The 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10, Part 3: Building Higher Ed’s Sustainable, Supportive Future
As we wrap up our exploration of the 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10 IT Issues, our final trio of issues becomes a quartet, with a tie for 10th place. In looking at the final set of challenges institutions must navigate, it becomes clear that these issues are not just checkboxes on a to-do list; they represent longtail, critical opportunities for growth and innovation. If, in the next few years, you want your institution to be vibrant and full of potential, you’ll need to prioritize staff and students (#8, and #10.1), create cohesive digital ecosystems (#9), and craft sustainable technology strategies (#10.2).
In this final installment of our 3-part series, we’ll explore what trends 8-10 mean for your institution and how Jenzabar can help you embrace change and drive success in today’s educational environment.
8. Putting People First
With technology evolving at lightning speed and financial pressures mounting, it’s more important than ever for leaders to prioritize their employees. Investing in employee development and fostering trust and collaboration can boost retention but ignite productivity. Additionally, by cultivating a workplace culture that values and connects staff to the institution's mission, leaders can create an environment where everyone thrives. While it’s true that higher education may not always compete with corporate salaries, a vibrant, mission-driven culture can be a magnet for attracting and engaging top talent.
Technology can be a strong supporter of enabling a people-oriented culture. With a modern human capital management (HCM) system that brings together employee resources under a single, user-friendly hub, institutions can foster employee development, trust, and collaboration through more contemporary channels. Solutions like Jenzabar HCM can also streamline critical HR processes, providing intuitive, self-service options for employees and freeing HR staff to focus on employee experiences. By empowering employees, these systems can cultivate a supportive environment and drive institutional success.
9. Taming the Digital Jungle
Navigating the digital landscape of higher education can feel like wandering through a maze of scattered data and tools, where risks and inefficiencies lurk at every turn. To truly thrive, institutions need a unified digital infrastructure that streamlines operations and sharpens decision-making. EDUCAUSE advises ditching the digital jungle for a digital garden, a place that’s cultivated, with unified data and technology infrastructure and easily accessible information and tools. This will enable institutions to reduce risk, personalize and enhance experiences, and advance student success.
One of the great technological debates that often ebbs and flows over time has been the discussion between taking a best-of-breed approach to technology adoption or leveraging an end-to-end system from a single vendor. When it comes to converting the digital jungle into a garden, we recommend taking the single-vendor approach, as doing so can mitigate technology complexity and risk without compromising quality or performance. With a cloud platform like Jenzabar One, institutions can break down silos and promote collaboration across campus. In turn, this unified infrastructure can enable better data management and power informed decision-making, equipping institutions to respond effectively to emerging challenges in higher education.
10.1. Building Bridges Not Walls
Higher education institutions are increasingly focused on enhancing access to resources and tools that promote student engagement and success. The data increasingly shows that digital campuses offering diverse learning spaces enable colleges and universities to attract a broader range of students and foster more inclusive environments that prepare learners for future careers. However, this expanded access must go hand-in-hand with privacy measures to protect students' personal information.
We were excited by this addition to the 2025 Top 10 because Jenzabar is dedicated to powering student success safely and securely. Complementing our unified cloud platform, Jenzabar One—which provides institutions with a fully integrated student information system that empowers students and enhances educational experiences—are our robust services that maximize IT security and provide 24/7 system monitoring.
10.2. Supportable, Sustainable, Affordable
It’s no wonder issue #10 had two contenders. One of the biggest challenges CIOs face today is integrating new supportable, sustainable, and affordable technologies. Lowering administrative costs and improving efficiency requires a strategic approach to technology adoption. Additionally, as competition heats up in higher education, institutions must also prioritize environmental sustainability, which resonates particularly with younger generations. By aligning technology initiatives with institutional goals, colleges and universities can foster innovation creatively without detriment to themselves, their learners, or their communities.
Leadership must focus on establishing clear innovation processes that incorporate technology into the broader institutional strategy. This involves making tough choices about resource allocation and prioritizing change management. Institutions can also benefit from partnering with technology vendors to create inclusive and user-friendly digital ecosystems. Ultimately, a well-defined technology strategy can transform higher education so that it’s more affordable, innovative, and accessible.
Conclusion
As we conclude our journey through the 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10 IT Issues, it's evident that the path ahead is rich with opportunities for institutions ready to embrace change. By prioritizing people, unifying digital infrastructures, and crafting sustainable strategies, higher education can transform challenges into catalysts for growth. If you haven’t yet read parts 1 and 2 of our series, you can find part 1 here and part 2 here.
