The SOA survey is revealing that SOA maturity is simply one dimension of a wider issue of EA maturity in HE. One way to measure EA maturity in HE would be to have a refernece architecture as a yardstick. This is predicated on the assumption that HE is sufficiently different to warrant its own special reference architecture.

Introduction: Why have a reference architecture for Higher Education?

Higher Education is a unique vertical (This drives the enterprise data model designs):

1. The product:
   1. Learning
   2. Research
2. Porous and complex boundaries between communities (within the campus and outside). This drives identity and access management designs
3. The demographic (young, educated)
   This drives UX architecture designs

Business architecture

Core business processes can be expressed as lifecycles. Each lifecycle has a customer facing aspect and an inward, administrative facing aspect. Each lifecycle can be viewed as a value chain. Lifecycles include:

1. Student lifecycle
2. Researcher lifecycle
3. Faculty lifecycle
4. Advisor lifecycle
5. Administrator lifecycle
   The lifecycles reveal the capabilities that are required. Services implement capabilities.

Data architecture

The entire enterprise data architecture is built on 3 fundamental entities:

1. Person
2. Learning unit
3. Research project

Service architecture

Service architecture implements the capabilities that are unique to Higher Education

User Experience (UX) architecture