Tag: advantage

  • The digital advantage in schools 

    The digital advantage in schools 

    Key points:

    When I first stepped into my role overseeing student data for the Campbell County School District, it was clear we were working against a system that no longer served us.

    At the time, we were using an outdated platform riddled with data silos and manual processes. Creating school calendars and managing student records meant starting from scratch every year. Grade management was clunky, time-consuming, and far from efficient. We knew we needed more than a patchwork fix–we needed a unified student information system that could scale with our district’s needs and adapt to evolving state-level compliance requirements. 

    Over the past several years, we have made a full transition to digitizing our most critical student services, and the impact has been transformational. As districts across the country navigate growing compliance demands and increasingly complex student needs, the case for going digital has never been stronger. We now operate with greater consistency, transparency, and equity across all 12 of our schools. 

    Here are four ways this shift has improved how we support students–and why I believe it is a step every district should consider:

    How centralized student data improves support across K-12 schools

    One of the most powerful benefits of digitizing critical student services is the ability to centralize data and ensure seamless support across campuses. In our district, this has been a game-changer–especially for students who move between schools. Before digitization, transferring student records meant tracking down paper files, making copies, and hoping nothing was lost in the shuffle. It was inefficient and risky, especially for students who required health interventions or academic support. 

    Now, every plan, history, and record lives in a single, secure system that follows the student wherever they go. Whether a student changes schools mid-year or needs immediate care from a nurse at a new campus, that information is accessible in real-time. This level of continuity has improved both our efficiency and the quality of support we provide. For districts serving mobile or vulnerable populations, centralized digital systems aren’t just convenient–they’re essential.

    Building digital workflows for student health, attendance, and graduation readiness

    Digitizing student services also enables districts to create customized digital workflows that significantly enhance responsiveness and efficiency. In Campbell County, we have built tools tailored to our most urgent needs–from health care to attendance to graduation readiness. One of our most impactful changes was developing unified, digital Individualized Health Plans (IHPs) for school nurses. Now, care plans are easily accessible across campuses, with alerts built right into student records, enabling timely interventions for chronic conditions like diabetes or asthma. We also created a digital Attendance Intervention Management (AIM) tool that tracks intervention tiers, stores contracts and communications, and helps social workers and truancy officers make informed decisions quickly. 

    These tools don’t just check boxes–they help us act faster, reduce staff workload, and ensure no student falls through the cracks.

    Digitization supports equitable and proactive student services

    By moving our student services to digital platforms, we have become far more proactive in how we support students–leading to a significant impact on equity across our district. With digital dashboards, alerts, and real-time data, educators and support staff can identify students who may be at risk academically, socially, or emotionally before the situation becomes critical. 

    These tools ensure that no matter which school a student attends–or how often they move between schools–they receive the same level of timely, informed support. By shifting from a reactive to a proactive model, digitization has helped us reduce disparities, catch issues early, and make sure that every student gets what they need to thrive. That’s not just good data management–it’s a more equitable way to serve kids.

    Why digital student services scale better than outdated platforms

    One of the most important advantages of digitizing critical student services is building a system that can grow and evolve with the district’s needs. Unlike outdated platforms that require costly and time-consuming overhauls, flexible digital systems are designed to adapt as demands change. Whether it’s integrating new tools to support remote learning, responding to updated state compliance requirements, or expanding services to meet a growing student population, a digitized infrastructure provides the scalability districts need. 

    This future-proofing means districts aren’t locked into rigid processes but can customize workflows and add modules without disrupting day-to-day operations. For districts like ours, this adaptability reduces long-term costs and supports continuous improvement. It ensures that as challenges evolve–whether demographic shifts, policy changes, or new educational priorities–our technology remains a reliable foundation that empowers educators and administrators to meet the moment without missing a beat.

    Digitizing critical student services is more than a technical upgrade–it’s a commitment to equity, efficiency, and future readiness. By centralizing data, customizing workflows, enabling proactive support, and building scalable systems, districts can better serve every student today and adapt to whatever challenges tomorrow may bring.

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  • Why Data Is Higher Education’s Most Overlooked Competitive Advantage

    Why Data Is Higher Education’s Most Overlooked Competitive Advantage

    Every conversation I have with higher ed leaders seems to start in the same place: competition is tougher than ever. Enrollment pressures, shifting demographics, rising expectations from students — it’s a lot. And in the middle of it all, I see so many institutions sitting on a resource that could help them compete more effectively: their own data.

