For public and private colleges and universities, the impending demographic cliff, affordability and accessibility goals, and changing attitudes towards the value of traditional education are driving deep concerns on their future ability to deliver on their core mission. Higher Education must respond by identifying new paths forward in how they deliver education, engagement with their students and alumni, and operate efficiently and cost effectively.
AArete combines deep understanding of the education landscape and how to impact change across the federated business model to support clients in transforming for the future. By using market intelligence, expertise in data analytics, and success with other universities, we are assisting them to effectively position for the future.
Featured Services
Click “Explore” to learn more about each of our featured services.
Spend Management &
Cost Containment
Managing spend through strategic contract analysis
Administrative Transformation
Tech-enabled procurement solutions lending data-driven insights
Student, Alumni, & Donor Engagement
Leveraging data to strengthen the university and student / alumni relationship
Digital & Technology
Services
Elevating digital and technology at the university for optimal student and employee experiences
ESG, Sustainability & Supplier Diversity
Helping education institutions seamlessly implement a sustainable and diverse supply chain model
Spend Management &
Cost Containment
Affordability and accessibility goals require universities to become better stewards of financial resources. AArete’s clients continue to fulfill their mission through improved spend management and cost containment in the face of headwinds. We bring proven approaches and market intelligence to create personalized, campus-wide spend management strategies detailed at the supply, commodity, and departmental levels. With a focus on cultural change management and elimination of procurement process barriers to adoptions, we ensure that cost savings are achieved, realized, and sustained.
Academic Operations Transformation
Academic operational functions such as Finance, Procurement, and Facilities Management are feeling pressured to meet increasing demands with decreasing budgets and headcount. Our approach to each engagement is built upon university best practices, technology optimization, analytics, and change management to create a clear understanding of expected business outcomes and measurement of achieved success. We provide real-time, data-backed recommendations, leveraging proprietary AI technology, to enable operational efficiency upon transforming tasks, responsibilities, and skill sets.
Student, Alumni, & Donor Engagement
Disrupting established business models and inviting new ways to value and nurture student and alumni engagement has become a new standard for lifelong learning. For example, accessible advanced or non-degree education has, in some cases, quadrupled the potential student body. This positive change requires universities to transform relationship management across the campus.
AArete is supporting our clients to reimagine individual journey maps as applicants evolve to be students, alumni, donors, and new learner candidates. Assigning value, personalized engagement techniques, messaging, and campus coordination are foundational to implementing a CRM-enabled, coordinated relationship management process.
Digital & Technology
Services
University leaders cite information security, digital transformation, technology modernization, and IT cost management among their top priorities as they adapt to delivering a uniformly high-quality education experience across multiple channels. AArete’s Digital and Technology Services brings strategy and implementation expertise in digital design and engagement, enterprise data management, digital process redesign, cybersecurity, and technical application proficiency to our client’s mission-critical business challenges.
ESG, Sustainability &
Supplier Diversity
Universities have embraced their role developing tomorrow’s socially conscious leaders by setting an example with aggressive diversity and sustainability objectives. But to those responsible for meeting these goals, many are struggling to understand what their institution defines as diverse and sustainable, how they will meet their commitments, and how to operationally balance diversity and sustainability with affordability goals. AArete is working with our clients to bring clarity to the impact of these targets and build a practical approach to supplier diversity, sustainable supplier sourcing, emissions reduction, and sustainable practices. Our sustainability experts leverage our AI-powered technology platform to define annual targets, provide targeted initiative recommendations, and automate reporting against targets.
Trusted E&I Partner
AArete is committed to supporting the mission of E&I by helping education systems take control of their costs and diversify revenue through the transformation of operations and digital experiences for students, alumni, and donors.
Request a Consultation
Get in touch with AArete to maximize the value of tuition by containing costs and integrating technology to drive student and institutional success
Featured Insights
Our Education Experts
John Marchisin
Expertise Areas:
John Marchisin
John has over 30+ years of cross–industry consulting and operations improvement experience. He continues to provide profit improvement services to a range of companies including higher education, healthcare providers, healthcare payers, technology, retail, and other. His work includes strategic profitability improvement, revenue cycle improvements, gross margin improvements, process redesign, and technology implementation services. John has a particular focus on organizational change management supporting his clients in developing strategies for advancing their business to meet new business and regulatory challenges. He is a known innovator and driver of change that produces results by communicating to all levels of the organization. John has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management Information Systems from Pace University, is a member of HFMA and is a published author in Managed Healthcare Executive, CFO and Financial Executives.
Tyler Higgins
Expertise Areas:
Tyler Higgins
Tyler has robust experience leading multi-year sourcing initiatives within Higher Education, Retail, Consumer Products, Transportation and Energy, achieving over $250M in strategic profitability improvement. He has over 10 years of sourcing experience and developing strategic solutions regarding innovation, automation, process improvements, and strategic programs integral in generating substantial strategic profitability improvement. He has completed projects in a multitude of sourcing categories including temporary labor, most facilities (material and services) areas, IT hardware and software, scientific supplies, supply chain/transportation, outsourcing and human resource benefits. Tyler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a published author in Internet Retailer.