Transforming Higher Education with a Headless CMS

While the digitization of education has accelerated in recent years due to the pandemic there are other factors impacting global institutions including the changing expectations of a new generation of students accustomed to on-demand entertainment and access to everything at their fingertips. 

Educational institutions such as colleges, universities and vocational schools are increasingly adopting digital solutions to enhance learning experiences, streamline administrative processes, and provide more personalized and accessible education. One of those digital solutions is the headless CMS. 

In this article we’ll explore how a modern headless CMS can transform the education sector, helping to solve modern challenges these businesses face. 

The Modern Education Institution Challenges

Like any other enterprise organization, educational institutions face many challenges that impact their ability to generate profits and the number of customers they serve. 

Engagement and Enrollment Challenges

Colleges and universities face engagement and enrollment challenges they haven’t seen before. One of the primary culprits is the need to compete with the array of digital content students are bombarded with daily. With various alternative education options available to modern students, education institutions need to provide the most engaging experience possible. 

These students expect personalized interactions and the most modern technologies used to educate them. As a result schools that only rely on the majority classroom-based learning will struggle to maintain high enrollment rates. For instance, “in 2021, the percentage of all U.S. residents between 18-24 enrolled in college was 38.1%, the lowest it’s been since 2006.” These numbers didn’t improve in 2022 either, as the rate only rose to 39%. 

Legacy Solutions

Another challenge facing education institutions is the presence of several legacy software solutions in their tech stack. Many institutions still rely on old, inflexible systems that can’t integrate effectively with modern technology. These legacy systems make scaling and adopting innovative programs and digital experiences that help drive student engagement difficult. 

Current Generation Needs

Every generation has different requirements from the education institutions that serve them. Currently, many colleges and universities cater to Gen Z-aged students. These students expect seamless, mobile-friendly digital interactions from enrollment to coursework delivery, instant feedback, and real-time interaction. For educational organizations relying on outdated technologies and systems, meeting these needs is even more challenging. 

How a Headless CMS Supports Educational Institutions

Many institutions have begun to embrace digitization to face the challenges of the education sector head-on. This enables them to operate more efficiently, adapt to changing demands, and remain competitive. 

Adopting a headless CMS is one way that these organizations can successfully embrace digital transformation. It can help them solve problems associated with delivering high-quality, engaging content and improving their digital presence. 

Flexible Content Delivery

A headless CMS allows educational institutions to deliver content seamlessly across various channels—websites, mobile apps, digital signage, online video, and virtual classrooms. Additionally, content can be tailored to suit the format and needs of each platform, whether that means an interactive app on a website or an on-demand video course.

Improved User Experience

With a headless CMS, developers can easily build intuitive and customized navigation for students using modern tools and functionality that guarantee speed without sacrificing design. Headless CMSs can also integrate with accessibility tools like screen readers to ensure that content meets ADA and Section 508 guidelines and provides an inclusive experience for all users.

Better Scalability

A headless CMS allows educational institutions to easily manage and scale content across new platforms without substantial redevelopment. This includes expanding to new regions and handling spikes in web traffic, such as during enrollment periods or special events. 

Better Collaboration Across Departments

Faculty, students, and administrative teams can collaborate and update content in real time, allowing different departments to manage their own pages and resources without depending on developers. Enterprise-grade headless CMSs allow teams to assign roles and permissions so different departments can update specific content areas (e.g., academic program faculty and enrollment page admissions). 

Future-proofing Digital Infrastructure

A headless CMS can leverage APIs to easily integrate with future innovations like AI-powered chatbots, AR/VR learning experiences, and other advanced technologies, keeping institutions at the forefront of technical advancements. Also, as new channels emerge, whether virtual reality classrooms or AI-driven assistants, a headless CMS can also be extended to deliver content through these platforms.

Use Cases For a Headless CMS in Education

Within the education sector, there are a number of potential use cases for a headless CMS outside of institution websites. 

• Enhanced Student Portals:  A headless CMS can personalize content based on student profiles and behavior, offering customized course recommendations and deadlines. It can also create alumni portals with relevant updates, networking opportunities, and exclusive content.  
• Globalized Campuses: With a headless CMS, educational institutions will have an easier time providing multilingual content. This enables seamless updates for international campuses and ensures consistency across languages and localized content for different regions.  
• Streamlined Communication: Integrations with third-party tools like email and messaging platforms can help create a unified digital experience and improve communication.
• Immersive Experiences: A headless CMS supports AR/VR integrations to offer immersive learning experiences, virtual campus tours, or lab simulations, allowing institutions to embrace an innovative educational environment. 
• Intranets: Education organizations can use a headless CMS to create intranets for use by professors, administrators, and all employees.
• Corporate Learning: Colleges and universities can create and launch online courses that professionals and executives can use for furthering their education. 

How CrafterCMS Powers Educational Institutions 

CrafterCMS is an enterprise-grade headless CMS that provides the user-friendliness and flexibility that modern educational institutions need. Here’s how CrafterCMS powers educational institutions. 

User-Friendly Content Authoring

CrafterCMS offers intuitive tools for creating, updating, and publishing content across any digital channel. The content creator app Crafter Studio includes drag-and-drop experience building, WYSIWYG content editing, multi-channel previews, and more for crafting seamless digital experiences.

Flexible Developer Tooling

Developers can build websites and applications using an open-source, Git-based, headless CMS powered by REST or GraphQL APIs. The can everage any frontend UI framework, such as React or Freemarker, and expand backend functionality with Groovy or JavaScript (Node.js, Next.js, etc.).

Efficient Operations

Educational institutions can select between SaaS or self-hosted options while benefiting from enterprise-level monitoring, security, and compliance with CrafterCMS. They can also enjoy a lightweight, high-performance solution that scales flexibly and globally.

Multiple Use Cases

CrafterCMS supports multiple content-driven experiences that are perfect for leading education companies. From websites and mobile applications to student portals, video on demand, and AR/VR immersive experiences, universities can create a complete omnichannel experience for students. 

Blueprints and Integrations

CrafterCMS offers an assortment of ready-made plugins and integrations within the CrafterCMS Marketplace. These include Alexa Skills, video-on-demand websites, and online learning site blueprints perfect for the education sector. 

Learn More

Want to learn more about CrafterCMS, and how it can help your higher education institution across multiple use cases? Register for a free trial of Crafter Enterprise today.