The 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10, Part 2: Navigating Trust and Resilience in Higher Education
As we continue our exploration of the 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10 Issues, we delve into the next four trends that institutions must navigate. To fully comprehend the importance of issues #4-7, imagine a college campus where trust is faltering—students question whether their personal data is secure, faculty feel unsupported in the face of rapid technological changes, and institutional leaders wrestle with the growing complexity of risk management. In this environment, the stakes are high. Added together, these pressures highlight the urgent need for institutions to focus on safeguarding data (#4), ensuring executives balance strategy and operations (#5), prioritizing institutional resilience (#6), and leveraging new technology (#7).
In the second part of our 3-part series, we continue to break down this year’s top 10, exploring what these issues might mean for your institution and how Jenzabar can help.
4. A Matter of Trust: Safeguarding Privacy and Institutional Data
Today, higher education institutions face a dual challenge: protecting sensitive information while fostering an environment of openness. Institutions have a legal, reputational, and ethical obligation to safeguard the personal information of students, faculty, and staff.
To regain trust, colleges and universities should adopt robust data management and cybersecurity practices. Jenzabar supports institutions in these efforts by providing comprehensive data security solutions and services that ensure sensitive information is well protected. Our cloud solutions are designed with privacy in mind, offering institutions the tools to safeguard data while maintaining transparency and trust with their greater campus communities. We also offer managed services, including infrastructure management, with which we provide systems monitoring and other critical security-related services.
5. The CIO Challenge: Leading Digital Strategy Amidst Transition
Today’s chief information officers (CIOs) are tasked with balancing tactical operations and strategic business initiatives while simultaneously navigating an environment of increased pressures and rapid technological change. CIOs need to unlock and power institutional potential by creating and supporting conditions for success and collaboration.
The role of the CIO on campus is growing. As a proven partner to colleges and universities around the world, Jenzabar provides integrated solutions, support, and strategic advice to ensure decision-makers have the information and resources to make the best decisions for their institution. Internally, CIOs should work closely with their presidents and other leaders to maximize strategic alignment and output. By collaborating and fostering change management across campus, the CIO can continue to be a valuable asset to institutions.
6. Institutional Resilience: Preparing for a Range of Risks
The increasingly complex risk landscape facing higher education institutions—from cybersecurity threats to natural disasters—calls for a strategic approach to resilience. Institutions need to be proactive in identifying potential vulnerabilities and developing comprehensive risk management plans. What steps can institutions take to improve resilience? The first step is to foster a culture of preparedness: Engaging stakeholders across campus in discussions about risks can lead to a unified plan for addressing those challenges head on.
A strategic partner can also help strengthen disaster preparedness and institutional resilience. For instance, Jenzabar’s IT Services include infrastructure management and disaster recovery services and Jenzabar’s Managed Services team help institutions maximize their IT security. Together, these support services can complement an institution’s strategic plan to minimize risk and maximize business continuity.
7. Faster, Better, AND Cheaper: Leveraging Technology for Agility
In search of efficiency, higher education institutions need technologies that automate workflows, enable the delivery of personalized services, and enhance agility. Modern solutions should not only improve operational effectiveness but also provide better experiences for students and staff. The good news: Institutions don’t have too far to look. By embracing solutions from a single vendor, institutions may be able to optimize their resources through integrated systems.
Jenzabar is fully committed to providing institutions with an integrated ecosystem. Solutions like Jenzabar One, our unified cloud ERP, provide institutions with integrated ERP, SIS, and point solutions, connecting every department on campus through one centralized platform. Jenzabar's extensive suite of tools provides opportunities for automation, efficiency, personalization, and flexibility, enabling institutions to operate more effectively in today’s fast-paced educational environment.
Previewing Next Week's Blog
Stay tuned for the final part of our series, where we will explore the remaining trends from the EDUCAUSE 2025 Top 10 Issues and discuss their implications for your institution. If you missed the first blog in our series, you can find it here.
