The Collegis Impact 

Measurable Savings, Stronger Infrastructure, and Exceptional User Satisfaction

SFU’s roadmap execution delivered clear, quantifiable outcomes:

• 14% reduction in the university’s IT budget, enabling reinvestment in strategic upgrades
• 96.3 average Net Promoter Score for help desk satisfaction (six-month average)
• Major infrastructure upgrades completed, improving security, connectivity, and system reliability
• Seamless transition to remote and hybrid operations supported by a stabilized, scalable IT environment

The partnership didn’t just modernize systems. It strengthened institutional confidence in technology as a strategic enabler.

The Takeaway

Stabilize First. Standardize Second. Transform with Intention.

Digital transformation requires more than isolated upgrades. It demands governance, leadership, and a clear roadmap aligned to institutional goals. Saint Francis University’s partnership with Collegis demonstrates how structured planning and strategic IT management reduce risk, improve efficiency, and create a foundation for long-term growth.

Build a Technology Foundation Designed for What’s Next

If your institution is navigating aging infrastructure, inconsistent systems, or stalled modernization efforts, it’s time for a strategic roadmap. Collegis partners with colleges and universities to stabilize operations, standardize environments, and transform IT into a catalyst for institutional growth. Learn more about our Managed IT Services.

In today’s digital-driven education landscape, higher ed IT departments are at the heart of institutional success. From student engagement and online learning to cybersecurity and data management, technology now powers every aspect of the higher ed experience.

However, many institutions struggle to maintain a fully staffed IT team capable of managing daily operations while also driving innovation. To help colleges understand the essential IT roles required for success, our latest infographic outlines the critical positions institutions should prioritize.

As colleges and universities become increasingly digitally connected, the risk of cyber threats continues to rise. Higher education institutions store vast amounts of sensitive data, from student records and financial information to research and faculty communications. Unfortunately, this makes them a prime target for cyberattacks.

Our latest infographic highlights the top cybersecurity risks institutions face and provides key strategies to protect against them.

The Collegis Impact 

Measurable Savings, Stronger Governance, and Trusted Partnership

Through strategic IT alignment and infrastructure modernization, Saint Francis University achieved:

• $200K in IT cost savings, with funds reallocated to support high-priority campus technology upgrades
• An average Net Promoter Score of 88, reflecting strong institutional satisfaction and partnership confidence
• Formalized IT governance and decision-making structures, improving prioritization and accountability
• Improved systems integration and digital infrastructure, enabling a more connected, student-centered experience

The Takeaway: Governance Transforms IT from Operational Support to Strategic Enabler

When institutions formalize governance and align infrastructure with institutional goals, technology becomes a catalyst for growth rather than a constraint. SFU’s partnership with Collegis demonstrates how structured decision-making and modern systems create the conditions for sustainable, student-centered innovation.

Align Your Technology with Your Institutional Vision

If your institution is navigating fragmented systems, unclear IT oversight, or stalled digital initiatives, it’s time to establish a stronger foundation. Collegis partners with colleges and universities to provide full managed IT services, implement governance frameworks, modernize infrastructure, and unlock technology’s full strategic value.

In a brick-and-mortar classroom, technical difficulties can be overcome with alternatives. But in an online course, where the internet and associated hardware and software components are the medium for all activity, technical difficulties can bring everything to a halt. 

A student’s inability to log in to the learning management system (LMS), for example, can prevent them from getting coursework done. An online faculty member whose computer isn’t working properly will struggle to facilitate their class. If these issues can’t be quickly resolved, the overall learning experience will suffer. This is why it’s essential for colleges and universities to have on-demand IT support services to rapidly resolve these issues. 

The primary motivation behind online learning – whether synchronous or asynchronous – is to offer a way for a person to fit education into their life, according to Justin Denton, director of support services at Collegis Education.  

The negative impact that technical issues can have on students’ learning experiences and persistence can be mitigated with effective technical assistance for both online learners and faculty. 

