Case Studies

Unlocking Data-Driven Decision Making for a Leading Higher Education Provider

Professional & Public Services
Case Studies

Unlocking Data-Driven Decision Making for a Leading Higher Education Provider

Professional & Public Services

Pearson Ham Group supported a UK higher education institution in transforming its data capabilities to enable clearer insights across the full student journey. Through an eight‑month data improvement programme, the organisation strengthened business processes, modernised reporting, and built a scalable framework to support future growth.

Ultimately, the programme delivered a stronger, more scalable data environment that now enables faster insights, better student support, and more confident decision-making across the organisation.

PHG Expert View

Opportunity

The institution, operating across multiple partners and campuses, faced operational and analytical challenges due to fragmented systems, inconsistent reporting processes, and limited data capability. As the organisation grew, its legacy data processes no longer scaled effectively, creating risks in attendance visibility, student retention, academic performance tracking, and regulatory reporting. Pearson Ham Group was engaged to baseline current capabilities, uncover improvement opportunities, and design a roadmap for long‑term data transformation.

Challenges

  • Limited analytical capability and inconsistent infrastructure impacting insight quality
  • High manual workload reducing staff capacity and increasing operational risk
  • Poor visibility of student outcomes, attendance patterns, and progression indicators
  • Lack of scalable data architecture to support future growth ambitions

Outcomes

The work created a unified and scalable data architecture, strengthened organisational capability, and delivered faster, more reliable insights enabling leadership to proactively manage student outcomes and drive operational improvement.

Why It Matters

Strong data capabilities are essential for enabling student success, supporting regulatory compliance, and guiding strategic decision‑making. By building a more resilient and scalable data environment, the institution is now better positioned to identify risks earlier, intervene more effectively, and drive long‑term operational excellence.

If your organisation is facing challenges with fragmented data, inconsistent reporting, or limited analytical capability, we can help you build a scalable, insight‑driven foundation for growth. Let’s talk.

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Results

Operational uplift

Meaningful operational uplift, enabling faster, more reliable insight generation for leadership

Data Structure

A unified data architecture and governance model improving efficiency across teams

Operational Excellence

Stronger oversight of student performance through new monitoring and intervention frameworks

Data-driven Organisation

Improved organisational capability, supporting proactive, insight‑driven decision making

Approach

Define & Diagnose
  • Conducted a comprehensive data capability assessment to map workflows, systems, and reporting gaps
  • Reviewed core outcomes—attendance, results, regulations—to identify root causes of inefficiency
  • Led stakeholder interviews across academic, operations, and IT teams to uncover pain points
Design & Build
  • Developed an eight‑month implementation roadmap aligned with institutional priorities
  • Migrated historical results and attendance data into a scalable, centralised structure
  • Designed new data processes and early‑intervention frameworks to improve student retention
Implement & Execute
  • Delivered quick‑win operational enhancements to reduce manual effort and reporting delays
  • Introduced monitoring systems enabling early identification of at‑risk students
  • Strengthened collaboration between business and IT to embed sustainable data processes
Sustain & Evolve
  • Established governance to maintain data quality, reporting consistency, and process ownership
  • Provided capability uplift and knowledge transfer across teams to improve analytical maturity
  • Equipped leadership with clearer dashboards, insights, and forward‑looking decision tools
Example of Our Impact

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