    The truth is, higher ed doesn’t have a data shortage. Colleges and universities already collect enormous amounts of information across their systems. The challenge is knowing how to put it to work in ways that actually move the needle. Too often, that data stays trapped in silos, reduced to static reports, or only pulled out for compliance.

    The difference isn’t the data itself — it’s how you use it.

    Students expect personalization

    Think about how personalized the world around us has become. From the playlists that show up in your music app to the recommendations in your shopping cart, people expect experiences that feel unique and relevant. Students are no different.

    A high schooler exploring a summer program and a mid-career professional considering a certificate have very different motivations. Yet both expect a journey that recognizes their goals and helps them take the next right step.

    That’s where higher ed data becomes a real advantage. When institutions use it strategically, they can anticipate student needs, personalize outreach, and build relationships that feel relevant, timely, and supportive rather than transactional.

    How scattered data becomes a living, actionable picture

    Here’s the challenge: most colleges are juggling a patchwork of CRMs, SIS, LMS, and marketing platforms that don’t really talk to each other. Each contains valuable data, but without a way to connect them, the view of the student is incomplete.

    This is where the concept of a digital twin comes in. Imagine having a single, dynamic model that reflects each student’s real journey — from first click to graduation. A digital twin takes fragmented data from across systems and turns it into a living, actionable picture.

    During a recent conversation with a prospective partner, our team walked through this idea in action. We demonstrated how a digital twin could anticipate critical student moments, unify siloed systems, and make engagement more intentional. The “aha” moment came when leaders realized it wasn’t about another dashboard, but about creating a foundation that turns information into action.

    With that kind of visibility, institutions can do things like:

    • Spot at-risk students before they disengage.
    • Give advisors and faculty the insights to offer timely support.
    • See what’s really driving enrollment outcomes.
    • Run “what if” scenarios to guide strategy and resources.

    That kind of transformation doesn’t just look good on paper — it delivers measurable outcomes.

    Real results from using data differently

    I’ve seen what happens when institutions make this shift.

    I recall one university partner that had been struggling with years of declining graduate enrollment. By unifying their data and creating a clear view across the funnel, they grew spring enrollment by 20% in a single term while re-engaging 120 stop-out students.

    Another school was questioning the ROI of their marketing spend. Once they integrated campaign data with enrollment outcomes and student sentiment, they were able to adjust quickly. The result? A 30% increase in online applications and a 46% reduction in cost-per-deposit.

    These stories aren’t about magic formulas. They’re about what’s possible when institutions stop letting data sit unused and instead create a digital twin that brings the student journey to life.

    Rethinking the role of data

    Too often, data is seen and treated as a back-office function.  That approach is a liability. I believe higher ed data must be treated as a core part of strategy, student engagement, and institutional health.

    If you’re wondering where to start, ask yourself:

    • Do we have a clear view of the entire student journey, or are we piecing it together manually?
    • Are our engagement efforts personalized, or are they one-size-fits-all?
    • Can we make real-time decisions, or are we relying on outdated reports?
    • Do our teams have the insights they need to act at the right moment?

    If the answer to any of these is “No,” it’s time to rethink your approach to data.

    Looking ahead

    I’ve spent more than a decade working alongside higher ed leaders, and one thing I know is this: data alone isn’t the advantage. What matters is how you use it to serve students and strengthen your institution.

    The colleges and universities that will lead the next era of higher education won’t be the ones with the biggest datasets. They’ll be the ones that create a connected, holistic view of each student — able to anticipate needs, personalize engagement, and act with precision. They’ll be the ones treating data as the engine of innovation, not just a byproduct of operations.

    Are you ready to take advantage of your data?

    Innovation Starts Here

    Higher ed is evolving — don’t get left behind. Explore how Collegis can help your institution thrive.

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  • California Increased Paid Family Leave Payments. Now More Parents Are Taking Advantage – The 74

    California Increased Paid Family Leave Payments. Now More Parents Are Taking Advantage – The 74


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    More Californians are using paid family leave benefits to care for a child after a new state law that increased payments for parents went into effect in January, according to new state data.

    Claims in the first two quarters this year were up about 16%, compared with the same time period last year, according to data provided to LAist from the California Employment Development Department.

    Anne Chapuis, public information officer for EDD, said several factors contributed to the uptick.

