The Higher Ed Guide for the Corporate Community Online Learning Program

As a new vendor or consultant, you will need to know the unique structures of various higher education institutions, their governance structures, and how this will influence and shape your work with them. By the end of this competency, you will be able to:

• Identify how higher education institutions are characterized, including their information technology management structure.
• Examine how knowledge of institutional characteristics supports successful engagement with higher education partners.
• Explore higher education accreditation and how requirements potentially impact product and service selection and priorities.

Once you understand the type of institution with which you're working, you'll need to understand how it works. No two institutions are exactly the same, even if they share many characteristics. To be successful in developing a successful relationship, you'll need to understand the overall framework of roles and responsibilities, as well as stakeholders and influencers. By the end of this competency, you will be able to:

• Identify institutional stakeholders relevant to your service and/or product.
• Explain how leadership management and reporting structures affect the way technology investments are made in higher education.
• Describe how stakeholders outside of IT influence technology investment decisions.
• Discuss strategies to build relationships with stakeholders at higher education institutions.

Funding resources are often based on an institution's strategic plan. A strategic plan will often provide a broad base of understanding by communicating mission, vision, and goals, as well as identifying specific initiatives and directions needed to meet success measures. As technology plays a more strategic role throughout the campus, the strategic plan also is more closely aligned with and tied to institutional planning. By the end of this competency, you will be able to:

• Review varying types of strategic planning efforts used across an institution and how they impact technology decisions and investments.
• Describe customized approaches for securing engagements that support an institution's strategic plan.

Understanding the higher education sourcing, purchasing, and ongoing supplier management process of information technology goods and services in various categories (software, SaaS, cloud computing, hardware, services, etc.) is critical to successful engagement. By the end of this competency, you will be able to:

• Describe the procurement process at an institution you might engage with.
• Explain how the procurement process in higher education influences engagement with vendors and explore optimal engagement approaches.
• Explain how funding sources and models influence decisions and processes surrounding technology purchases.

Now that you have all this information on higher ed's structure, stakeholders, budgeting, and procurement, what are the next steps to become partners with higher ed institutions? What are some tangible takeaways you can use in your own role? By the end of this competency, you will be able to:

• Explore methods to form partnerships with the higher education industry.
• Examine resources available via EDUCAUSE to assist in your outreach.