HERM v3.2.0 Joe Sabado · Sept 2026

The higher ed enterprise model

One connected model of the estate, grounded in the Higher Education Reference Models.

Record each system once, against every dimension. Then any dimension becomes a view — to find overlaps and gaps, set recovery priorities, and guide investment.

Open the catalog → How the model works

Tip: click any box in the model below for details.

The whole model on one page. Click to enlarge. Download image
This is a conceptual model

It shows how systems, capabilities, and data can be organized — not any one campus. Systems shown are examples. Real implementation varies by each campus's resources, priorities, and policies. Adapt it; don't copy it.

New here? A short path

The site is deep — but you only need four stops to get the idea. Follow these in order, then explore the rest from the Contents menu.

STEP 1
Why this matters

The problem the model solves, in plain terms.

STEP 2
The model

How the estate is organized — just below on this page.

STEP 3
See it in action

The interactive catalog — one model, many views.

STEP 4
Make it yours

How to adopt it, and ten ways to put it to work.

New · Core systems mapped to HERM
Compare all four →

What the major vendors' systems do, function by function, and the HERM capabilities each one supports. Explore each on an interactive wheel, or compare all four to see where they overlap.

SIS

54 functions · 187 features · 71 HERM capabilities

Finance ERP

60 functions · 297 features · 39 HERM capabilities

HRM

50 functions · 314 features · 34 HERM capabilities

Research admin

42 functions · 313 features · 30 HERM capabilities

Why this model

No one owns the whole picture

The estate grew one system at a time. The questions that matter cross every boundary — which systems overlap, where sensitive data sits, what breaks if one fails — but the answers live in scattered spreadsheets and a few people's heads.

No single source of truth

The same fact differs across a dozen systems, so no answer is trusted.

Hidden overlaps & gaps

Products quietly duplicate each other; some capabilities have no owner at all.

Risk is invisible until it isn't

Where sensitive data sits, and what must recover first, surface only in an audit or outage.

What this model does about it

Record every system once, on one shared model. Then any question — overlap, gap, sensitivity, recovery — is answered in minutes, not months.

The model

Enterprise architecture connects business, data, applications, and technology

Enterprise architecture — connects business, data, applications, and technology
Business layer
↑ grounded by one reference model per layer
HERM (Higher Education Reference Models) — one reference model per layer (CAUDIT v3.2.0 · CC BY-NC-SA)
Sector standard since 2016 · used by 1,000+ institutions · curated by CAUDIT with EDUCAUSE / ITANA
↓
The system catalog — one connected model

Each system is recorded once against every dimension, so any dimension can become a view.

↓

One model, many views

Pick the lens for the question. Every view rolls up for an executive or drills down to detail — captured once, summarized on demand.

By lifecycle
everything touching the student or research journey
By capability
what supports a function, and where the gaps are
By system
what one application does and connects to
By data
where data lives and who is its source of record
By sensitivity
where the most sensitive data sits
By criticality
what must recover first if something fails
By platform
each module of a shared platform, placed on its own
By AI
where AI assists and where agents act
Coverage map
which HERM capabilities have no supporting system
…and at any altitude — the same view rolls up for an executive or drills down for a technical reader
captured once at technical depth · summarized upward on demand
{{ detail.kicker }}

{{ detail.title }}

{{ detail.body }}

{{ m }}
{{ detail.link.label }}
Mapping the enterprise systems landscape, full size