The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce)’s announcement that £449m is to be slashed from university budgets this year has led to much debate about the impact that cost-cutting measures will have on individual HEIs and the sector as a whole. It's certainly on the lips of most of the people in HE I've met in the past month or so.

Anyone working in HE will understand that each University is very much a unique institution even when compared with its peers. So likewise every institution faces a unique challenge in surviving the cut. Some are being forced to make redundancies and consider closing departments; others are increasingly asking postgraduates to double as lecturers.

The Guardian recently reported Newcastle University is dealing with the cuts by increasing their number of overseas students, some of whom pay up to £14,000 a year for their education. It's certainly an area where there is more flexibility for UK Unis in increasing their income, and an area Chameleon Net has been working in for the last year or two. What's more it contributes to the balance of UK, EU and overseas students that make universities cosmopolitan, diverse and thriving places.

If times are going to get tougher, it’s clear to me that universities will need to innovate in order to succeed. And connecting with prospective and existing students, wherever they may be, can be achieved in so many different ways. We can see this happening in relatively simple ways across the sector. For instance, City University London’s website has a plethora of options about how to interact with the university all displayed on their home page; City has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, as well as providing RSS news feeds.
 
So putting more energy into web experience and social engagement can open up alternative avenues for recruitment; especially useful if it also allows you to cut down spend in other areas. An HE contact of mine whispered some taboo words the other day - 'You know, I think this might be the year we reduce our prospectus print run and do more online'. Times they are a-changing alright!

But it's not just about costs. Creating a good impression with prospective undergraduates and getting them engaged are major benefits; online tools can enhance the student experience and make existing undergraduates’ lives easier. For example, mobile sites, social networking accounts and an optimized, interactive website all work to improve communications, and give students a greater sense of community and belonging. And better communication always helps organizations to run more efficiently.
 
Speaking of efficiency, the digital world also has a big role to play in significantly reducing administration costs. Online student portals, e-submissions and e-marking could help to streamline the assessment process in some cases, while automated processes and better-connected online systems can help deal with incoming applicant traffic during, say, clearing. These are just some ideas I’ve been batting about with my friends in the higher education sector. They might not work for everybody - as I said early on, each Uni is different - but at the heart of all this is the opportunity to re-think what you currently do, and relish the challenge to explore new and different ways of doing things.

Because unfortunately, it’s often not until we’re financially squeezed that we start finding more clever and creative ways to do what really matters.