Blog Posts:
IT Strategy for Higher Education

At this summer’s Mackinac Roundtable on Talent, I joined higher education leaders who are working through one of the defining questions facing colleges and universities today: how do institutions prove their value without allowing someone else to define it for them?...

The call came on a Monday morning in early May. A widely used academic platform that millions of students and faculty rely on daily for coursework, grading and communication had been breached by an extortion group. Within hours, college and university presidents across the country faced the same challenge: How do you lead through a crisis you didn’t cause, involving systems you do not control and data you cannot directly inspect?...

I’m leaving the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit energized by the conversations and perspectives shared across the higher education community. More than that, I’m leaving with a clearer sense that higher education is entering a new phase, one defined less by exploration and more by execution. ...

Higher education is navigating the most operationally complex and financially constrained period in its modern history. Yet, some  governing boards remain structurally and culturally disconnected from the scale of these challenges. This post explores the  Governance Gap” and provides a framework for boards to refocus on institutional sustainability....

As colleges and universities begin working through the new Admissions, Completions, and Transfer Student (ACTS) reporting requirements, a familiar pattern is emerging: even highly mature Institutional Research (IR) teams encountering the same operational, definitional, and technical barriers. ...

The Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) represents the most significant expansion of federal admissions reporting in decades and offers a pivotal moment for higher education leaders. While ACTS introduces new compliance requirements, it also creates a strategic opportunity to modernize admissions analytics, strengthen data governance and elevate institutional decision-making....

Here's the reality that successful institutions are discovering: ERP migrations don't have to be the chaotic, over-budget nightmares they're often portrayed to be. In fact, with the right framework and strategic approach, these transformations can unlock operational excellence and set your institution up for decades of success. The key is knowing how to navigate the journey....

College and university presidents face an increasingly complex challenge: technology has never been more critical to institutional success, yet budgets have never been more constrained. The question isn't whether to invest in IT—it's how to invest strategically to drive measurable outcomes in enrollment, retention, and operational efficiency....

Dynamic Campus recently brought together presidents from partner institutions for its first Partner Innovation Lab, a collaborative forum for higher education leaders to discuss the most pressing challenges facing their institutions. ...

Every higher education leader knows the feeling: Another budget meeting, another mandate to cut costs, and the sinking realization that there's seemingly nothing left to trim. Meanwhile, technology expenses keep climbing while student expectations for digital services soar higher than ever....