Higher Ed Enterprise Model Conceptual model
The spine

Capabilities

A capability is something the institution does — Student Enrolment, Student Support, Financial Management — stated in the language of the mission, not the vendor's catalog. Unlike a product, it lasts: systems come and go, but the capability endures. Everything else in the model hangs off this spine, which is why the whole catalog is organized around it.

Why capabilities come first

Anchor every system to the capability it delivers and overlap, gaps, and comparison across peers fall out of the structure. The names and definitions here are the HERM Business Reference Model's Level-1 capabilities.

The HERM capability map

Twenty-nine Level-1 capabilities, in three value chains

Learning & Teaching

Core value chain · 9 capabilities
Curriculum ManagementBC001 Student RecruitmentBC008 Student AdmissionBC014 Student EnrolmentBC019 Curriculum DeliveryBC023 Student AssessmentBC028 Completion ManagementBC032 Student ManagementBC044 Student SupportBC052

Research

Core value chain · 6 capabilities
Research Opportunities & PlanningBC065 Research FundingBC071 Research AssuranceBC245 Research ManagementBC093 Research ActivityBC074 Research DisseminationBC086

Enabling

Supporting capabilities · 14 capabilities
Strategy ManagementBC147 Business Capability ManagementBC206 Governance, Risk, & ComplianceBC160 Library ManagementBC133 Advancement ManagementBC232 Marketing ManagementBC107 Engagement & Relationship ManagementBC238 Legal AffairsBC155 Information & Communication Technology ManagementBC201 Human Resource ManagementBC171 Financial ManagementBC184 Information ManagementBC135 Facilities & Estate ManagementBC125 Auxiliary CapabilitiesBC114
Explore

See capabilities in the model

Business Reference Model →

The full HERM capability poster with every level and definition.
By-capability lens →

Every system grouped under the capabilities it delivers — overlaps visible.
Coverage map →

Every capability shaded by coverage — gaps in red, overlaps in deep green.

Capability names, codes, and definitions are from the CAUDIT Higher Education Reference Models (HERM) v3.2.0, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.