Leading campus-wide transformation projects is no small feat. Fortunately, EDUCAUSE offers valuable guidance on how to center people at the heart of these efforts to improve the odds of success. In this week’s issue, we explore that advice before turning to new insights on how financial stress is affecting students and threatening their academic progress. We close with a reflection on the growing influence of AI in learning and what it means for the future of education.  

After reading today’s issue, share in the comments whether you think AI has a positive or negative impact on student learning and why. 

Advice for Digital Transformations 

From Putting People First: Human-Centered Approaches to Large-Scale Digital Transformations | EDUCAUSE Review  

When leading large-scale digital transformation efforts at higher education institutions, prioritizing people alongside technology efforts can lead to more successful outcomes.   

Our Thoughts 

With the number of large-scale digital transformation projects either currently underway or being planned (moving to SaaS, anyone?), this article is a timely reminder that these projects involve more than overcoming technical challenges. They are also deeply human endeavors. For these projects to be institutionally sustainable, they must be approached in ways that are inclusive, holistic, and human-centered.   

As I read the article and reflected on the campus-wide projects I’ve led over the years, I was struck by this sentence: “As higher education professionals, we tend to treat these massive projects as exceptions to normal operations that we can power through with sufficient determination and “grit” despite their demand for so many of our institutional resources.”   

I know that feeling all too well. The belief that these projects are for the good of the institution I care so deeply about, and that if I just give a little more, even to the point of exhaustion, we can succeed. Learning to create space during these efforts to prevent burnout and nurture a healthy organizational culture was a hard-earned lesson.   

The success of these massive undertakings hinges on people as much as technology. By centering well-being, communication, and empathy, we can increase buy-in and improve the odds of long-term success. If you’re not sure where to start, this article offers excellent, actionable strategies, such as wellness check-ins and stakeholder engagement, that can be applied to any institutional initiatives. By putting humans at the heart of digital transformation, we can help our colleagues see it not as a disruption to be survived, but as an opportunity to build a stronger, more connected campus. 

Student Financial Struggles 

From Survey: Financial Struggles Impede Students’ Academic Progress | Inside Higher Ed  

The 2024 Student Financial Wellness Survey found that almost 50% of college students have a financial situation that they feel negatively impacts their academic performance.    

Our Thoughts 

Given the enrollment challenges some institutions are facing, this research from Trellis Strategies provides important insights into the daily experiences and struggles of today’s students. Financial stress has become a central barrier to student success and institutions should pay attention. With nearly half of students reporting that money worries distract them from coursework–and large shares experiencing food, housing, or mental-health insecurity–it’s no longer acceptable to treat these as “outside” issues.   

We’re seeing in real time how financial fragility, unmet basic needs, and overwhelming work or caregiving responsibilities combine to threaten retention, equity, and ultimately the mission of higher education. When only a third of students feel their institution even knows about their struggles, that signals a critical gap in communication and support structures that needs to be addressed.  

With intense public scrutiny over value and outcomes and growing calls for accountability on student success metrics, now is the time for institutions to focus on how they proactively address student needs. As we serve a more complex, diverse, and burdened student population, we must move from well-meaning gestures to strategic, data-informed interventions that keep students in class, on track to graduate, and on a path to upward mobility. 

AI and Education 

From Is AI Enhancing Education or Replacing It? | The Chronicle of Higher Education  

Clay Shirky, vice provost for AI and technology in education at New York University, questions the impacts of AI on student learning.  

Our Thoughts  

As someone who is finishing a PhD in teaching, learning, and technology, the impact of AI on education is something I’ve spent hours exploring and reflecting on. Assuming it doesn’t fold in on itself due to costs, AI will probably be regarded as one of the most impactful technologies on education in the first part of the 21st century. As I read Shirky’s piece, I was particularly struck by this quote from Joss Fong:
 

Education researchers have this term “desirable difficulties,” which describes this kind of effortful participation that really works but also kind of hurts. And the risk with AI is that we might not preserve that effort, especially because we already tend to misinterpret a little bit of struggling as a signal that we’re not learning.  

Although most students probably shudder at the concept, struggle is central to the learning process. Not struggling to the point of failure but the kind of productive cognitive effort that forces learners to wrestle with ideas and grow. Without encountering these difficulties, we run the risk of mistaking student fluency with actual understanding. How can we be confident students are meeting learning outcomes of academic programs when they can so easily outsource their thinking to a prompt?  

Even if you’re not directly involved in teaching and learning at your institution, it’s still important to engage in these conversations. For too long, higher education has been criticized for producing graduates unprepared for the demands of work. We must remain steadfast in ensuring that student effort–and not AI output–remains the driving force behind learning. Otherwise, we risk graduating a generation of students who hold credentials but lack the depth of understanding needed to succeed.