    “The January 2025 benefit rate adjustment has led to higher benefit amounts for eligible customers. Also, we typically see a higher seasonal number of claims submitted near the end of each calendar year,” Chapuis said in an email.

    While claims tend to tick up at the beginning of every calendar year, the uptick in the first quarter of 2025 was nearly 25% higher than the same period last year.

    Before this year’s change, most workers got up to 60% of their income when they took time off to care for a new baby. Now, many workers can get up to 90% of their wages.

    The changes stemmed from legislation in 2022 that aimed to allow more families to be able to take leave, especially low-income workers. Prior analysis showed that higher-income workers were using paid family leave benefits at much higher rates than workers making less than $20,000 a year.

    For those making under $20,000, claims were up about 2%, while claims for those making under $60,000 were up 17%.

    How paid family leave works

    Currently, moms and dads can get up to eight weeks of paid family leave to bond with a new child. That’s in addition to the paid time off pregnant people get before and after giving birth to a child.

    The paid family leave program in California is funded through the State Disability Insurance program, which covers about 18 million employees in the state. Workers pay into this fund with 1.2% taken out of their paychecks (it usually shows up on paystubs as “CASDI”).

    Workers who make less than $63,000 a year can get up to 90% pay — workers who make above that get 70%.


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  • For Your Next Competitive Advantage: Focus On Women’s Health

    For Your Next Competitive Advantage: Focus On Women’s Health

    Want more women in your organizations? It’s time to start talking about the three M’s: menstruation, menopause, and motherhood. 

    Meleah Ashford

    Writer and Life Coach, Find Solid Ground Coaching

    “Today, discussing women’s health remains a taboo because people feel uncomfortable when anyone broaches it,” says Dr. Carolina Amador, the associate director of corporate intelligence at BioMarin, in a recent AWIS Magazine article. “I believe that we should talk about and advocate for women’s health as the first step in creating an equitable workplace.” 

    The vast majority of women in the workplace have dealt with challenges related to monthly menstruation during their careers. In a 2023 survey, respondents cited their top symptoms as abdominal cramps, irritability, and fatigue. 15% of respondents had a more chronic menstrual condition such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or fibroids. Sixty-one percent had worked when they didn’t feel well enough to work. According to Let’s Talk Menopause, 20% of the workforce is in some phase of menopause transition, which comes with its own extensive list of uncomfortable and potentially debilitating symptoms.

    Motherhood includes yet another set of considerations. Between 10% and 20% of all known pregnancies end in miscarriage. Sadly, not all companies have policies for infant loss. If they do, they offer a scant 3-5 days off when recovery can take weeks. After successful births or adoptions, mothers are four times more likely than men to have their competence questioned, they are offered fewer opportunities than men, and they earn less than men over their careers.  

    Implementing effective, inclusive policies

    Organizations have a huge opportunity to craft policies that support the three M’s. What does this look like? 

    • Normalize conversations around these topics
    • Allow flexible work hours or remote work for those with menstrual pain, menopausal symptoms, mental health needs, and caregiving responsibilities for children, elders, or dependents with disabilities 
    • Provide lactation rooms and on-site childcare or stipends to offset caregiving expenses
    • Create clear and transparent leave policies for childbirth, adoption, loss of a child, illness of a child, and how to return smoothly to work
    • Explicitly extend sick or personal leave for menstruation and menopause challenges
    • Initiate employee resource groups focused on the three M’s

    Supporting women’s health is not just good for women; other employees would benefit from flexible hours. It is also good for your business. It will help you attract and retain more women. Research from McKinsey & Company shows that companies with more women in leadership have healthier cultures, generate more innovation, and experience better performance. 

    “We see companies within all facets of the STEM enterprise competing to attract and retain impactful women,” says Meredith Gibson, CEO of the Association of Women in Science, whose Career Center connects recruiters with women in STEM. “Organizations have an opportunity to differentiate themselves by creating policies and offering benefits that support women’s health.”

    We need to retain more women in STEM to effectively tackle the world’s complex challenges. I encourage businesses to boldly and proactively address women’s health as an avenue to creating a more inclusive, attractive, and productive enterprise — or run the risk of losing out. 

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  • How might HEIs and government build collaborative advantage to address climate change

    How might HEIs and government build collaborative advantage to address climate change

    • By Professor Katy Mason, PVC Dean at the University of Salford’s Business School.

