Career Services Is Where Higher Education Proves Its Value
Career Services in Higher Education Connects Talent with Opportunity The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 2026 Conference’s opening keynote in Denver put a phrase in my head that I keep returning to. The goal of career services is to “Connect Talent with Opportunity,” and in that framing sits the full weight of what […]
From Digital Natives to Digital Learners: Using NotebookLM to Support Universal Design for Learning
Educators have been told that today’s students are “digital natives.” The assumption is that because students grew up with smartphones, social media, and constant connectivity, they intuitively know how to use technology effectively. In practice, many educators know this assumption is flawed. Students may be highly proficient at consuming digital media, but many struggle with […]
WACUBO 2026: Transformational Leadership in Higher Education
Last week was my first WACUBO Annual Conference, but I felt right at home. The annual gathering of business officers from colleges and universities across the western US exemplified one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about higher ed conferences: how much of the value sits outside the program. Our community shows up willing […]
Ellucian Live 2026 in Denver: A Conference About Consolidation, Pressure, and Position
Ellucian Live 2026 in Denver signaled a company working to reinforce its position in a market that remains unsettled. What Did Ellucian Announce at Ellucian Live 2026? The messaging focused on modernization, AI, and platform simplification. Those themes are familiar, but the context has shifted. Institutions are making decisions under tighter budgets, constrained staffing, and […]
Kuali Days 2026: A Company the Market Should Reconsider
Kuali Days 2026 was not just a user conference. It was a signal that Kuali, Inc. is entering a new phase. The leadership transition was central to the event. Rishi Rana introduced himself as Kuali’s new CEO with a message focused on execution, continuity, and customer value. The tone was measured and practical. There was […]
Vendors: Prioritize Enterprise Planning
A few weeks ago, I argued that higher education’s expectations of technology vendors are too low. Most institutions, and most vendors serving them, are still having the wrong conversation. They stay focused on transactions and user experience: better HR workflows, cleaner financial reporting, faster close, fewer manual touches. But that is not enough to separate […]
Higher Education’s Credibility Runs Through Outcomes
At the ASU+GSV Summit, a collaboration between Global Silicon Valley (GSV) Ventures and Arizona State University (ASU), there was no shortage of ideas. The Gap between Institutional Reality and Student Expectations Higher education needs spaces where people can test assumptions, share new approaches, and challenge old models. What stayed with me, though, was not just […]
What Are Your Three Wishes?
Agentic AI is getting smarter. The question is whether higher education knows what to ask of it. Every new wave of technology seems to arrive with the same basic promise: better tools, better information, better decisions. But if the last couple of decades have taught us anything, it is that information usually is not the […]
The Vicious Fractal of Complacency: When Leadership Trades Agency for Comfort
Complacency is one of those words we think we understand immediately—usually as a character flaw. It conjures images of laziness, low standards, or people who simply don’t care. But in the real world, complacency is rarely that simple. More often, it’s what happens when friction becomes familiar. When complexity becomes “normal.” When the path of […]
Enterprise Planning—Take the Reins
Most institutions and their vendors are still framing technology conversations around transactions, analytics, and user experience: better HR, cleaner financial reporting, faster close, fewer manual touches. That work matters, but it is not the operating capability that will differentiate institutions in our current climate of volatility as a constant. Over the next five years, the […]
