My Top of Mind: A Note from Kim Fahey

Three Key Takeaways from P3 EDU 2024

I love the Fall for a number of reasons, one of which is the vast number of conferences and events within the higher ed and education technology space. I’m continually impressed and inspired by the intelligence and expertise of the leaders and tacticians within our industry. When you bring together smart people to share insights and learns, discuss ways to navigate challenges and evolving market paradigms, and work together to uncover new growth opportunities, great things start to happen. You can see pathways to transformation and how you can make a positive impact. It’s both refreshing and inspiring.

I recently had the opportunity to attend and speak at the P3 EDU conference. All the panels were insightful and topical, and the panelists paired their expertise with strong points of view about where higher education is headed. It was a powerful reminder that we must adapt to a rapidly changing landscape, embrace innovation, and prioritize student success.

As we all know, the higher education space is facing significant challenges. We’re navigating demographic shifts and cliffs, a relentless focus on affordability and outcomes, and the ever-present need to adapt — and adapt quickly. While the pressures can feel overwhelming, the P3 conference reminded us that we don’t have to go it alone. It also reinforced that Collegis Education is not only focusing our time and effort on the right things but leading the way in many areas.

Here are the key themes that resonated with me and what I walked away with.

1. Data-Driven Decisions: The New Normal

There was an undeniable consensus around the power of data and its role in helping schools evolve. Institutions have become acutely aware of where they have or lack data proficiency and how data is used or misused across the organization. Schools now understand the role that strategic partnerships can play in eliminating data deficiency and unlocking data potential.

This is what we at Collegis call being data enabled. Being data-driven has become table stakes –– but being data-enabled is a step above. Enabled data is achieved by eliminating tech and data siloes and elevating your data integrity and thoroughness. Once that is done, it open up new data enabled capabilities to drive impact across the entire student lifecycle.

But to maximize your ability to drive meaningful growth, retention, and outcomes, you must first unlock the potential within your systems and the underlying data.

2. AI: A Double-Edged Sword

If your inbox or LinkedIn feed looks like mine, it’s hard not to come across some AI-related article, product, or debate. It’s no surprise AI in higher ed was a hot topic at the conference. While some view it as a threat, I believe AI offers higher ed immense opportunities and can be transformational.

But to take advantage of AI, you must get your data house in order. If you start to power your AI tools with spotty data, you’ll get lackluster outcomes, poor ROI, and a lot of frustration along the way.

At Collegis, we’re using AI to drive effectiveness across the student lifecycle. We’re helping schools leverage automation to make administrative tasks less cumbersome, creating capacity and allowing limited human capital to focus on where they can make the most impact. But AI’s impact goes beyond automation. We’re also helping our schools harness its power to enable predictive analytics, using AI to analyze large data sets. Now, our partners can begin to deploy proactive strategies rather than reactionary ones, helping them to anticipate student needs, identify points of failure before they occur, and refine their programmatic offerings to keep pace with workforce demands. We must continue to innovate, leveraging new AI advancements, for the sake of our partner institutions.

3. The Power of Partnership: The Expanding Landscape of P3s

At the conference, there was a clear sense that P3s (public-private partnerships) are expanding beyond their traditional scope. More schools are welcoming partnerships to address complex challenges like the enrollment cliff and seizing emerging opportunities in technology, campus development, research collaboration, student housing, and infrastructure. Our industry needs to become less risk-averse, and we need to push ourselves to lead the way rather than chase the trends or replicate the innovators in our space who have found success by challenging the status quo.

The disruptions we face indicate a wider shift in the educational landscape. By embracing partnerships, leveraging data and technology, and preparing our students for the future, we can emerge stronger and more innovative than ever before.

You have to ask yourself, “How well am I, my institution, and the companies I partner with positioned to succeed in this disruptive market?”

— Kim Fahey, CEO Collegis Education