Susan Grajek, an Educause leader who presented the list Wednesday at the 2024 Educause Annual Conference, said combined uncertainty about education and technology has people wondering if they can trust higher education institutions to use data ethically, transparently and safely.
“Higher education needs to restore trust, and this is not a simple task,” said Grajek, who is Educause vice president for partnerships, communities and research.
Institutional leaders need to find a balance between compassion and competence to help earn back trust, Grajek said, adding the 11 ideas in the list (there was a tie for 10th place) can all contribute to this.
The Educause Top 10 list is created by a panel of experts and voted on by the nonprofit’s members. It is forward-focused and aims to highlight issues that deserve education professionals’ attention.
“The Educause Top 10 is about making sense of a world that's evolving faster than ever, and it offers a snapshot of the key issues institutions are dealing with, helping us better understand both the struggles and the opportunities we all share,” Educause President and CEO John O’Brien said Wednesday, revealing the list.
The 11 issues Educause identified were:
1: The Data-Empowered Institution
Higher education needs to leverage data, analytics and artificial intelligence to guide decision-making, the Educause report said. Data-driven insights into student success, funding opportunities and institutional inefficiencies can help leaders thread the needle between competence and compassion. Recently, Chapman University started a “year of data” initiative to improve its data offerings and do better at using data to assess goals.
2: Administrative Simplification
Data and technology can help streamline administrative processes, which will be a key transformation in higher ed, the list said. Institutions are rethinking their enterprise resource planning systems and moving from one platform to a “mesh of ERP applications, platforms, and non-ERP vendors,” Marlena Brown of Gartner said in the Hype Cycle for Higher Education, 2024.
3: Smoothing the Student Journey
Increasingly, student experiences are impacted by digital initiatives like apps, and anywhere their digital interactions can be positive and easy is a win for the institution overall. Thomas More University created a study help app to assess first-year students’ dropout risk and provide targeted support to help improve retention.
4: A Matter of Trust
As institutions use technology and data more and more, leaders will need to ensure everyone experiences safe and secure access. Having skilled staff keeping tabs on cybersecurity is important, but so is clear organization and unified leadership.
“We are still in the case where senior people around the university don't really understand data information, security, privacy,” Don Welch, an IT leader at New York University who helped create the Top 10 list, said, calling for a measured approach.
5: The CIO Challenge
The chief information officer can be a big driver of progress in higher ed, but there are lots of challenges to success in the position. CIOs are tasked with leading digital strategy and operations that are ever increasing in scope, while working with tight funding and resources and responding to societal and technological disruptions. To achieve unified response, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee created a council of CIOs to enable campuswide IT and data planning, decision-making and delivery.
6: Institutional Resilience
With technology and digital innovation come risks, which are growing in number and variety. How institutions respond to those risks can impact their trustworthiness. Aligned strategy and thoughtful staffing can help improve resilience.
7: Faster, Better AND Cheaper
Today’s student body wants a personalized experience in higher ed, and can benefit from it. Automation can contribute to customization in technology experiences and can free up time for staff to tailor in-person experiences. Some institutions have taken advantage of modern ERPs and AI to personalize experiences as much as possible.
8: Putting People First
In seeking to improve institutional effectiveness, hiring, training and retaining professionals, especially in IT, can be a big challenge. Putting people first by prioritizing staff development, building a positive workplace atmosphere and encouraging collaboration can help institutions achieve their goals.
9: Taming the Digital Jungle
Trying to stay up to date with the latest technology and digital strategies has created a tangle of decentralized data for many schools. Educause recommends seeking consolidated solutions. At Oral Roberts University, 98 percent of campus data is accessible through a single app.
10 (tie): Building Bridges, Not Walls
Accessibility and ownership must be front of mind when integrating technology solutions into student experiences. This can come via hybrid learning models and accessible school-provided hardware, but also from giving students autonomy over how their data is collected and used.
10 (tie): Supportable, Sustainable and Affordable
Tech investments need to be driven by the same institutional goals that drive any other investment. They need to fit user, institutional and regulatory needs. At George Washington University, leaders are developing a road map for technology initiatives over the next five years.
