Executive Summary

Higher education IT professionals have fierce loyalty to their institution and the students themselves. Many have been in their roles for years (sometimes decades) and are dedicated to the schools and students they serve. All of those surveyed agreed that one of the best parts about working in higher education is feeling like what they do actually helps students. They say that most of the projects their team undertakes directly impact student success and see big opportunities to help with education affordability issues.

With their level of experience and perspective, higher education IT professionals feel a responsibility to use innovative technology to solve some of the biggest issues faced by their institution.

The good news? They’re beginning to have more success working with the business to better leverage technology to deliver results. It’s also good to hear that most IT professionals agree that they’re now brought in earlier when it comes to conversations about technology that will impact the institution’s SIS/ERP systems.

Discussions with IT professionals reveal a consistent theme when it comes to the responsibilities they shoulder - moving their institution forward with technology. There are big projects on their list: moving their ERP/SIS to the cloud, improving security and performance, and providing tools to make their constituents’ jobs easier.

As the collaborators, communicators, and agents of change within their institutions, IT leaders always have their eye on how the next big innovation will impact education.