Jenzabar President and COO Sam Burgio sits down with EDUCAUSE to discuss Jenzabar’s take on the 2026 Top 10.

Data and AI Define Higher Ed’s Path Forward: An EDUCAUSE Interview With Sam Burgio

Higher education is facing a growing paradox: Institutions need better data and AI-enabled insights to address enrollment, financial, and ROI pressures, yet many feel unprepared to adopt these tools with confidence. That tension, which is at the heart of the 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10, raises an important question: How can institutions move toward data- and AI-enabled decision-making in a way that is responsible, realistic, and aligned with their missions?

In the final part of our series, we explore how higher education leaders can leverage proactive strategies, AI efficiencies, and data to turn insights into action.

The 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10, Part 3: Turning Insights Into Action

In Parts 1 and 2 of our 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10 series, we explored how culture, tools, and processes can help institutions evolve from reactive problem-solving to proactive innovation. Higher education has done the hard work of modernizing its tools, data, and culture. Now comes the next step: using them.

We explore the next four trends from the 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10 and what tools or processes institutions need to prepare for the future.

The 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10 Part 2: Tools to Transform Campus Culture

In&nbsp;<a href="https://jenzabar.com/blog/the-2026-educause-top-ten-part-one-the-right-culture-is-critical" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Part 1 of our EDUCAUSE Top 10 series</a>, we explored how culture drives success across cybersecurity, AI, and analytics.&nbsp;In&nbsp;Part 2, we shift the focus to examine the technology&nbsp;and processes&nbsp;institutions will need to&nbsp;evolve&nbsp;campus&nbsp;culture. From building internal systems like governance committees to the intentional exploration of new, better technology systems, these next four trends—data-centric culture, knowledge management for AI, measured technology adoption, and technology literacy—focus on what it takes to make the shift from technological possibility to sustainable progress.

We explore the 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10 to identify higher education trends in cybersecurity, AI, data analytics, and why the right culture is critical.

The 2026 EDUCAUSE Top 10 Part 1: The Right Culture Is Critical

From the arrival of the long-anticipated enrollment cliff to rising expectations around artificial intelligence to growing cybersecurity concerns, higher education has entered a period of heightened urgency and reinvention. Technology, tools, and data alone won’t solve these pressures; success depends on an institution’s culture.

The enrollment cliff isn’t about finding more students—it’s about keeping the ones you have.

Trend Alert: The New Enrollment Strategy Is Retention

For years, higher education has treated enrollment and student success as separate initiatives—one focused on getting students in the door, the other on helping them cross the finish line. But in 2025, those lines of separation have blurred. The enrollment pool is shrinking. There are fewer traditional-aged students, competition is fiercer, and marketing dollars don’t stretch as far as they once did. Institutions can’t out-recruit the demographic cliff. Fortunately, the real opportunity isn’t in recruiting more students—it’s in losing fewer.

We discuss highlights from IHE’s latest Decision Guide and explore how institutions can improve data storage to secure student success.

The Role of Data Storage in Student Success

Data seems to be the key to unlocking success of all kinds, so it’s no surprise to hear many higher education leaders looking for ways they can use data to secure student success. These days, campuses are generating more data than ever, and managing that data has become a herculean task that many smaller, resource-strapped institutions feel unequipped to handle. Some big questions many in higher ed are grappling with include how to store, structure, and share data in ways that make it actionable.

Join Jenzabar in Nashville for EDUCAUSE 2025.

Jenzabar at EDUCAUSE 2025: AI, Analytics, and Empowerment

From October 27-30, higher education professionals and IT experts will join their peers at EDUCAUSE 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. If you’re planning on attending, be sure to <a href="https://jenzabar.com/educause-2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meet with Jenzabar to discuss the evolving world of artificial intelligence</a> and what it means for your institution, how you can use your data to make more informed decisions, and how you can empower your students and staff with modern technologies.

We highlight findings from Spark451’s 2025 College-Bound Student and Parent Surveys to discover what students and parents prioritize in the college search.

What Do College-Bound Students and Parents Want During the College Search Process?

The college search process has never been more complex. Today’s students and parents are weighing factors that go well beyond academics and affordability: They’re asking whether a campus is safe, whether an institution’s values align with their own, and even how political climates in certain states might shape their experience. To help institutions keep pace with these shifts, Spark451, Jenzabar’s enrollment marketing division, has been surveying college-bound students and parents for more than a decade. This year’s <a href="https://collegebound.spark451.com/" rel="noopener">14th Annual College-Bound Student Survey and Parent Survey of College-Bound Students</a> gathered insights from families across the U.S., and the findings reveal just how quickly expectations are changing.

