Contributing Editor: Mark McCormack, Senior Director of Analytics & Research, EDUCAUSE
Higher education institutions are continuously navigating uncertainty and change. Identifying strengths and gaps in institutional resilience is a critical first step in building the capacity to anticipate, respond to, and adapt to future challenges—even unexpected ones.
A framework developed by members of the community can help guide the work to make colleges and universities more resilient.
As higher education institutions recognize the strategic value of data, many are still grappling with barriers that slow or complicate modernization efforts.
AI-related procurement is challenging due to the complexity of AI governance and the rapid pace of change of AI technologies. Procurement professionals can succeed by aligning practices with institutional AI strategy and working with solution providers committed to transparency.
As institutions face a multitude of challenges and anticipate budget reductions and resource shortages, data for benchmarking and decision-making and the affordances of new technologies can help illuminate paths forward.
Higher education institutions are investing in sustainability initiatives, but their specific goals and challenges remain unclear to many. Student and campus community engagement continues to be a key force in advancing these efforts.
Technical debt is widespread across higher education, introducing both risks and benefits to the institution. Cybersecurity supports are lagging, and smaller institutions in particular may be weighed down by compounding debts.
Collaborative partnerships between higher education institutions and technology solution providers are strengthened by focusing on great communication, shared vision, and top-notch expertise.
Institutional constituents hope to see improved efficiency and support for users across campus from the use of AI tools in communications applications.
In a recent Cybersecurity and Privacy Program evaluation survey, EDUCAUSE asked IT professionals whether cybersecurity and privacy functions should be integrated or kept separate.
