Nelson College London (NCL), an independent higher education provider, selected Ellucian’s Quercus to replace its aging student management system and help achieve institutional growth goals. Quercus will help NCL better meet the rapidly evolving higher education statutory requirements in the United Kingdom while providing richer data on campus.
Quercus will support the student journey at NCL from application to graduation, giving students and staff access to information through a flexible, modern interface—from the device of their choosing. Students will now have greater insight into their academic progress and NCL will automate the processes related to student finance.
Teaching and administrative staff will experience increased efficiency through automated and streamlined processes and better collaboration across departments. Through Quercus, NCL will unify disparate data sources into a single interface, bringing critical pieces of information together for effective decision making.
“Coming from an aging student management solution that was on the verge of being de-supported, we knew we wanted modern, off-the-shelf technology from a recognized U.K.-specific higher education software vendor,” said Aamir Mehmood, Head of Data Management & Compliance. “Ellucian took our needs seriously and Quercus impressed us with its ability to support statutory regulations with automated reporting capabilities and its extensive data management capabilities.”
Changes to U.K. higher education policy have ramped up in recent years, and now statutory regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reporting are a growing strain on institutions’ resources. Small to medium sized higher education providers, like NCL, face the same challenges in maintaining regulatory compliance as their larger counterparts, yet with far less resources. Up against staffing and budgeting challenges, institutions are turning to automation to manage data collection, maintenance and dissemination to government bodies. Quercus is tightly aligned to U.K. higher education policy, providing close partnership, integration and adherence with regulatory requirements.
Delivered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, Quercus will reduce the burden on NCL’s IT department. Additionally, NCL will have access to the most current releases, while offering greater flexibility and a crisp, modern user experience. The new solution will provide disaster recovery capabilities through a robust and highly reliable system that provides increased connectivity and reduced latency on a daily basis, with failover in the case of disaster.
“We are excited to partner with Nelson College London and to support the college as it grows,” said Ellucian Managing Director, EMEA, Darren Hunt. “Quercus is an intuitive and scalable solution designed specifically for institutions like NCL, and through delivery in the cloud institutions can ensure they are current with industry advancements, integration requirements, and statutory regulations.”
About Nelson College London
Nelson College London is an independent college of higher education founded in 2009. The college offers Pearson Higher National Diplomas in business and hospitality management, and foundation degrees and bachelor’s degree with honors one-year “top-up” programs validated by London Metropolitan University.
The college serves students from the United Kingdom and European Union through campuses in Ilford and Gants Hill, offering an educational experience which is shaped by commitment, enthusiasm, discipline, effectiveness, insight and creativity.