The Higher Education Challenge
Higher Education establishments have a large number of complex, disparate and heterogeneous systems storing student and staff details. These store data either as an end in itself (Student Administration, Network Logon Account or an HR system, for example) or as a facet of their operation (such as Email, Learning Tools, Portals, Procurement and Telephone Systems, Library systems and e-Journals). It is common for students and staff to have a number of different passwords to remember and sometimes a number of different user names.
How does one handle the efficient assignment, management and auditing of identity data and access permissions across such systems? Furthermore, how does one manage the high volume of staff and different student communities? The administration and support of providing such access, especially for short durations, can be costly and difficult.
