Case studies / Education: Schools and Multi-Campus Groups
Case studyStandard procedures across campuses for a school group
A multi-campus school group replaced campus-by-campus fee collection, admissions follow-up and procurement with common procedures, shared data and consistent board reporting.
Overview
A group of independent schools offering primary and secondary education across several campuses, each with its own bursar's office, admissions team and site management.
Scale. Around 7 campuses, several thousand pupils, termly fee billing with instalment plans and sibling discounts and a central procurement function for supplies and assets, delivered as a phased, multi-location programme.
The challenge
Each campus worked differently. Bursars set up fee accounts, discounts and instalment plans in their own way, sent reminders when they had time and recorded payments from several channels by hand. Families with children at more than one campus received separate, inconsistent statements, and overdue fees were often noticed late.
Admissions follow-up was handled differently in each place. Enquiries arrived by phone, email, the website and open days, and each campus tracked them in its own spreadsheet. Some families waited days for a reply, others were contacted twice, and the group could not see how many enquiries became applications and enrolments.
Procurement and assets added to the inconsistency. Campuses bought supplies from different suppliers at different prices, and equipment was recorded in separate lists, if at all. The board received reports compiled by hand from each campus, in different formats, and there was no single view of fees, admissions or spending.
The solution
Every campus now bills fees through one process. Discounts, instalment plans and sibling arrangements follow the same rules, invoices and reminders are sent on a common schedule and payments made through the parent app or payment gateways are matched automatically. Families with children on several campuses receive one statement.
Admissions enquiries from every channel enter one pipeline. Each enquiry has an owner and a next step, families receive timely replies and the group can see how many enquiries become visits, applications and enrolments, by campus and by year group.
Procurement follows agreed suppliers and approval limits, and equipment is recorded in one asset register as it is bought. Shared master data links learning and student systems, payment gateways and the parent app, payroll and HR, and board reporting, so reports come from the same data on every campus.
The engagement
- Seven months
- Four specialists, with the group finance director, head of admissions, group procurement manager and campus bursars
- Process mapping, fee billing and collection, admissions enquiry follow-up, procurement and asset registers, learning and student system links, payment gateways and parent app, payroll and HR, board reporting, pilot and phased rollout.
Integrations
- Learning and student systems
- Payment gateways and parent apps
- Payroll and HR
- Board reporting
How we delivered it
- 01
Map the work with the people who do it
Four weeks
We spent time with bursars, admissions officers, site managers and finance staff on each campus, following real fee accounts, enquiries and purchase requests from start to finish. With the group finance director we agreed the scope: fee collection, admissions follow-up, procurement and assets, and board reporting.
- 02
Design common processes and integrations
Nine weeks
Bursars agreed one fee structure, discount rules and reminder schedule. Admissions designed a single enquiry pipeline with response targets for each stage. Procurement set preferred suppliers and approval limits. We linked the student information system, payment gateways and the parent app, payroll and HR and board reporting through shared master data for families, pupils, suppliers and assets.
- 03
Pilot in one location
Six weeks
One campus ran the new procedures for half a term. The pilot showed that sibling discounts were calculated differently between campuses and that some enquiries arrived through a form not yet connected to the pipeline. Discount rules were standardised and the form linked before rollout.
- 04
Roll out in waves and track results
Ten weeks
The remaining campuses moved in groups, timed around the start of term, with training for bursars, admissions staff and site managers. The group executive and the board reviewed fees, admissions and spending monthly.
Results
- Reporting became consistent
- Fee reminders and payments on one schedule
- Admissions enquiries tracked in one pipeline
- Teams worked from the same data across locations
Reporting became consistent. The board received the same report from every campus, prepared from the system rather than compiled by hand, and could compare fee collection, admissions and spending on a like-for-like basis.
Fee collection became more predictable, because reminders went out on time and families could pay easily through the app. Admissions teams replied to enquiries faster and could see where families were dropping out of the process.
Teams worked from the same data across locations, and leadership could review results monthly, with fees, admissions and spending visible for every campus.
For the first time, the board looks at one report and every campus is counted the same way.
What made the difference
A group saw fee collection and admissions across campuses daily. Agreeing measures at the start, such as overdue fees and enquiry response times, made success easy to recognise.
