For most of the past century, higher education institutions hummed along at their own pace, largely unaffected by external trends and pressures. Now, though, they face a convergence of tough challenges: a looming enrollment cliff due to fewer high school graduates, the rise of online learning, increasing recruitment costs, and a growing student mental health crisis. Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have rocked campuses, putting university leaders to the test.
The past few years have underscored that change is inevitable and relentless, and building institutional resilience—the capacity to anticipate, respond, and adapt to unexpected shifts—is critical, according to the nonprofit EDUCAUSE. This resilience often hinges on seamlessly integrating technology, data, and personnel to support agile strategies.
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) presents both opportunities and challenges for educational institutions, many of which are woefully unprepared to navigate this 2025 higher education trend.
Universities need to pick up the pace by planning for for AI’s impact on learning, teaching, and business operations. They’ll need to figure out how to prepare students to capitalize on AI’s strengths while fostering critical thinking, according to Deloitte.
“Higher education is uniquely suited to serve at this moment by helping to envision a future in which society trusts humans and machines to work together while leveraging the promise of generative AI to make education more accessible and affordable for all,” Deloitte wrote.
To address concerns around potential AI bias, experts advise higher education leaders to implement institutional guidelines around governance. Enacting an AI policy, for example, lays out the ethical applications of generative AI. High-risk cases could be escalated to an AI steering committee—a panel of experts appointed to manage thornier questions of governance.
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Cyber threats and attacks are an ever-looming risk for higher education institutions. That’s why cybersecurity will remain one of higher education’s top trends well into 2025. In fact, EDUCAUSE identified it as the No. 1 opportunity for increasing institutional resilience.
Even a medium-sized attack has the potential to cost millions in data protection, business restoration, and legal fees. Leaders in higher education would be wise to target areas where they are most vulnerable and invest in strengthening security in those areas.
Robust cybersecurity measures—such as training for students and staff to protect their data, devices, identities, and the institution—will help organizations build trust among the students, alums, funders, partners, staff, and communities they serve. Protecting data and privacy must be an ongoing priority in higher education.
In higher ed, private-sector partners have been traditionally limited to nonacademic areas, like food services or bookstore management. But now, partnerships are trending up and playing a more prominent role in areas of learning.
Seventy-five percent of leaders expect public-private partnerships to increase on their campuses, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education and P3-EDU survey. Seventy-four percent acknowledge their institution seeks out these partnerships to offer a more competent or superior service than they could offer in-house.
When asked what areas institutions are most interested in pursuing private partnerships, the top responses were workforce development/employee training (70%), health, telehealth or mental health services (48%), and skills training/boot camps (35%), and data analytics/predictive analytics (30%).
Institutions can better control partnership performance by implementing monitoring systems and service agreements, Deloitte advises. This way, prompt action can be taken if issues arise.
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Since 2005, the number of international students in the U.S. grew 68%, with graduate programs and top-ranked schools seeing even higher increases, according to a McKinsey & Co. report. This growth stalled around 2018 and began to decline, a trend exacerbated by COVID-19, immigration policies, and rising recruitment costs.
This decline is expected to impact primarily non-top-ranked, four-year U.S. institutions, as highly ranked schools and graduate programs have shown resilience, with international enrollments rising 206% at top-ranked schools and 56% in graduate programs, McKinsey said.
Leaders at institutions struggling to manage declining international enrollment are hoping to reach new markets by developing courses and support services that align with the needs of today’s global student communities, according to EDUCAUSE. They’re investing in advanced tools to measure and analyze data, gaining deeper insight into student preferences and demands.
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For higher education institutions to be financially resilient—and regain public trust—they should consider the needs of students from all walks of life, not just high school graduates. This means addressing the economic reality of a tough job market where a college degree offers no guarantees.
There’s a pool of adult learners interested in reskilling or upskilling their professional expertise to advance their careers, especially as automation plays a bigger role in the workplace.
A survey of HR recruiters found that 41% of organizations have dropped degree requirements as job applicants try to stand out by listing professional and training certifications on their resumes.
By expanding programs for continuing education, staying current with tech advancements, and offering online degrees, institutions can better serve today’s learners and create more sustainable revenue streams.
Institutions are just beginning to embark on higher education’s new frontier. To survive, schools and universities can’t just tweak a few things here and there. They’ll need to open themselves up to the possibility of making fundamental changes to how they operate and educate.
By addressing shifting educational trends, focusing on the needs of a diverse student population, and adapting to new technologies institutions can put themselves on a solid path forward.