Online learners’ lifestyles may vary distinctly from campus-based learners. For example, many may be working 9–5 jobs and have childcare responsibilities that prevent them from starting schoolwork until late at night. Schools’ IT teams need to be prepared to field an increased volume of support requests at specific times.

“Effective tech support for online learners should have the ability to predict and proactively prepare staffing to address influxes of requests during certain times, as well as during cyclical academic events, such as term starts,” Denton says.  

Since the shift to remote and hybrid learning, IT teams have become around-the-clock, on-call operators who are working hard to keep education flowing despite drastically increased volume. 

During the pandemic, schools rapidly repurposed technologies to deliver education content and instruction to all students remotely. Understandably, this has greatly increased the strain on IT teams, which are now tasked with facilitating uninterrupted learning via managing IT infrastructure, providing access to VPNs and resolving all other incidents. To keep up with the increased demand for tech support, IT departments must be adequately staffed to keep up, act quickly and perform in a way that satisfactorily represents your school’s brand.  

Tech support teams that effectively serve online learners must have the capability to assist without having access to the students’ physical hardware. This may include the usage of remote access software.

“When on-campus students have a technical issue, it’s easier for them to consult a fellow student or take their computer in to the school’s IT department for troubleshooting. But because remote learners are spread across many different locations, IT teams must find a way to remotely provide desktop support,” Denton explains. 

Not only are distance learners working from different places, but they’re also working at different times. Online learners are logging in at all hours of the day, every day of the year. This means IT professionals need to make sure that the technology is working, and 24/7/365 user support is available if there ever is a problem. 

Technology is embedded in every aspect of an online student’s learning experience. From course registration, communication with advisors and faculty, receiving grades, using LMS and student information systems (SIS) and writing papers and recording presentations, every facet of learning is powered by technology. 

“A school’s IT support staff must have a great breadth and depth of knowledge of all systems and applications being used in each course to effectively solve a wide variety of requests quickly,” Denton says. “Requests may be as simple as how to install Microsoft Office or as complicated as deciphering the online faculty member’s instructions and assisting with general course navigation.” 

As your institution looks to improve and potentially expand its online program offerings, robust IT support must be a top priority. Technology hiccups and questions are inevitable, but if your IT team is an accessible and reliable resource, you can improve the satisfaction and retention of students and faculty alike. 

If your institution’s IT team is already stretched thin or your current outsourced IT provider is struggling to keep up with the increased demand for support, learn more about the IT help desk services offered by Collegis Education.  

Highly trained support specialists provide the foundation for our multi-tiered support system capable of handling calls, emails, chats and web submissions that relate to a broad variety of topics and systems, including application support, course/learning management systems, campus bookstores and libraries and first-level hardware/software problem-resolution and determination. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the driving force behind a whole slew of challenges society has faced so far in 2020. Its detrimental effects have hit every industry in some way, but higher education has been dealt some especially devastating blows.

When colleges and universities were called to abruptly close down campuses in the spring, they were forced to transition residential operations online virtually overnight. For many schools, this was a rude awakening that outdated technology ecosystems simply weren’t able to deliver the quality online experience and support that today’s students and faculty have come to expect.

But that wasn’t the case for Cabrini University. The private institution located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had already established a strong partnership with Collegis Education to digitally transform their online presence. So when the governor of Pennsylvania ordered all higher ed institutions to go fully remote on March 13, Cabrini was up for the challenge.

Building on an established foundation in technology

Cabrini was aware of the importance of investing in technology long before disaster struck. Prior to the pandemic, the college had partnered with Collegis to help strengthen its technology infrastructure and online learning platforms, putting them a step ahead of most schools at the time.

So when the Cabrini campus was closed, the following key elements were already in place:

• Online platform: An LMS platform with training materials was in place for all online programs.
• 24/7 virtual helpdesk: Technology support resources were available to help remote students and employees any time day or night.
• Connectivity: Most technology systems were remotely accessible through cloud-based apps and VPN solutions.
• Laptops: Most faculty and staff had laptops available to them, allowing for an easy transition to remote work.

