JAM 2025 Recap: Nashville Was All About You!

JAM 2025 was a huge success! More than 1,500 members of the Jenzabar community from over 300 institutions gathered in Nashville to attend hundreds of solution-focused sessions, connect with the Jenzabar team, and network with their peers. This year’s JAM was all about you: your solutions, your services, and your vision for the future. From the launch of expanded training programs to the further implementation of AI into the Jenzabar ecosystem, JAM 2025 introduced a host of innovations designed to empower your teams and accelerate institutional success.

Whether you were there in person or following our updates from home, here’s a look back at some of our favorite moments from this year’s event.

JAM Academy Live Introduced the New Jenzabar Certifications

Before the main event began, over 200 attendees arrived early to take part in the most successful JAM Academy Live yet. Attendees had the opportunity to earn certifications for financial aid advisors, SaaS system administrators, communications administrators, and more.

Launched at this year’s JAM Academy Live, Jenzabar Certifications are designed to provide role-specific, applicable training and help institutions build stronger, more confident teams by validating the real-world skills needed in today’s higher education environment. These certifications are more than credentials; they’re a step toward operational excellence, institutional efficiency, and professional growth.

Missed JAM Academy Live? No problem—15 role-based certification programs are now available online, with more set to roll out in the coming months. It’s never too late to invest in your team’s success!

The JAM Keynote Was All About You

For the JAM 2025 keynote, Jenzabar’s CEO Bob Maginn and President Sam Burgio took another journey through time—but this time, they weren’t looking forward. Bob traveled into the past to explore how progress was made in times of turmoil. Meeting with prominent changemakers who helped shape technology as we know it today, Bob found that challenge breeds innovation and some of the most impactful technology innovations in history arose during times of great need. It was a powerful parallel to the real innovation happening now at campuses across the country—innovation driven by Jenzabar users just like you.

We also welcomed Miss America, Abbie Stockard, to the main stage. Her moving message about resilience, support, and purpose reminded us that success, whether personal or institutional, is always the product of a community working together.

Diving Deep Into the Jenzabar Intelligence Portfolio

A major focal point of this year’s JAM was Jenzabar Intelligence and how AI is being integrated throughout the Jenzabar ecosystem. The star of the show was AI Assist for Jenzabar Analytics, which allows any user—regardless of technical expertise—to ask natural-language questions and receive real-time answers from their technical data. This means less dependency on IT for ad hoc reporting and more time spent making strategic decisions that drive impact.

AI Assist is just one part of the larger Jenzabar Intelligence initiative. Other products in the Jenzabar Intelligence portfolio include Jenzabar Communications, Jenzabar Workflow, and Jenzabar Chatbot. If there’s one message to take away from JAM regarding AI, it’s that AI at Jenzabar isn’t a buzzword—it’s a promise and a functional advantage that’s helping institutions reduce operational burdens and improve outcomes.

Plenary Focused on the Power of Partnership

This year’s plenary brought real stories of institutional transformation to the stage. We heard from Mimi Royston, CIO at American International College; Brandon Berg, VP of IT at Community College of Beaver County; and Michael Armstrong, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration at Southern Arkansas Tech.

Each panelist offered a different perspective on the value of strategic partnership with Jenzabar. The takeaway: A true technology partner does more than deliver tools; they help you align strategy, processes, and systems to create sustainable, long-term value.

Looking Forward to JAM 2026 in Dallas!

Whether you came for training, product news, strategy sessions, or merely to see your favorite colleagues and Jenzabar team members, we hope JAM 2025 gave you the tools and enthusiasm to keep pushing your institution forward. From all of us at Jenzabar: Thank you for being the reason JAM continues to thrive. We can’t wait to see you next year!