3 Ways Kuali Cultivates Openness in Higher Education Software
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, building meaningful relationships between institutions and vendors can be challenging. As communication becomes more automated and multitasking more prevalent, the human touch often fades into the background.
At Kuali, we believe in connecting with our clients in a genuine, personal way. With a strong foundation in collaborative partnerships in higher education, Kuali's roots run deep in community-driven innovation. These origins have shaped how we engage with our clients today, making building open, trusting relationships a core part of our mission.
How do we create and sustain these connections? By cultivating openness. It’s one of Kuali’s six core values, embedded into our software for higher education and reflected in the way we engage with our community. It’s a value you’ll find written on the walls, woven into our office artwork, and hashtagged across Slack channels. Employees even recognize peers with micro-bonuses for embodying this principle.
“We go out of our way to make sure people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas,” said Sarah Crane, product manager of Curriculum and Catalog Management.
Here are three key ways we foster openness with our community, enabling digital transformation for universities.
1. We’re Honest
Honest communication between university vendors and institutions is vital for creating collaborative partnerships that benefit both parties. The strength of this relationship directly impacts the success of projects and initiatives on campus.
“Our approach is really unique,” said Susan Sorensen, product manager of Sponsored Programs. “We have the relationship to be candid and honest.”
By fostering an environment where openness thrives, we provide institutions with the space to share their business processes, frustrations, and needs. This open dialogue allows our team to continuously learn and grow, ultimately improving the cloud-based solutions we deliver to meet higher education's unique needs.
“[Openness] provides more opportunities for us to be better,” said Shaun Moon, Product Manager for Kuali Financials.
2. We Collaborate and Connect
One of the greatest strengths of the Kuali Community is the opportunity to learn from other institutions using Kuali's higher education software. Our cloud-based university management tools are designed to facilitate this kind of exchange, allowing institutions to benefit from shared knowledge and best practices.
When our team encounters a challenge faced by one institution, we can draw on our experience with others, connecting clients to share success stories and digital transformation strategies. For instance, Kuali has helped research administrators at the University of California, Irvine connect with institutions outside of the UC System, creating a network of support and problem-solving.
“Kuali helps us connect with other institutions that are like us that we wouldn’t normally connect with,” said Barbara Inderwiesche, Director of Electronic Research Administration at UCI.
Bruce Morgan, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration at UCI, emphasized the importance of this community: “Because of the research administration software community, there are so many connections and depth of experience, and Kuali knows how to tap into that.”
3. We’re Partners
Our commitment to institutional efficiency goes beyond just offering software solutions. We see ourselves as partners, fully invested in our clients' work and the mission of higher education. By providing no-code workflow automation tools, we empower administrators to streamline processes, saving time and allowing them to focus on what truly matters: advancing the institution's mission.
For example, when Susan Oswalt, Technical Project Manager, was implementing a new research module at the University of California, San Diego, she found that her relationship with Kuali’s customer service representative was crucial. “I can tell her anything, I can ask her for advice, I can tell her some of my pain points, some of the things I’m worrying about. She can really give me feedback in those areas, she knows all of the different modules, she knows all the different players and she is our go-to person,” Oswalt said.
She added, “We just feel like the project’s going to succeed because she has really good experience, she does this all the time, she’s forthcoming with information about our risks and issues that come up. She gives her recommendations and is super helpful.”
By approaching each client as a partner in their journey, we enable them to succeed in their digital transformation efforts. This approach ensures that our solutions, from no-code form building to workflow automation, are tailored to fit the specific needs of each institution.
Cultivating openness is fundamental to our relationships throughout the Kuali Community and is a key differentiator in the higher education SaaS space. By consistently fostering openness through honesty, connection, and partnership, we continue to empower our community to grow and thrive.