HEDA (Higher Ed Data Architecture) is a cornerstone for enabling Higher Ed Salesforce Implementation for universities and campuses. However, Salesforce.org officials and training webinars have explicitly said that it is a stepping stone for organizations, not an all-encompassing solution. Salesforce.org training materials suggest that if Higher Ed institutions intend to expand the presence of Salesforce in their organization in the future, then they may benefit from consulting with a Salesforce Partner company that specializes in Higher Ed Salesforce implementation.
HEDA has made Salesforce so much more than just a sales CRM. With that said, it does not solve admission, advising, communication, alumni relations, or fundraising. It does, give you a basic, light-weight, platform that you then can take and build on to create specific solutions to areas that are important to your specific organization.
Some universities need more attention in one area over the other, and HEDA allows for that customization. But with customization comes complexity. We like out of the box solutions because they are easy and simple. HEDA provides an out of the box beginning to what could make you feel like you are boiling the ocean.

Source: http://www.salesforce.org/best-practices-higher-ed-advancement-heda/

Mirketa has recently helped a nursing school with customization of their Higher Ed Salesforce implementation. Here are just a few highlights of things we were able to help with that they may not have thought to implement or configure organically:

• Integration with Student Management, Grant Management, Student Finance, Marketing and other legacy systems “ Custom Integrations with legacy systems using iPASS like Dell Boomi, Informatica or direct API connectivity
• Sales Cloud and Service Cloud Implementation / Integration for Universities / Schools
• Custom Salesforce Development using Lightning components
• Student, Alumni and Donor portals using Salesforce Community Clouds
• Event management portals using Salesforce Community Portal
• Grant Management Solution
• License selection
• End to end Solution Architecture
• Application governance model  release process, data management, data backup, and security policies

What HEDA truly does is provide schools a place to start their Higher Ed Salesforce implementation and deployment anywhere they would like. Whether their first roll-out will be in recruiting, student services, fundraising, corporate engagement, or elsewhere. Knowing what you would like to fix is only half of the battle. There also has to be a road map to success, and it can be very difficult to navigate the intricate workings of Salesforce without having ever been down those paths.
You’ve done most of the work in identifying the problems and the starting point for a solution. Now find someone to help you make a plan that gets you the proper solution for today while leaving room for new implementation in the future.