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Identity and Access Management Built for Higher Ed

This in-depth guide includes comparative frameworks, architecture insights, implementation considerations, and practical evaluation checklists crafted specifically for Higher Ed.

Download "Higher Education is Different. Your IAM Platform Should Be Too."
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Identity in higher education is complicated. People wear many hats, roles change mid-term, and no single system holds it all together. Navigate IAM is purpose-built for this environment, delivering secure, flexible identity management without forcing you into a corporate mold.

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IAM that matches your institution’s structure, scale, and speed

In this guide, you’ll learn how Navigate IAM solves identity and access challenges that traditional platforms struggle with in higher ed. Our platform integrates with your existing infrastructure, supports complex user affiliations, and simplifies compliance.

  • What makes IAM harder in higher ed and how to solve it
  • How Navigate IAM supports dynamic affiliations and access control
  • Examples of provisioning, deprovisioning, and delegated administration done right
  • Why open standards (like SAML, SCIM, LDAP) matter more than ever
  • How Navigate enables federated identity with InCommon and eduGAIN support
  • The case for choosing a managed IAM platform purpose-built for colleges and universities

Why IAM in higher education is a different beast

Universities and colleges operate under conditions few commercial enterprises face. Identity is fluid. Governance is shared. Change is constant. Here’s what makes IAM so complex in higher ed:

  • Multiple concurrent affiliations with each role requiring different access rights.
  • Frequent status changes. Roles shift mid-term. Guests come and go. Departments onboard and offboard with different timelines.
  • Decentralized control. IT manages core systems, but departments, labs, and research units often manage their own access policies. IAM systems must support fine-grained delegation so local units can manage access securely without IT bottlenecks.
  • Privacy and compliance. FERPA, HIPAA, and international federation requirements make IAM legal and strategic efforts that go beyond the tech itself.
  • Integration overload. Institutions juggle dozens (or hundreds) of apps, each with its own provisioning quirks.
Navigate IAM was built to handle these realities, modeling real-world complexities like students becoming TAs mid-semester or faculty members with appointments in multiple departments.

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Who should download this guide?

This guide is ideal for:

  • CIOs and CTOs
  • IAM architects and sysadmins
  • Security and compliance officers
  • IT leaders in charge of digital transformation
  • EdTech and infrastructure decision-makers

The Navigate Difference

  • Security-first design. Built to support FERPA, HIPAA, and international federation standards, with architecture reviewed by ISO 27001-certified experts.
  • Built on open source. No vendor lock-in. Navigate uses battle-tested projects like Shibboleth, Grouper, and MidPoint.
  • Fully managed. We handle hosting, monitoring, updates, patches, and upgrades, including full application maintenance, so your team can focus on advancing identity strategy, not wrestling with operations.
  • Designed for higher ed. From day one, Navigate was shaped around the needs, schedules, and governance models of colleges and universities.

Ready to modernize your identity management system?

Download “Higher education is different. Your IAM platform should be too.” to see how Navigate IAM gives your team flexibility, security, and peace of mind without overhauling your entire tech stack.