Digital Transformation of Administrative Services in a Public University Secretariat

Thesis Abstract

The rapid digitization of administrative workflows in higher education institutions has transformed the delivery of core Secretariat services, yet public universities continue to confront fragmentation, resistance to change, and uneven technology adoption that impede service efficiency, transparency, and stakeholder satisfaction. This study investigates how digital transformation initiatives in the Secretariat of a public university influence administrative performance, user experience, and organizational learning, and identifies factors that facilitate or impede successful implementation within a public-sector university context. The aim is to generate a holistic understanding of the drivers, processes, and outcomes of digital transformation in university secretariats, with a view to informing policy and practice. Specific objectives are (1) to assess the current state of digital tools and digital literacy among secretariat staff and academic and administrative clients; (2) to examine the relationship between digital maturity, process re-engineering, and service delivery performance; (3) to evaluate user satisfaction and perceived quality of administrative services post-digitalization; (4) to identify organizational, cultural, and infrastructural barriers to effective transformation; (5) to develop a context-sensitive framework for sustainable digital governance in university secretariats. The study adopts a mixed-methods design grounded in the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and the Service-Dominant Logic to capture technical, organizational, and value-creation dimensions of digital transformation. The research will be conducted in the Secretariat of a large public university implementing a university-wide digital platform for student records, payroll, procurement, and diary management. A stratified random sample of 180 staff members across four functional units and 320 end-user clients (students and faculty) will be surveyed to measure digital maturity, process performance, and user satisfaction. In-depth interviews will be conducted with 20 managers and senior secretariat staff to explore governance, change management, and infrastructural challenges. Document analysis of policy documents, system usage logs, and service-level agreements will triangulate quantitative and qualitative data. Validity will be ensured through pilot testing of instruments, expert review, and triangulation, while reliability will be assessed using Cronbach’s alpha for multi-item scales. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression to test relationships among digital maturity, process reengineering, and performance, and structural equation modeling (SEM) to validate the underlying theoretical model. Thematic analysis will be applied to interview transcripts to extract patterns related to organizational culture, training needs, and user acceptance. A cost-benefit perspective will be incorporated through a partial least squares (PLS) approach to examine value realization from the transformation. Expected findings include (i) a positive association between higher digital maturity and improved service delivery metrics (cycle time, error rate, and service tracking); (ii) a significant effect of process reengineering on user-perceived service quality; (iii) moderate to high user satisfaction among students and faculty where digital channels reduce direct contact time but reveal gaps in accessibility for certain groups; (iv) critical barriers such as inconsistent IT governance, insufficient training, data silos, and limited budget for ongoing maintenance; (v) a workable digital governance framework emphasizing cross-functional collaboration, continuous training, data governance, and customer-centric metrics. The study will contribute to knowledge by extending the TOE framework within a public university context to include service quality and user experience as core outcomes, integrating Service-Dominant Logic with digital transformation theory in higher education administration, and offering a pragmatic, scalable framework for sustainable digital governance in university secretariats. The main conclusion anticipates that successful digital transformation in university secretariats hinges on aligning technological capabilities with process redesign and organizational culture, supported by robust governance and ongoing capacity-building. Recommendations include developing a phased implementation plan anchored in governance forums, instituting continuous professional development and end-user training, implementing interoperable data standards to break silos, establishing transparent service-level metrics, and allocating dedicated funding for maintenance and upgrades to sustain improvements beyond initial deployment.