Eric J. Olson, vice president of finance and treasurer at Cabrini University, believes the foundation that was put in place before COVID-19 helped the institution weather the storm that struck.

“The effort that went into building this infrastructure payed a lot of dividends for us when met with this crisis,” Olson says.

“The processes we’ve put in place have really made a lot of difference,” he adds.

Anticipating and addressing new challenges

Fortunately, when disaster hit, Cabrini already had access to the expanded technology support offered by Collegis’s large IT organization to implement or scale new technology quickly. But even so, the team faced new challenges that required immediate action:

• All programs required electronic course materials and exam proctoring.
• Some students lacked the technology needed to access online courses.
• Many faculty members were unfamiliar with online teaching.
• Digital communication and outreach became far more important and required greater access and training.
• In-person campus events had to be reimagined with virtual solutions.
• The entire Cabrini staff had to transition into a fully remote workforce.
• New information security vulnerabilities had to be anticipated and protected against.

Of these concerns, faculty adoption of online teaching was of utmost importance. Cabrini has a legacy of providing excellence in education and was determined to live up to that reputation even in a virtual environment.

With help from Collegis, training sessions were initiated around the clock along with the development of LMS user guides and materials for all faculty. Regular communication was established between Cabrini leadership and the Cabrini community via email, virtual townhall meetings and the campus portal.

New collaboration technology – such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams – deployed immediately to allow for convenient communication and synchronous learning options. 24/7 tech support was offered for students and staff, along with access to loaner laptops for those who needed one. Investments were also made in software programs that could help ensure exam integrity.

With the existing technology foundation and the support and guidance from Collegis to address new obstacles, Cabrini was able to transition to a fully virtual model in less than two weeks.

Empowering and supporting the virtual campus

Nearly every higher education institution across the country was faced with a similar timeline for quickly migrating residential classes to a virtual format. A handful of tactics were universally used to provide a temporary fix to finish out the term online, but Cabrini was determined to go a step further and provide the most enriching experience possible for their students.

Technology was the vital enabler in order to achieve this. With the help of Collegis, they were able to stream digital events via video platforms, provide virtual campus visits for new students and even host their highly anticipated annual Accepted Students Day in a remote format.

Collegis was also able to play an integral role in providing ongoing IT support for Cabrini through the crisis. This included providing the following:

• Virtual CIO services
• 24/7 student and staff IT support (including prospective students)
• Recommendations and guidance on use of technology platforms
• Training and support on expanded use of technology
• Assistance in processing CARES payments and refunds for students
• Information security vigilance of remote computers and connections
• Evaluation of enhanced classroom technology for the fall term

Moving forward with an uncertain future

With the uncertainty of the length and extent of the COVID-19 crisis, Cabrini and Collegis have continued to prepare for changes to teaching and learning for the remainder of the year and into 2021. This has involved planning for the increased usage of video learning options, scaling online learning platforms, embracing technology innovation and new features to platforms, and extending campus wi-fi coverage to include outdoor common areas.

Cabrini University’s rapid transition to fully remote operations is certainly a success story. The investments made over the past few years to strengthen their technology infrastructure undoubtedly helped prepare them to persevere through these unprecedented times. The importance of such efforts is more evident than ever in today’s higher education landscape.

But you don’t have to go at it alone. Implementing a full digital transformation is a lofty task. This is especially true for smaller institutions, like Cabrini, that simply don’t have the capacity to handle it all in-house.

“For schools like us that are small and resource-challenged, it doesn’t mean your technology needs are any less. So, you’re faced with issues of ‘how are we going to meet those needs?’” Olson shares. But in partnering with Collegis, Cabrini was able to overcome the challenges brought by COVID-19 and continue pushing forward in their mission of academic excellence, leadership development and a commitment to social justice.

Check out this on-demand webinar to hear firsthand about this successful partnership from Cabrini and Collegis leaders.