Our Spark451 colleagues examine how to make financial aid offers faster, smarter, and more accessible.

The Future of Financial Aid Offers

&nbsp;The following is excerpted from a blog by Spark451, a Jenzabar Company.
At the start of the fall 2025 recruitment cycle, the enrollment management world was still recovering from the FAFSA fallout of 2024.
Although the form seems to have operated smoothly this past cycle, with submissions returning to pre-pandemic levels, and is promised to return to its October 1 launch date, financial aid offices are still entering the fall 2026 cycle with trepidation. Why?

We examine Tambellini’s latest white paper and highlight different ways for institutions to consider and measure return on investment.

Rethinking ROI and Value When Making Technology Decisions

These days, higher education leaders are under constant pressure to demonstrate return on investment (ROI), especially when it comes to technology purchases. One might think that evaluating ROI would be a relatively straightforward proposition, like it is in corporate finance or retail, where returns can be tracked against revenue growth or cost savings. But when it comes to technology modernization, the traditional formula — ROI = (Net Benefit / Investment Cost) x 100 — falls short. Especially for higher education technology, modernization doesn’t always pay off in year one, and value isn’t only measured in dollars. That leaves decision-makers like CIOs, CFOs, and college presidents wrestling with the same question: How do you calculate ROI when the returns go beyond dollars and cents?

We examine how implementing small-scale AI projects can help institutions develop long-term student success initiatives.

Looking to AI as a Long-Term Investment in Student Success

Many higher education institutions have moved past the experimentation stage with artificial intelligence. Chatbots are answering student questions at all hours, predictive analytics tools are helping faculty and advisors identify and alleviate student risk concerns, and automation technologies are freeing up staff for more meaningful work. Today’s questions about AI now surround how institutions can lay the groundwork for using AI to deliver sustainable, long-term value for students.

We explore how proactive, data-driven strategies and retention analytics can transform student success.

Break the Silos and Build Student Success: The Role of Analytics in Retention

When we picture student success, we see proud graduates tossing caps and families cheering from the stands. But behind that joyful moment is a winding journey full of academic hurdles, financial worries, mental health struggles, and the occasional “Wait, there was a midterm today?” panic.

Discover how you can make sure your next senior search campaign is a success.

Senior Search Season Is Here. Are You Ready?

The following is an excerpt from a blog by Jenzabar’s Enrollment Strategy Division, Spark451.
For many enrollment and marketing teams, the transition into summer doesn’t mean a slowdown, it just means the fires you’re putting out have changed shape. Instead of a race to get deposits, it’s now a race to reduce melt; the energy you put toward admitted student days is needed for summer visits and fall travel prep. Tracking down high school transcripts has flipped to tracking down all those new student forms.

IHE’s 2025 CTO/CIO survey dives into the cautious approach to AI in higher education—perhaps too cautiously.

2025 CIO/CTO Survey: Progress, Pitfalls, and Priorities of AI in Higher Education

Artificial intelligence has been steadily gaining momentum in the consumer landscape over the past few years, which has contributed to its spillover into other sectors like higher education. The use of AI on campus is now virtually inevitable; whether they like it or not, institutional decision-makers must find ways to embrace and support the use of AI on campus, even if they have concerns. This was one of the takeaways regarding AI from <a href="https://jenzabar.com/resource/industry-insights-2025-survey-of-campus-chief-technology-information-officers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Inside Higher Ed’s 2025 Survey of Campus Chief Technology/Information Officers</a>.

As some campuses press forward with AI adoption, many of their peers remain in AI limbo. Here’s how Higher Ed can move AI projects forward. 

How to Overcome Challenges and Move Forward With AI Adoption in Higher Education

These days it seems as if every week brings a new AI tool, use case, or prediction that higher education is about to be transformed. Though the pace seems relentless, the potential is real: AI can help institutions streamline operations, improve support services, and reduce staff burnout. In fact, many institutions have already begun to realize these benefits—AI-powered chatbots are answering student questions quickly, predictive analytics are increasing student retention outcomes, automations are freeing staff up for higher impact work. With clear successes emerging, you might expect widespread adoption across the sector. Yet the reality is that many institutions remain hesitant to fully embrace AI.

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Data and AI Define Higher Ed’s Path Forward: An EDUCAUSE Interview With Sam Burgio

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