    We’re at a crucial moment in our fight to address climate change, with limited time to end the irreversible damage to our planet. However, higher education institutions (HEIs) could play a more pivotal role on the road to net zero.

    Climate-related challenges are considerable and require both technological innovation and the reorganisation of our society and economy. Universities are in a strong position to drive these transitions, but because of the required pace of change, they need to do so in collaboration with government. For example, universities are well positioned to mobilise the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and technical expertise required to evolve the way energy is generated, stored and distributed, as well as the SHAPE and social practice expertise to support the social transitions required to transform energy production and consumption. This broad range of expertise, uniquely perhaps, sits under one organisational umbrella: the HEI.

    Reducing carbon footprint with research

    HEIs have been working, increasingly over recent years, to structure and support multi, inter and transdisciplinary research, in ways that will ultimately support the reduction of our carbon footprint to deliver net zero.

    The formation of UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) has supported many of these initiatives. In April 2018, UKRI brought together the UK’s seven research councils, Innovate UK, and Research England, into a single organisation to support the distribution of government funding for impactful, interdisciplinary research.

    Accelerating a green growth economy through collaboration

    Climate change mitigation and building the UK’s resilience to climate change impacts has been a central tenant of UKRI’s attention, with funding calls driving collaboration between academics, industry and government. But interdisciplinary research, on its own, is not enough. HEIs and government will have to find new ways of collaborating if we are to accelerate a green growth economy.

    There are examples of successful collaboration. The Government’s Open Innovation Team is a platform that supports academic-policy collaboration, curating academic expertise to support and inform policy initiatives. Similarly, the United Nations PRME (Principles of Responsible Management Education) platform supports and accelerates the sustainability of current and future business leaders in Business and Management education. However, at present, its take-up is piecemeal and patchy.  Much more collaboration is needed if we are to make a difference to climate change. 

    Recognition of the advantages afforded by collaboration is long-standing. As far back as 2000, Vangen and Huxman were developing a theory of collaborative advantage, arguing that goals, trust, culture and leadership had to be aligned enough – despite differences and tensions – if advantages were to be gained.[i] In this regard, collaboration is often inconsistent, with inherent contradictions and mutually exclusive elements caused by inevitable differences between partners. While it is these differences that often generate advantage, they require time and investment in understanding. This is perhaps why we have not invested sufficiently in making such partnerships work.

    Breaking down barriers to collaboration

    The contrasting cultures of academics and policymakers may certainty make collaboration difficult: the epistemologies-in-use (how knowledge, evidence and rigour are framed) are different; the production and use of knowledge objectives is different; and the rules of identity and belonging to the home-culture are different.

    However, as Beech et al. argue, we can take advantage of these significant cultural differences if HEIs develop a new kind of platform that acts as a learning zone in which key cultural rules of academics and policymakers are suspended (not ‘solved’).[ii] This will enable different groups to contribute and extract learning insights as if they were collaborating with shared understanding, when this may only partially be the case.

    In pursuit of creating a new kind of learning platform, HEIs, particularly those leading knowledge exchange and engagement initiatives, might usefully adopt this set of design principles:

    • Valuing difference and not seeking to resolve it;
    • Having the purpose of supporting others’ endeavors in their home-culture by providing knowledge resources;
    • Be willing to aggregate and disaggregate ideas and evidence in novel ways; and
    • Be willing to suspend judgement of the other and the self to encourage people to step outside their normal modes of interaction

    These design principles will likely help knowledge exchange leads catalyse innovation and accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge practice by bringing local, regional and national policymakers together with academics to advance solutions to overcome climate change obstacles.

    ‘Making Britain a clean energy superpower’

    Academics and policymakers are explicit in their ambition to tackle climate change. The UK Government states one of its key missions as ‘making Britain a clean energy superpower’ by ‘creating jobs, cutting bills and boosting energy security with zero-carbon electricity by 2030.’

    Driven by government monies directed towards UKRI for this purpose and by researchers’ concerns, passions, and expertise, some universities have built up significant industrial and third-sector networks to support the development and transformation of our greening economy.

    For example, researchers at Lancaster, Swansea, Imperial, and Salford have been studying the farming sector and its potential transformation through agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics co-locate high-quality food and green energy production on the same land while simultaneously aiming to secure biodiversity net gain. This is a complex and ambitious agenda that will contribute to more than the ‘clean energy’ challenge.

