Higher education institutions juggle large-scale operations, involving endless repetitive tasks that can easily overwhelm staff. From managing admissions to monitoring student progress, these seemingly simple tasks add up, consuming significant time and resources due to the sheer volume of students and information university staff must handle.
Here’s where process automation enters the game, already embraced by many forward-thinking universities at varying levels. With the power of automation, institutions can streamline processes, reduce manual workload, and focus their energy where it matters most: creating meaningful educational experiences.
This blog takes a closer look at the top use cases of process automation in higher education, showing some practical ways in which automation can benefit the education sector.
What is Process Automation and Why Do Universities Need It?
Process automation refers to the use of technology to complete recurring tasks or workflows without human intervention. For universities, this means digitizing repetitive administrative processes, ensuring smoother operations for staff and more pleasant experiences for students. Whether it’s mapping out a student’s progress toward their degree or simplifying grant application reviews, automation increases efficiency and transforms how universities operate.
Automate or fall behind
If a university’s digital experience is clunky and full of unnecessary bureaucracy, it won’t meet the expectations of today’s students, who are used to fast, efficient responses. Falling short in this area can lead to serious consequences, including:
- Slow growth: Inefficient processes limit growth and prevent the university from focusing on important goals.
- Damaged reputation: Outdated systems frustrate students, harm the university’s image, and can lead to issues like data breaches or compliance failures.
- Losing students: Poor experiences push students away, lowering enrollment and making it harder to stay competitive.
- Higher costs: Time-consuming manual processes increase administrative expenses and lead to more errors.
- Lower productivity: Outdated, non-digital workflows create delays, make data harder to use, and stop the university from running smoothly.
Top automation use cases for higher education
Here are the leading use cases of automation in higher education—and why they’re worth implementing.
1. Transfer Credit
It would only be fair to start with the credit transfer as the first and the most frequent use case for automation.
Transfer credit is arguably one of the most tedious administrative tasks in higher education. Staff must manually evaluate incoming students’ prior coursework to determine its equivalence to the university’s requirements. This process is prone to delays and errors, which causes frustration both in students and staff.
With automation, however, institutions can significantly speed up this evaluation process. AI-powered systems quickly analyze transcripts, compare them to existing course catalogs, and recommend credit transfers within minutes. For students, this swift resolution brings clarity and enables faster course enrollment. For staff, automation means the ability to focus on enriching student experiences rather than combing through records.
End-to-end process automation platforms like ProcessMaker offer a full-suite solution for transfer credit, and here’s how they do it:
- Automated transcript retrieval and secure data storage.
- Accurate transcript extraction through OCR and machine learning.
- Automated equivalency matching.
- Built-in data review and task assignment for any manual validation.
- Automated equivalency and student record updates.
- Students and employees stay informed through real-time notifications.
ProcessMaker’s TCE solution simplifies and automates the transfer credit evaluation process, greatly reducing the workload for the Registrar’s office. By eliminating manual tasks such as retrieving transcripts, determining course equivalencies, and managing articulation approvals, it streamlines administrative operations.
At the same time, it enhances enrollment by delivering a smooth and user-friendly experience for prospective transfer students. Students can quickly see how their existing credits transfer, explore potential majors, estimate graduation timelines, and calculate tuition costs with ease.
2. Grants applications
Grant funding is vital for research-intensive institutions, yet the application review process can feel like an endless maze. Faculty must sift through lengthy proposals, while grant offices deal with formatting inconsistencies and timelines.
ProcessMaker simplifies and automates the grant application process for universities by leveraging AI-driven technology to match the best grant opportunities with the right faculty researchers. By automatically building a database of researchers directly from the university’s website, ProcessMaker ensures accurate, up-to-date profiles and eliminates the time-consuming task of manual data entry.
With seamless integration and expertise in higher-ed automation, the platform streamlines grant discovery and application management, allowing faculty to focus on groundbreaking research while increasing funding opportunities and enhancing the institution’s research reputation.
3. Financial aid applications
Managing financial aid applications is another time-intensive endeavor for universities. Each year, administrators process and review thousands of applications, checking for eligibility, verifying financial data, and ensuring compliance with regulations. ProcessMaker’s automation platform streamlines the financial aid application process, making it easier for both students and staff to navigate.
For applicants, the platform uses advanced AI to automatically match students with scholarships and financial aid opportunities tailored to their unique profiles, including academics, demographics, and extracurricular activities. It also provides a centralized console to help students organize and track their applications, ensuring they never miss a deadline. For staff, ProcessMaker seamlessly integrates with institutional systems, reducing administrative burdens and improving workflow efficiency. Key benefits include:
- Automated matching of students to relevant financial aid opportunities.
- A user-friendly interface for tracking and managing applications in one place.
- Seamless integration with existing systems to enhance operational efficiency.
- Increased enrollment and retention rates by addressing financial barriers.
By simplifying access to financial aid, ProcessMaker empowers institutions to support student success and achieve key goals.
4. Student degree progress
Imagine a system that tracks a student’s academic progress in real time, offering personalized insights into how close they are to graduating. With automation, this could become a reality. Degree progress monitoring tools automatically review completed coursework and compare it to a program’s requirements.
For example, an automated degree audit system could instantly alert students to missing credits, unfulfilled core courses, or potential overlaps. This guidance helps students stay on track and reduces confusion during registration. Meanwhile, advisors benefit from detailed, up-to-date reports that empower them to provide more targeted support.
Reimagine Higher Education with Automation
The potential for automation in higher education is profound. Not only does it offer a pathway to operational efficiency, but it also enables institutions to reclaim their focus on academic and student success. From eliminating bottlenecks in financial aid processing to providing real-time insights into degree progress, automation empowers universities to think bigger and work smarter.
ProcessMaker is at the forefront of this transformation, providing powerful tools tailored to the needs of higher education. With their innovative platform, you can easily design workflows, integrate systems, and streamline operations.
Curious about how automation can work for your university?
