Professional services in higher education

Advice on the many functions of a university that fall outside academia or teaching such as HR, finance, communications, department and laboratory management, libraries and student services. Find out how professional services teams in higher education can best ensure the smooth running of an institution, supporting teaching, research and student success – and work effectively with their academic colleagues.

By Eliza.Compton, 17 March, 2026

What it means to be a university social media director

Social media likes, hearts, sends
Social media director is an often-misunderstood role. From the outside, the job can seem as if it revolves around sports highlights, trending sounds and campus beauty shots but those moments represent only a fraction of the work
Reading time
4minutes
By Eliza.Compton, 14 March, 2026

Segmenting academic audiences for effective internal communication

Different size speech bubbles
The diversity of university academics and the complexity of their roles make effective internal communication difficult. Here, David Brown and Katie Trachtenberg explore ways in which communications professionals can segment messaging to reach different audiences
By Laura.Duckett, 13 March, 2026

Professional services staff, you’re educators, too

A team of professional services staff haveing a discussion
Professional services educators play an important role in supporting student and staff learning at universities. Here are ways to help them to recognise and evidence their teaching practice through Advance HE Fellowship
Reading time
4minutes
By Laura.Duckett, 9 March, 2026

Under the waterline: making skills visible to students

An iceburg
Students often develop valuable transferable skills during their studies but struggle to recognise and articulate them to employers. Here’s how academics can work with careers professionals to support
Reading time
4minutes
By Laura.Duckett, 9 March, 2026

Why process mapping matters in higher education

An unseen laptop user with a flow-chart visualisation superimposed
A technique to help universities improve collaboration, reduce inefficiencies and build shared understanding across teams to support more effective working – and a framework for successful implementation
Reading time
5minutes
Professional services in higher education