3 Areas Where AI Will Impact Higher Ed Most in 2025

• 01/15/25

"AI could make 2025 the year institutions — including those without massive IT teams or large endowments — unlock the value of their data to enhance both institutional improvements and student success.  

"Unified data, either pulled into one easy-to-use dashboard or consolidated and analyzed in a data lake, can empower administrators and support students from admissions to graduation. Cloud-based data cores will enable seamless integration across CRM, LMS, SIS, and departmental systems, providing a holistic view of student experiences. As a result, students will benefit from a more personalized and efficient experience, and will need to provide their information only once, with consistent support across departments."
— Cecilia Marshall, director of external partnerships, Partnership for Education Advancement

"As we hit the accelerator in 2024 and drive into 2025, post-secondary education will begin to better understand how artificial intelligence can serve as a partner in transforming teaching and learning through optimizing data for designing personalized education experiences, enhancing accessibility, and enabling practical learning opportunities for all students. AI has already proven that it can evolve into a powerful tool for analyzing holistic data, integrating diverse information technology sources to uncover insights about student performance, well-being, and engagement. AI together with subject-matter experts have the opportunity to create more adaptive and inclusive learning environments while driving data-informed innovations to improve outcomes."
— Suzanne Carbonaro, vice president of Postsecondary Education and Workforce Programs, 1EdTech

"As AI becomes more integrated into universities, institutions are moving beyond experimental, gimmicky applications to embrace practical uses that enhance operational efficiency while saving time and resources. The exploratory phase of understanding AI's potential is ending, and in the coming year, higher education will prioritize leveraging AI for routine tasks and high-impact implementations that directly benefit students and administrators."
— Chase Williams, CEO, Pathify

"In 2025, the ability to effectively leverage enterprise-level analytics and AI through in-house resources will further deepen the divide between institutions that thrive versus those which do not. Colleges and universities are being called to task for the trove of data they steward but fail to act on. On the one hand, many are unable to effectively leverage their data for decision-making, whether for technical or — as is often the case — cultural reasons. On the other hand, many institutions are outsourcing strategically aligned enterprise-level analytics and AI initiatives, resulting in homogenization and decision-making that lacks alignment with their unique strengths.

"Institutions that will thrive in 2025 will leverage enterprise-level analytics and AI in ways which are iterative, which are financially sustainable, and which do not over rely on outsourcing strategically aligned analyses. Those which fail to do so will struggle. The gap between 'haves' and 'have-nots' will grow even wider."
— Zach Sherwin, director of enterprise analytics, Berry College

"2025 will bring continued chaos to college admissions thanks to AI. We're inching closer to an admissions season where AI pulls double duty, writing essays and reading them. Picture this: incoming freshman classes shaped largely by AI, with applicants submitting polished, AI-assisted essays only to have them evaluated by equally discerning algorithms. The process may become a dizzying dance of algorithms assessing algorithms, leaving applicants and counselors alike scratching their heads over who — or what — is really behind admissions decisions.

"As this tech-driven process gains speed, colleges may become even less transparent, plunging applicants into a guessing game and adding layers of complexity. If higher ed doesn't catch up fast, we risk a future where access and fairness hinge on who best wields AI."
— Emily Pacheco, assistant director of undergraduate admission, Loyola University Chicago