Being digital first with a robust digital journey is more than just a competitive advantage for educational institutions – it’s fundamental. The diversity of the user base, IT budget restrictions, along with an absolute need for frictionless flow throughout services calls for a well thought out identity and access management (IAM) solution. Here is how higher education should take advantage of digital transformation with IAM.

Dynamic identity lifecycle management

Educational institutes have many different groups with different roles going through their various systems.

  • Students – from enrolment, to student lifecycle, all the way to becoming an alumnus
  • Staff – regular staff accessing systems based on roles
  • Visitors – visiting lecturers and students, short-term international students, contractors with the need of temporary access rights

Managing these identities without a dynamic identity management solution means time wasted on repetitive operational tasks, can cause serious delays with enrolling new faculty or students, and ultimately leads to a poor user experience. A good identity management solution simplifies creation, migration and storage of these user identities and ensures a frictionless, any-time, any-place journey throughout their identity lifecycle.

Cut down costs with good user experience

As well as various user groups, higher education institutes typically have various services. By enabling single sign-on (SSO), users can benefit from simplified login using one identity to all digital services and applications – which would otherwise call for admin-heavy tasks, draining IT support resources. By allowing the end user to manage their own accounts and resolve issues themselves, such as passwords or ID management through self-service, the whole process is even more quick and user-friendly. Giving the power to the end user, institutions are able to reduce operational costs significantly while increasing overall user satisfaction.

Robust security

Security issues, such as data breaches, are becoming more common every day. Higher education institutes are processing a lot of personally identifiable information (PII), which calls for solid security measures. Developing a security strategy based on capabilities such as identity verification, multi-factor authentication and delegated authority prevents security threats and helps to deal with security challenges effectively. A good identity management solution makes sure your users are who they say they are and that they have the right access to authorised services.

Future-proof operations

Attracting new students and maintaining the quality and growth in use of digital services affordably is a key part of the competition for higher education institutions. As budgets and resources are being constrained unceasingly, the demand for online services is growing fast – especially due to the pandemic. Having a digital-first mindset not only solves budgeting issues by cutting down unnecessary costs, but can make your institution competitive by appealing to tech-savvy students. Enriching educational life online with good identity management and having a truly secure, modern online experience is not a “nice to have”, it’s a must have and makes your digitalisation project sustainably future-proof. Digitalisation can help you to place first in the competition.  

Start your digital transformation

Higher education institutes are facing many challenges that can be solved with proper IAM solution. (See this blog from Intragen: 5 IAM Challenges in Higher Education). Being digital-first has always been a competitive advantage but now it is the key to business success. Ubisecure has almost two decades of experience in delivering proven digital ecosystems and we’ve helped higher education institutions take full advantage of digitalisation through our Identity Platform.

 

WEBINAR: The Value of Identity and Access Management in Higher Education. Learn how IAM can accelerate digital transformation in Higher Education. March 11th 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM EET. Register now!