shelf, it must focus on problem-solving innovations in service of the university mission. It should be rooted in business needs rather than the latest-and-greatest vendor pitches. Keep in mind the following rules of thumb about what makes a digital strategy.

What a digital strategy is not

• Technology-centric
• Purely aspirational
• A static document revisited only every 3-5 years
• An IT department strategy recast as ‘digital’

What a digital strategy is

• Customer-centric
• Action-oriented
• A living document, regularly reviewed and revised
• Malleable in structure to serve campus-specific needs

A digital strategy is not an IT department strategy that has been renamed ‘digital’. While IT strategy is about infrastructure service, cybersecurity, and systems, digital strategy is about business, value, and the customer.

Digital strategy: form versus function

Effective digital strategies vary in form across the higher education sector. They tend to be either standalone visions of digital transformation for the entire institution or folded into traditional strategic planning documents. And they can reflect either institution-wide goals or those of a particular department or division. An institution’s culture and appetite for digital change will impact both variables.

Standalone strategy…or not

In a standalone digital strategy, the focus is tightly scoped to the university’s vision for transforming the organisation with digital tools and technologies. A standalone strategy tends to be shorter and can be developed more quickly than a generic university strategic plan. The biggest downside of the standalone format is ‘strategy fatigue’, a problem when an institution pursues multiple—and in the worst case, contradictory—strategies.

Other universities embed digital ambitions directly into the holistic institutional strategic plan. This approach ensures the digital agenda is closely aligned with the overall university’s mission and goals. However, given the usual trajectory of institution-wide strategic plans, the digital component can suffer from both scope creep and a lack of specific next-steps.

Institution-wide…or not

Universities looking to signal a serious intent to transform the organisation with digital solutions may lay out institution-wide digital strategies. This approach prompts leaders at the highest level of governance to agree on priorities in a world of limited time and resources. It also forces conversations about student and staff experiences and journeys that cut across any one budgetary or managerial silo.

In other cases, such as when appetite for digital change may be distributed unevenly across campus, institutions have chosen to target digital strategies in specific departments or areas of focus, like Teaching & Learning or Recruitment & Enrolment. The tighter scope can help fast-track the strategy and subsequent action planning by setting out very specific objectives to achieve and investments to justify.

Hallmarks of effective digital strategies

Regardless of format, a digital strategy is only as transformational as it is actionable. In developing the strategy, focus on the goals it seeks to accomplish. To help you get started, make sure your digital strategy reflects five key hallmarks of those that are most effective:

1. Bold, future-oriented goals foreground the university mission

Does your digital strategy include details that allow you to complete these sentences:

• By 2025 our students and staff will __________________?
• By 2025 our professional services operations will __________________?
• By 2025 our University will be known for __________________?

2. Academic and operational outcomes, not vendor contracts, herald success

Does your digital strategy:

• Foreground institution-specific business needs, challenges, and goals?
• Cast a vision for a transformed future state, even if references to specific technologies are removed?
• Include only those technologies that solve for an institutional problem or fulfil a specific institutional goal?

3. KPIs and milestones stake out a roadmap for transformation

Does your digital strategy include the following:

• List of resources required to meet individual goals?
• List of teams or staff accountable for each action item?
• List of metrics and KPIs to track and review on a regular basis?

4. Transparency and inclusivity are hardwired to promote campus engagement

Does your digital strategy:

• List a cross-section of campus stakeholders to be engaged in the process of implementing the strategy (e.g., deans, administrators, academics, IT staff, students)?
• Outline the timeline and responsible parties for key phases of strategy development and execution?
• Encourage regular feedback and engagement in a variety of online and face-to-face channels, with plans to regularly communicate progress and update the strategy on an ongoing basis?

5. Training and education facilitate cultural change and technology adoption

Does your digital strategy include the following:

• A framework for prioritising digital literacy initiatives?
• Plans for educational programmes to rally constituents around a common understanding of the campus’s digital objectives?
• Plans for badges or other credentialing that recognises students and staff who complete digital training and workshops?

Digital strategy repository

While no one ‘perfect’ digital strategy exists, the table below summarises a repository of several best-of-the-best strategies that check the box on many of the hallmarks listed above. Use this guide for inspiration and suggestions on how to get your digital strategy off the ground.