This year marks a significant milestone for me, thirty years of my career in higher education, split evenly between university roles and edtech companies. Over three decades I’ve witnessed the sector respond to changing policies, regulatory demands, and most importantly, evolving student expectations which have driven institutions to rethink how they operate effectively, efficiently and sustainably. The themes I discuss here are not abstract. They actively shape our daily decisions and innovations.
Standardised Business Processes
In 2025, universities have faced growing pressure to improve efficiency and cut costs, leading to efforts to standardise business processes and streamline workflows. They are increasingly expected to do more with less and recognising that harmonising workflows that reduce duplication and improve data quality can underpin cost-saving strategies. Self-service and bulk processing can free up staff from routine tasks, letting them focus on more valuable work, an approach directly supported by Thesis SM.
The Thesis SM UK Higher Education Model (HEM) offers over seventy pre-built workflows for common UK HE scenarios, allowing institutions to adopt sector best practices while still configuring the solution to their unique needs. In reviewing existing business processes, we see that many have become complex or bloated over time and institutions are increasingly keen to revisit these, prioritising rapid implementation of sector best practices and reducing reliance on highly customised solutions that are costly and require specialist maintenance.
Definition of a Student Records System
The concept of what actually constitutes the Student Records System (SRS) is itself evolving. As the fundamental system of record within UK HE, it supports the entire student lifecycle and adapts to evolving regulatory and digital demands. Some institutions are seeking to consolidate systems, expanding the SRS to include functions typically managed by separate edtech tools, such as CRM, timetabling, or VLEs. However, I believe this approach risks weakening the wider edtech ecosystem. Thesis SM remains focused on being the best possible SRS for the sector prioritising integration with best-of-breed edtech tools, to create a cohesive ecosystem to support the student journey. The work being led by UCISA on the Common Data Model is, in my view, the opportunity to bring renewed clarity and structure to data standards across the sector and defining the appropriate focus for all systems in the ecosystem. At Thesis SM we are committed to aligning with sector-wide approaches. Embracing these standards is already helping institutions avoid data silos and prepare for the future.
Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE)
Of all recent policy developments, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) stands out as particularly transformative, shifting education further towards a lifelong, modular journey. This shift is both exciting and challenging, requiring institutions to rethink programme design, admissions processes, and learner support to accommodate modular study and rolling intakes. The increasing necessity to recognise prior learning and support highly personalised pathways is rapidly becoming a reality.
Thesis SM, in my experience, is well placed to support this evolution. Its flexible programme structures and support for micro-credentials are valuable assets for institutions engaging with the LLE. More broadly, Thesis SM demonstrates a strong commitment to keeping pace with statutory and regulatory requirements, giving institutions the confidence to innovate without fear that compliance will become a barrier. We are actively working right now on refreshing our system capabilities to meet the latest LLE requirements.
Procurement Changes
Procurement has evolved significantly, especially with the introduction of the UK’s Procurement Act 2023, effective from February 2025. This has started to reshape procurement, bringing transparency, value, and social impact to the forefront of decision-making. Initially there seemed to be uncertainty within the sector in interpreting the Act for software procurement but in recent months we have seen much greater engagement by institutions in pre-market assessment activity. I believe firmly in the intent of the Act to encourage more fulsome conversations with software suppliers at early stages and that this will enable procurement to reflect real needs and future directions for SRS development
Sector discussions about shared procurement appear to be resurgent, with collaboration seen as a way to drive value and efficiency through collective bargaining and contract management. However, the challenges of alignment on requirements and shared definitions remains. At Thesis SM, we are watching closely whether this will gain further traction in 2026, perhaps through geographical or mission-group based collectives or more ad hoc consortia that can be more agile This could have a profound impact for institutions seeking to modernise their architecture but with the reassurance and confidence that comes from shared expertise.
Speed versus Caution
In our conversation we hear that universities are keen to implement new systems quickly to realise financial and experiential benefits. However, this urgency often clashes with a deep-rooted caution, to avoid change and stick with what is familiar, even when traditional methods have lost their effectiveness.
Balancing the drive for rapid change with the need to protect core values is a complex challenge. In this context, partnering with an organisation that genuinely understands and shares the values of UK HE is crucial. I am proud that Thesis SM team stands out not just as a technology provider but as a genuine partner, offering expert guidance that balances innovation with reassurance. Our extensive sector experience allows us to act as a trusted advisor, anticipating challenges, tailoring advice, and promoting best practice.
Looking to the Future
Reflecting on these trends, I feel both optimistic and realistic about the future of UK higher education. The challenges are significant, and the pace of change is rapid, but I am encouraged by the sector’s willingness to collaborate, embrace new standards, and seek out smarter ways of working. I believe providers like Thesis SM play an essential role as partners in shaping a culture that values adaptability, integration, and collaboration. Looking ahead, I am confident that those institutions and providers that remain agile, embrace new models, and focus on enhancing student experience will be best placed to succeed in our evolving sector.
About the author: Louise Thorpe – CEO at Thesis SM
My role is to wake up every day focused on growing our Thesis SM community and ensuring that all our institutional partners have the best possible client experience. With thirty years’ experience working within UK universities and in global edtech companies, I am proud to bring this focus to continually improving the service we provide to our Thesis SM clients.
I love the culture at Thesis SM and being surrounded by industry experts committed to delivering high-quality service. For me the Thesis SM team stands out for its creativity, collaboration, and dedication, and I particularly value our cultural affinity with the sectors we serve.
Thesis SM is specifically tailored to UK, Irish and Canadian higher education SRS/SIS needs. Our commitment is to empower end users through a simple, consistent, and easy-to-use interface requiring minimal coding skills, alongside our rigorous provision of critical statutory and regulatory functionality, all delivered through a cloud-native SaaS infrastructure.