Rising Operating Costs
U.S. hiring and benefit costs continue to increase, putting pressure on institutional budgets.
Higher Education
Skilled Canadian Professionals, Working Remotely for You at 20-40% Below Domestic Staffing Costs.
Intra connects US colleges, universities, and higher education service firms with experienced Canadian talent across enrollment, student services, IT, and administration, fully integrated into your systems and workflows.
The Challenge
Higher Education is Facing Unprecedented Operational Strain
Institutions and higher education service firms are navigating a complex reality as they face pressure to drive enrollment and retention while managing rising costs and persistent staffing gaps.
When critical roles go unfilled, the impact ripples across campus. Service gaps emerge, backlogs build, and student-facing teams are stretched thin. Vacancies in academic, administrative, or technical functions directly threaten institutional momentum and revenue growth.
To thrive in the "now and next" of higher education, institutions and higher education service firms need a more agile approach to workforce planning.
Enrollment & Revenue Pressure
Institutions need more capacity to support growth without adding financial strain.
Vacancies Create Backlogs
Open roles impact responsiveness, retention, student experience, and institutional performance.
Our Solution
A Strategic Workforce Model for University Leadership
A flexible model built for both institutions and the firms that serve them.
Colleges and Universities
Intra helps higher education institutions expand capacity while preserving cabinet-level control.
We embed highly skilled remote professionals who operate as a true extension of your campus teams. They work inside your existing technology ecosystem, follow your policies and processes, and are directed by your institutional leaders.
This is a co-managed enablement model. Your leadership retains full authority over strategy, priorities, and performance, while Intra manages employment administration, payroll, benefits, and compliance.
The result is a scalable, cost-efficient workforce solution that helps institutions:
- Strengthen operational resilience across academic and administrative units
- Reduce hiring and retention pressure in hard-to-staff roles
- Protect governance and standards by keeping decision-making on campus
- Support long-term institutional health, from student success to financial sustainability
Intra gives your institution the capacity it needs to execute on its mission without sacrificing control, quality, or compliance.
Higher Ed Service Firms
Intra partners with consulting firms, technology providers, enrollment management companies, and other organizations whose work is centered on higher education. If your clients are colleges and universities, you face the same capacity constraints they do, often with even tighter margins and faster delivery expectations.
Our model gives your firm access to skilled remote professionals who are embedded in your workflows and accountable to your team. Whether you need to scale project delivery, support client implementations, or build out a dedicated service function, Intra provides the talent infrastructure to grow without the overhead of traditional hiring.
The same co-managed approach applies: your team leads the work, and Intra takes care of employment administration, payroll, and compliance on the back end.
Because our professionals are based in Canada and paid in Canadian dollars, US institutions and service firms typically save 20-40% compared to domestic staffing alternatives, with no reduction in qualification level or work quality. The CAD/USD exchange rate means your budget stretches further without compromising on talent.
Cost Calculator
Calculate Your Potential Savings
Quickly compare current staffing costs with Intra's model. See the projected ROI and understand how strategic workforce optimization can unlock resources for your highest-priority initiatives.
Enter an employee's annual salary and estimated benefits to instantly model potential savings and ROI. This is a fast, transparent way for cabinet-level leaders to assess workforce optimization opportunities with confidence.
%
Recommended: 25–35%
Independent U.S. Hire
$130,000
Fully loaded annual cost
Intra Canadian Remote Hire
$89,190
Fully loaded annual cost
Your estimated annual savings$40,810(31%)
This calculator produces an estimated cost comparison based on the salary and benefits you enter, average conversion rates, and fully loaded costs including Intra's annual management fee, and is in no way a definitive result. For accurate costs and savings, please consult with our team.
The Intra Advantage
Built around three simple advantages
01
Zero Integration Tax
Our model fits effortlessly into your existing environment. No disruptive overhauls, no new platforms to learn, and no technical friction, just seamless support.
02
Zero Administrative Friction
As your dedicated employer of record, Intra manages the complexities of payroll, compliance, and HR administration, freeing you to focus on your mission.
