EDUCAUSE 2024: Two priorities to watch out for in higher education in 2025

The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference is the event that everyone in higher education and ed tech looks forward to each year.

From the newest solutions and networking to the sessions and keynotes (does it get any better than Brené Brown?), it’s always a can’t-miss gathering.

Of course, the highlight is the annual Top 10 IT Issues list covering the trends that will shape the next year. Once the 2025 list was unveiled, two key pieces stood out for me: trust and student success.

1.???? It’s time to rebuild trust across higher education. (And yes, AI can help.)

For decades, higher ed was trusted as an investment to ensure future career success and economic mobility. But recently, there’s been a significant shift. A July 2024 Gallup poll found that 32% of respondents have “little or no confidence” in higher ed. That’s a 22% jump from 2015.

So, what happened and how can we turn the trust tides?

For one, the idea of producing workforce-ready graduates has spiked. When the U.S. established land grant institutions 100+ years ago, it intended to provide a practical education in agriculture and science as the workforce evolved with a higher demand for these skills.

Today’s students are inundated with headlines about student loan debt and graduates who are ill-prepared for the workforce. It’s not surprising that they question whether it’s worth it in the long run.

Many are betting they can bypass a four-year education, focus on industry certifications and go into the workforce at a great salary.

A new Validated Insights study analyzes National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) IPEDS data going beyond standard Carnegie classifications to gain insight into enrollment trends for trade schools. They found that trade school enrollment is up 4.9% from Fall 2020 to 2023 and search traffic for trade schools has jumped 27%. Clearly, this is an attractive option to a four-year degree.

Is it going to become an either, or? Or a yes, and? Time will tell.

One way to regain the trust of learners is to capitalize on higher education’s most valuable asset, data. Why? Because the Holy Grail of student success is attraction, retention and completion. Initiatives that result in higher rates of on-time graduation, lower student debt and workforce-ready graduates increase the reward of a degree.

The why is uncontested; it’s the how that will rebuild trust. Data is essential, but it must be centralized for maximum potential.

Across higher education, many institutions have extremely siloed data — systems that don’t talk to each other or ones that pull but don’t push. Fragmented data can be unreliable resulting in inaccurate analysis while also leaving individual units vulnerable to security threats.

That’s where CDW can come in. Our data-readiness evaluation is not merely procedural. It’s an investment in personalizing learning, supporting student success, enhancing decision-making and modernizing business operations. We audit your data sources, develop data maps and create the foundation for choosing the right solutions for your goals and priorities.

Another added benefit is knowing that your campus is ready to capitalize on the promise of AI.

Want to dive even deeper? Learn more in an article I wrote for EDUCAUSE here.

2.???? How you measure (and ensure) student success matters

It’s apparent that trust and student success go hand in hand. But what role do institutions play?

For Susan Grajek, EDUCAUSE vice president of partnerships, communities and research, it comes down to the human element.

“We need to show students that we are invested in their success,” she says. “Part of the way we can do this is by making their technology-mediated interactions with the institution seamless and holistic. We need to make sure those experiences are safe, secure and accessible.”

Institutions can also help by simply showing they care. One exciting trend is a focus on mental health and wellness. By providing these incredibly important services, it reduces the stigma and shows parents and students that these resources are important and available.

How can CDW help?

As an EDUCAUSE mission partner, CDW can bring institutions together with our partners to find the right solutions for their needs. We can help with:

·?????? Taking the lead on data cleanup and centralization

·?????? Aligning your goals and priorities to the right platforms and technologies

·?????? Bringing generative AI into every department

·?????? Creating a seamless, modernized campus experience from the quad to the classroom

After we returned from EDU24, I sat down with Doug Konopelko, our Senior Manager of Education Impact, to discuss our biggest takeaways. Hear what we chatted about here.

Athens of the South, here we come!

Next year, EDUCAUSE is heading to Nashville, and we’ll be there to help more institutions find the right solutions for their — and their students’ — needs.

If you have questions about how we can help, please reach out anytime. And visit CDW Higher Education here for more.