Higher education institutions face a unique set of operational challenges. They combine elements of businesses, research organizations, healthcare providers, entertainment venues, and small cities—all within a single entity with a mission centered on education and discovery.
During my time at Michigan State University, I’ve had the opportunity to work on several initiatives aimed at improving operational efficiency while preserving the core academic mission. Here are some key insights from this journey.
Balancing Tradition and Innovation
Universities are deeply rooted in tradition, yet they must constantly evolve to meet changing needs. This tension creates fascinating operational challenges. When implementing new systems or processes, we’ve found that it’s crucial to acknowledge and respect the institution’s history while demonstrating how changes will enhance—not detract from—the academic experience.
For instance, when modernizing enrollment processes, we preserved the personal touch that has always characterized MSU’s approach to student services while adding digital tools that made the process more accessible and efficient.
Cross-functional Collaboration
Universities operate in departmental silos more than almost any other type of organization. Academic departments, administrative units, and student services each have their own cultures and priorities. Building operational excellence requires creating bridges between these different worlds.
We’ve found success in establishing cross-functional teams that bring together faculty, staff, administrators, and students to address operational challenges. This diverse perspective helps ensure that solutions work for all stakeholders and creates advocates for change within each area.
Data-Informed Decision Making
Higher education has historically relied heavily on tradition and intuition for operational decisions. While these have their place, we’ve made significant strides by introducing more data-informed approaches.
By implementing better data collection and analytics systems, we’ve been able to identify bottlenecks in student services, optimize space utilization across campus, and allocate resources more effectively. The key has been presenting data in ways that complement rather than replace the expertise of experienced staff and faculty.
Student-Centered Process Design
Perhaps the most important principle we’ve applied is keeping students at the center of all operational improvements. Before any process change, we ask: “How will this affect the student experience?”
This has led us to redesign processes from the student perspective rather than the administrative one. For example, rather than organizing student services by administrative function (financial aid, registrar, housing), we’ve moved toward integrated service models that address student needs holistically.
Looking Forward
As we continue to build operational excellence at MSU, I’m particularly excited about the potential of emergent technologies to further enhance our administrative functions while freeing up more resources for our core educational mission.
The lessons we’ve learned apply beyond higher education—any complex organization dealing with tradition, specialized expertise, and a strong mission focus can benefit from these approaches to operational improvement.