New research from international management consultancy Nous Group shows that while universities grapple with managing finances and comprehensive educational offerings, students want fewer choices and are focused on employment outcomes.

Highlighting the tension between changing demand and the higher education sector’s ability to meet it, Nous’ new report, Balancing Mission and Markets, brings together insights from more than 200 university leaders and academics as well as 1,200 students in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The research shows university leaders rank financial sustainability above artificial intelligence, changes in student preferences, government policy and industry needs as the most significant trend that will influence how universities deliver education over the next five to ten years.

At the same time, industry expectations for job-ready candidates are constantly evolving, and students surveyed in the report say employability is the top factor they consider when deciding what and where to study.

Commenting on the findings, Nous Group Principal and Global Head of Higher Education Zac Ashkanasy said: “Job readiness is critical for students, however emerging technologies are having real impacts on the skills required by industry today and tomorrow. A key challenge for universities is simply to keep up, particularly given finances are tight and offerings are broad.

“It’s little wonder that half of academics say teaching has become harder.”

The research highlights the complexity of developing new portfolios, programs and content with 60 per cent of university leaders surveyed rating their access to data when developing new educational offerings as fair or poor. Furthermore, 45 per cent are dissatisfied with their university’s processes to refine the structure of its education portfolio and 54 per cent report that it takes an average of one to two years or more than two years to develop and launch a new course or program.

Ashkanasy continued: “Having a solid and more timely evidence base to draw upon is essential for universities when anticipating changes to demand and developing new portfolios. Without it, there is a real risk that new course materials will have a long lead time and short shelf life.

“Developing new offerings quickly without compromising rigour and quality will continue to be a challenge for universities; however, simplifying course and program structures has the potential to make this task more achievable.”

The research shows a simplification of course structures and offerings would be welcomed by students. Seventy-eight per cent of students want to choose from six or less major options and 44 per cent want to choose from three or less.

Ashkanasy added: “Across all disciplines and continents, our research found students prefer to be able to choose a major from a smaller number of options. Too much choice is proving to be counterproductive for students, staff and the universities themselves.”

The theme of rationalisation wasn’t limited to student preferences in the study. Fifty-one per cent of university leaders surveyed are anticipating the number of universities to be rationalised over the next five to ten years while forty-six per cent expect greater specialisation in education offers over this period.

Ashkanasy said: “Pressure has been mounting for years but the sector is now at an inflection point where big decisions need to be made and carried out. There is an opportunity for universities to move away from broad offerings and take up more specialist positions in the market. With that shift comes the ability to be more nimble, more responsive to changing needs of students, industry and government.”

The new report, Balancing Mission and Markets, is available for download here.

For media enquiries and further information, please contact:  [email protected]

About the study

To understand the challenges that universities face and the opportunities to enhance their educational offerings, Nous Group surveyed more than 200 university leaders and academics with teaching roles and over 1,200 university students in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. These surveys were supplemented by in-depth interviews with university leaders and sector experts in each country. The scope of this study is deliberately broad – covering what universities teach, how programs and courses are structured, what learning outcomes they seek to achieve, the practices and modes of education delivery, and the organisational enablers of teaching and learning excellence. This reflects the range of levers that universities have at their disposal to influence their educational offer. Notwithstanding this broad scope, the study focusses solely on teaching and learning; it does not focus on research, civic engagement or other functions of universities.

About Nous Group

Nous Group is an international management consultancy with over 750 people working across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada.

Nous’ broad consulting capability spans strategy, organisational performance, leadership and capability, transformation and implementation, economics, public policy, data and analytics, digital and design. By partnering with clients and complementing their strengths, Nous helps businesses, governments and community organisations transform to realise a bigger idea of success.

Founded in Australia, Nous has been delivering positive influence that significantly improves people’s lives since 1999. Find out more at nousgroup.com