03
Zero Loss of Control
Your department leaders retain absolute authority. They define priorities and lead day-to-day operations, while Intra personnel function as dedicated members of your campus community.
How It Works
Works Within Your Systems and Security Environment
Intra helps you strengthen operations by providing specialized remote professionals with deep U.S. higher-education experience. Our talent integrates directly into your campus environment, working inside your systems, following your processes, and reporting through your leadership.
We match professionals to your exact operational needs, ensuring proficiency with your technology ecosystem, including Ellucian, Slate, Canvas, Workday, and other core platforms.
Your teams maintain full authority over priorities, workflows, and performance. Intra provides the employment infrastructure, HR administration, payroll, and compliance, while ensuring all work is performed securely within your data governance standards, including SSO and MFA.
Pre-trained on your platforms
Our professionals come pre-trained on the platforms you already use. No new software, no integrations to build, no IT projects to manage. They log into your systems on day one and work within your existing workflows.
In your time zone, through your systems
Your Intra professionals work in your time zone, through your systems, following your processes. They access tools like Workday, Slate, and Canvas through your secure login. Onboarding typically takes 5-7 business days, and a dedicated account manager coordinates everything from scheduling to performance check-ins.
Six Pillars of Continuity
Comprehensive support across all functions
Enrollment & Revenue Growth
Protect your enrollment momentum with specialized support for marketing, recruitment, admissions processing, and CRM optimization (e.g., Slate).
Student Services & Advising
Deliver exceptional student experiences by adding capacity for advising, registration, degree auditing, and transcript evaluation.
IT & Digital Infrastructure
Strengthen your Connected Core® with talent experienced in SIS, LMS, help desk operations, and enterprise environments like Ellucian.
Institutional Research & Assessment
Transform data into actionable intelligence with skilled IR analysts, assessment coordinators, and evaluation specialists to support accreditation and strategic planning.
Faculty & Instructional Excellence
Empower your academic mission with qualified teaching assistants, instructional designers, research coordinators, and faculty support to elevate the academic experience.
Business and Administrative Support
Fortify your administrative backbone with essential support for finance, grants management, budgeting, bursar functions, and service operations.
Who It's For
Strategic Solutions for Higher Ed Leaders
For Presidents and CFOs
A strategic lever to balance institutional growth with fiscal responsibility. Our model offers operational agility, reduces long-term liabilities, and supports sustainable financial planning.
For Provosts and Deans
Maintain academic momentum. Intra helps you scale instructional and departmental capacity, ensuring programs thrive and the student experience remains uncompromised.
For CIOs
Scale technology support without integration headaches. Intra delivers talent matched to your specific systems and aligned with your security protocols, zero technical friction.
Enrollment and Marketing Officers
Expand outreach and enrollment capacity while keeping your strategy and brand in-house. Intra supports student engagement, follow-up, campaign execution, and enrollment operations under your team's direction.
Trust, Compliance, and Security
A Secure, Institution-Aligned Workforce Model Built on Trust
Intra makes cross-border staffing secure, compliant, and operationally seamless. As your employment infrastructure partner, we manage the complexities of global HR administration so you can scale capacity without introducing risk.
All work is performed inside your secure technology environment, fully aligned with your IT governance standards, including SSO, MFA, data-access controls, and institutional security protocols. Your leadership retains full authority over priorities, workflows, and oversight; we provide the administrative backbone that ensures compliance and continuity.
The result is a model that cabinet-level leaders trust, operational teams rely on, and HR, Finance, and IT can support without friction.
Security and compliance checklist
- Employment administration and workforce infrastructure
- Payroll, benefits, and regulatory compliance
- Alignment with SSO, MFA, and institutional IT controls
- No external vendor platforms or parallel systems
- Data security and role-based access governance
- HR-, Finance-, and IT-aligned operating model
Partner With Intra to Scale Your Workforce
If you are seeking innovative ways to protect operational continuity, optimize resources, and drive measurable outcomes, Intra offers a transformative model designed specifically for higher education.
Use our calculator to explore your potential ROI, or connect with our experts to discuss how our tailored workforce solutions align with your strategic goals.