From Efficiency to Resilience: The Strategic Case for Shared Services

UK higher education is entering one of the most challenging operating environments the sector has faced in decades. Cost pressures are rising, funding remains constrained, student expectations continue to evolve, and uncertainty around recruitment — particularly international recruitment — is forcing institutions to reassess long held assumptions about sustainability.

In this context, shared services are increasingly being reframed as a strategic enabler amongst university leadership, one that allows institutions to protect what truly differentiates them while building greater resilience for the future.

Our new white paper, Shared Services: How Universities Can Secure Their Future in a Challenging Climate, brings together perspectives from chief operating officers, sector experts, and transformation leaders to explore how collaborative models can help universities navigate the road ahead.

The financial reality driving change

According to the Office for Students, around 45% of English higher education providers could be operating at a deficit, with modelling suggesting that 45 institutions may have less than 30 days’ liquidity in 2025/26 if no action is taken. These figures underline the urgency of addressing cost structures that were designed for a very different era.

At the same time, institutions remain deeply committed to delivering high quality education, supporting student wellbeing, and maintaining strong research and industry engagement. The challenge is how to do this while managing rising costs in areas such as digital infrastructure, cyber security, estates, and specialist professional services.

This is where shared services move from a tactical discussion to a strategic one.

Shared services: not about sameness, but focus

One of the strongest themes to emerge from the white paper is the importance of reframing the shared services conversation. Collaboration is not about eroding institutional identity, it is about removing duplication in areas where universities are fundamentally doing the same things, so they can focus investment on the areas where they truly compete.

Functions such as finance operations, HR administration, payroll, procurement, cyber security, and core IT infrastructure are highly similar across institutions. Running them independently often means higher costs, fragmented systems, and difficulty attracting specialist expertise. By pooling resources, universities can access enterprise-grade capabilities that would be difficult or prohibitively expensive to maintain alone.

Crucially, shared services free up leadership time and organisational capacity. Rather than devoting disproportionate energy to “keeping the lights on”, institutions can focus on improving the student experience, strengthening employability outcomes, and developing distinctive academic provision.

Collaboration as a platform for innovation

Another key insight from the white paper is that shared services are not only about efficiency — they can also be a powerful driver of innovation. When institutions standardise systems and processes, they create a foundation that makes deeper collaboration possible.

Examples from both the UK and internationally demonstrate how shared platforms can support better data insight, more responsive student services, and even collaborative curriculum delivery. In the United States, groups of institutions are already sharing data platforms and course provision, enabling students to access a broader range of learning opportunities while improving institutional decision-making.

In the UK context, well established shared services such as UCAS show what is possible when institutions come together around common needs. The opportunity now is to expand that mindset beyond admissions and into the operational and digital backbone of the university.

Leadership, trust, and timing matter

The white paper also makes clear that shared services are not a quick fix. Success depends on strong leadership, clarity of purpose, and trust between partners. Institutions need to be clear about what they are trying to achieve – whether that is cost reduction, service quality, resilience, or access to expertise — and realistic about which functions are best suited to a shared model.

Importantly, many universities are already at a point of significant technological change, particularly as they move from on-premise systems to SaaS platforms. This moment of transition creates a unique window to rethink operating models more fundamentally, rather than simply replicating legacy approaches in the cloud.

A decisive moment for the sector

Universities are people centred organisations, not factories. The purpose of shared services is not to strip away that humanity, but to support it and ensure institutions have the operational strength and flexibility to continue serving students, staff, and communities in increasingly uncertain times.

The question is no longer whether shared services belong in higher education, but how institutions can adopt them thoughtfully and collaboratively, in ways that strengthen rather than dilute what makes them distinctive.

Download Ellucian’s full white paper, Shared Services: How Universities Can Secure Their Future in a Challenging Climate, to explore practical insights, real world examples, and a roadmap for collaborative resilience in UK higher education.

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