Leveraging data to future-proof higher education

Higher education institutions face unprecedented challenges. Undergraduate enrollments nationwide fell by more than one million students following the pandemic. Student expectations are changing. Lower birth rates in recent years will lead to a post-Gen Z “enrollment cliff” by the late 2020s.

Addressing each of these thorny issues requires the same thing: better information.

“Humans manage uncertainty by seeking information,” says Mark Hampton, executive education advisor for Amazon Web Services (AWS). “Higher education leaders are looking for data to respond to these challenges. These are extraordinarily uncertain times, and the best way to manage that is really good information.”

In particular, better data can help institutions address a key area of focus that has only grown more important as these challenges have mounted: the student experience, which touches on virtually everything colleges and universities do.

“Universities can be doing a better job of knowing what students need and providing it,” Hampton says. “It’s about marshaling the information we have to understand those student needs, including information we may not be aware could be of use.”

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