    Agrivoltaics requires expertise in physics to understand solar panel efficiency, reliability and maintenance, while plant science knowledge is essential to understand food nutrition and biodiversity complexities. In addition, social science expertise is required to understand the design and transformation of the farming sector, the development of a circular economy for solar panels, and how the proliferation of markets might reconnect across the entire food and energy production and consumption systems to ensure sustainability.

    To uncover ‘what works’ will ultimately require us to collaborate with those seeking to use agrivoltaics and all those involved in solar panel production and management upstream and downstream of the supply network.

    My involvement in this project has been exciting, frustrating and demanding. I suspect that we could have significantly accelerated our impact if we had not lacked access to a platform that systematically supported policy-academic engagement. In line with our research that shows the desire and difficulty for policymakers to engage with researchers, it seems there is much more we can do, as HEIs to support this.

    [i] Huxham, C., & Vangen, S. (2013). Managing to collaborate: The theory and practice of collaborative advantage. Routledge.

    [ii] Beech, N., Mason, K. J., MacIntosh, R., & Beech, D. (2022). Learning from each other: Why and how business schools need to create a “paradox box” for academic–policy impact. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 21(3), 487-502

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  • Realising the collaborative advantage of the Healthcare Education Consortium

    Realising the collaborative advantage of the Healthcare Education Consortium

    • By Darryll Bravenboer, Director of Apprenticeships and Professor of Higher Education and Skills, Middlesex University.

    We have all seen the media coverage with packed A&E departments, patients waiting for hours and being treated in corridors. Last week was the busiest for the NHS in England so far this year, with more patients in hospitals than at any other point this winter, and yet without action the situation will get worse.

    The NHS currently employs around 1.5 million people, making it the biggest employer in Europe. However, the NHS clinical workforce is not enough to keep pace with demand. The population of England is projected to grow to 61.7 million by mid-2043, and we are living longer which often means more complex illnesses.

    There are currently over 112,000 NHS vacancies, the population of England is projected to be 61.7 million by mid-2043, and when combined with demographic changes, a shortfall of between 260,000 and 360,000 health service staff by 2036/37 is predicted by 2036/37.

    The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) has set ambitious clinical workforce commitments with the aim to significantly increase the number of health staff, including doctors, nurses and midwives by 2032.

    To achieve this, employers and universities delivering degree apprenticeships need to work together and develop innovative programmes that benefit students, the public sector and ultimately the public.

    The University Alliance (UA) represents leading professional and technical universities, educating around 30% of all nursing apprentices in England, plus a substantial number of allied health professionals and healthcare degree apprentices.

    Several UA members* have formed the Health Education Consortium to coordinate and expand healthcare degree apprenticeships to meet the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan goals.

    By collaborating, we aim to increase the number of apprentice starts, reduce duplication and pool resources, creating a joined-up programme for local, regional and national apprenticeship provision. The Health Education Consortium will work with NHS England to scale operations in partnership with NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards, co-designing programmes to meet their needs.

    The key benefit for healthcare employers of a higher education collaborative approach is that by working together, we can increase training places while minimising costs.

    • A comprehensive degree apprenticeship offer – working on their own individual universities are unlikely to have the resources to meet national employer needs. By joining forces, we can pool our funds and expertise and offer a broader range of healthcare degree apprenticeships to meet NHS requirements.
    • Driving innovation: a commitment to share innovative practice is at the heart of the Health Education Consortium and ensures that we work as an innovation engine creating solutions to the growth barriers employers identify.
    • Scalability and growth: working together means it is possible to scale up provision to meet the increasing demand outlined in the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan.
    • Towards a one-stop-shop for healthcare education: providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ for NHS, employers save time and money as they do not need to communicate and work with a range of universities.

    The benefits outlined above make the case for a more collaborative approach to delivering higher education, which, at the same time, better meets the needs of NHS employers. This aligns with the government’s ambition for greater collaboration to drive efficiency and contribute towards economic growth.

    At a time of financial challenge for the higher education sector, the significant growth of degree apprenticeships within the NHS, made possible through effective university collaboration, could address government expectations while contributing to the financial sustainability of providers in the sector.

    *Middlesex University, Birmingham City University, Oxford Brookes University, University of Hertfordshire, Kingston University and University of Greenwich.

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