The University of Sussex has partnered with enterprise software provider TechnologyOne to transform its student and academic services in a multi-million-pound deal. TechnologyOne’s Student Management Software as a Service (SaaS) solution will replace the University’s in-house student record system. 

The University launched a major programme in 2015 to transform the experience for its students before, during and after their studies. The programme will begin by modernising  its administration services with a significant investment over a three-year period. 

The University ran a structured procurement process involving a number of stakeholders from across the University to engage and assess potential suppliers of the technology aspect of the project. Following a competitive tender process, TechnologyOne was shortlisted to a final three before being selected as the University’s preferred technology supplier. 

TechnologyOne will begin working with the University in June 2017 with the first phase of the Student Management solution to be deployed in mid 2018. 

The Student Management SaaS solution delivers on the University of Sussex’s vision of harnessing information and technology to deliver a distinctive, quality experience for its students. The tailor-made software supports the entire student lifecycle, from admission to graduation, transforming ways of working, enriching interactions with alumni and empowering staff, partners and students. 

Commenting on the partnership, Sharon Jones, Academic Registrar, University of Sussex, said: “In what is a highly competitive higher education sector our aim is to make the student experience a key differentiator. We are already consistently in the top 20 of all major UK league tables and, by embracing innovation and the latest technology, we are planning for the future success of the University. Partnering with TechnologyOne marks an important step in the delivery of this significant programme and moves us closer a making our vision a reality. 

“Prior to selecting TechnologyOne’s Student Management solution we ran our own in-house student record system but it was proving to be complex, costly to manage and challenging to keep up to date with changing legislation and regulations in higher education. Using the most up-to-date technology, Student Management is very much in sync with our own approach to delivering excellent services for students and staff that deliver value for money. 

“We engaged in an in-depth consultation period and structured procurement process in order to ensure that the right technology partner was selected to meet our objectives. Throughout this process TechnologyOne not only demonstrated a commitment to achieving the University’s goals, but the capability to deliver a strong student experience via a self-service, user-friendly and intuitive cloud-based platform accessible via any device.”  

Roger Phare, Operating Officer for TechnologyOne in the UK, commented: “We’re delighted to have been selected as technology partner to the University of Sussex. Early engagements with the dedicated project team have been a pleasure and we very much look forward to working with the University in the coming months through to deployment later next year.

“Our approach to delivering excellent services for students and staff is closely aligned to the University’s own goals. By harnessing true cloud technology, we are able to deliver a Student Management solution that is highly scalable, offers automatic updates, is accessible via any internet enabled device and offers continuous innovation and improvements. By taking responsibility for everything from building to supporting and running the software we will free up the University to focus on their core expertise of delivering first class higher education.

“From a business perspective, this is a significant deal, further cementing our commitment to the higher education sector. This marks our second Student Management deployment in the UK, following the University of Lincoln’s engagement in 2016. We’re particularly proud to have been selected over our competitors in the student management space, further endorsing our credibility and capability in delivering preconfigured modern enterprise software that provides proven practice specifically tailored to the needs of this sector.”