Aligning Systems, Structure, and Student Needs for Stronger Outcomes

Academic leaders often measure student success through retention and completion rates, but those outcomes connect to operational decisions made long before students reach graduation. Academic operations provide the structure that supports curriculum, scheduling, catalog publication, data use, and more.

An AACRAO study on academic operations benchmarked how well these functions run and support student success at 281 institutions. Findings reveal variations in structure and practice, along with clear links between academic operations and broader strategy. At over a third of institutions, leaders report that academic operations tie directly to strategic enrollment management, highlighting their influence on recruitment, retention, and completion.

Academic Operations Barriers That Affect Student Success

This research set out to benchmark academic operations and to examine how these functions influence student success. An overwhelming majority of respondents agree that academic operations related barriers affect students. 90% identify at least one institutional challenge that restricts student-centric academic operations.

Half of participants acknowledge limits in how they communicate academic policies and practices to students. Additionally, 47% report gaps in technology that support these processes. Institutions that invest in transparent communication pathways and a cohesive technology infrastructure create more predictable, navigable academic experiences.

What Benchmarks Reveal About Organizational Design

Institutions structure academic operations in different ways, but according to the AACRAO survey, most rely on one to four full-time staff members and centralized executive oversight. Academic operations functions most often sit within a central academic affairs division, with executive-level oversight from the provost or chief academic officer. This placement aligns academic operations with institutional priorities and the heart of the academic enterprise.

However, lean staffing models impose significant responsibility on small teams. These professionals oversee curriculum management, catalog administration, classroom space coordination, and policy compliance. 19% of institutions report that these functions differ at the graduate or professional level, which adds another layer of structural complexity.

Fragmented, manual processes also strain small teams and limit their capacity to focus on long-term operational improvement. Consequently, leaders should consider how organizational design affects how quickly institutions can implement curricular changes, communicate policy updates, and support student progression.

Variation in Technology and Data Use Across Institutions

When small teams manage institution-wide responsibilities, the strength of their technology infrastructure becomes increasingly important to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Most institutions rely on complex technology stacks to support curriculum management, catalog administration, classroom scheduling, and reporting. For example, the AACRAO study reports that less than half of the institutions surveyed use a single technology solution to support classroom-space management. Instead, many rely on multiple systems that require manual coordination across units.

As one respondent noted, “Lots of emails, lots of schedule changes, all done through MS Excel and email. It’s ridiculous.” This experience reveals how inefficient technology ecosystems increase coordination demands. Without integrated systems, institutions face challenges when they attempt to use data effectively, evaluate performance, and support strategic planning.

The Catalog’s Role in Academic Operations

Students most often encounter the catalog through advisors and orientation, but its role extends far beyond those moments. The catalog represents a formal commitment between the institution and its students and serves as the authoritative source for degree requirements, course information, and institutional policy.

According to AACRAO’s survey, 63% of institutions centralize catalog administration within a single unit. Despite this centralized governance, 54% of surveyed institutions do not have an approved institutional catalog in place before recruitment or admission begins. 84% publish the catalog once a year, with almost half releasing it in the summer.

The catalog should support student decision-making from the moment of recruitment. Institutions can improve outcomes when they commit to clear and accessible  degree requirements before enrollment begins. A well-managed catalog does more than document policy; it provides transparency and supports steady academic progress.

When Academic Operations Align With Student Success

Students rarely see the structure behind academic operations, yet they feel its impact daily. Clear governance, integrated systems, and timely catalog practices reduce uncertainty and support steady progress. Institutions that treat academic operations as a strategic priority position themselves to deliver stronger, more consistent student outcomes.