Trends Shaping Student Affairs in Higher Education

Students Are Changing and So Must We Higher education has always been about growth and transformation, but the students walking onto our campuses today are not the same as those of ten, five, or even two years ago. They are digital natives who expect real-time communication. They balance multiple responsibilities: family, work, community all while pursuing their degrees. They demand flexibility in schedules, delivery, and support. And most importantly, they are seeking purpose and connection to people who will guide, mentor, and believe in them. If our systems, policies, and mindsets remain static, we risk failing the very people we exist to serve. Evolution in higher education isn’t optional, it’s our responsibility. That means rethinking: • How we communicate (clear, transparent, immediate). • How we design policies (student-centered, flexible, inclusive). • How we define success (not just enrollment numbers, but outcomes, persistence, and wellness). • How we foster human connection (faculty, staff, advisors, and peers as touchpoints of belonging and purpose). The future of education belongs to those who can listen, adapt, and evolve with the changing needs of students. True leadership is measured not by the structures we preserve, but by the futures we empower. Admissions is the window; Financial Aid is the door. Together, we must ensure students don’t just enroll, but thrive. When students evolve, institutions that rise with them don’t just remain relevant, they become transformative.

🎓 The Rise of New Universities: Threat or a Wake-Up Call for Higher Education? While many established universities are grappling with financial crises, staff layoffs, and declining enrollments, a fascinating counter-trend is unfolding: the emergence of new universities. At a time when traditional institutions are restructuring or downsizing, why are new universities not only launching but also attracting investment and gaining traction? The answer lies in a confluence of market forces reshaping higher education: ✅ Industry-Aligned Learning – Employers increasingly question the job readiness of graduates. New universities are responding by co-designing programs with industry partners, ensuring direct pathways into employment. ✅ Student-Centric Models – Rather than forcing students to adapt to rigid academic structures, these institutions offer flexible, skills-based learning pathways that better fit the needs of today’s learners. ✅ Regulatory Shifts – Some jurisdictions have lowered barriers to accreditation for challenger institutions, making it easier to set up new education models. ✅ Investment and Alternative Funding – Unlike legacy universities that rely heavily on government funding (which is tightening), new institutions are attracting private investment by positioning themselves as scalable, high-impact ventures. The School of Innovation (TSOI): A Case in Point TSOI is a good example of this new breed of university. It has: 🔹 Secured investment from GLZINC Pte Ltd, a major player in student recruitment. 🔹 Engaged 500+ students and 200+ employers in shaping its curriculum through primary research. 🔹 Advanced its accreditation process by learning from institutions like the London Interdisciplinary School and NMITE. 🔹 Built strong relationships with industry leaders like Google and Gymshark to ensure its graduates are workforce-ready. 🔹 Won North West Education Start-Up of the Year and joined global networks like the Global Alliance of Innovative Universities. TSOI demonstrates there is demand for higher education that is more agile, more industry-integrated, and more accountable for student outcomes. Do These New Universities Threaten the Incumbents? Probably not. But - they do challenge the assumptions that have governed traditional higher education for decades. The real risk for established universities is not direct competition but irrelevance. Institutions that fail to adapt to changing student expectations, employer demands, and funding realities will continue to struggle. What Can Traditional Universities Learn? 1️⃣ Reconsider Degree Structures 2️⃣ Deepen Industry Integration 3️⃣ Embrace Entrepreneurial Thinking The emergence of institutions like TSOI signals the sector’s future direction. For traditional universities, the key question is not whether they can compete with these new players but whether they are willing to evolve. #HigherEducation #Universities #NewUniversities #FutureOfUniversities

International Student Mobility Our Discussion Paper on ‘International Student Mobility: A Global and Indian Temporal Overview’ co-authored with Dr. Sonia Pant, Programme Director (Education), and my colleagues Oshin Dharap, Arunima Goyal & Upragya Kashyap has been published as part of the NITI Aayog Working Paper series. It is a prelude to a comprehensive #report by the #Education Division of #NITIAayog on ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in #India’. I. Trends: i. India’s inbound #internationalstudent trends show an increase in total numbers from 6,896 in 2000–01 to 49,348 in 2019–20. South Asian & African nations continue to be the main contributors. State-wise data reveals a decline in international student numbers in traditional hubs like Karnataka & Tamil Nadu, while Punjab, Uttar Pradesh & Gujarat have seen growth. Stream-wise analysis indicates continuing interest in #Engineering and #Business programmes, but also a rise in fields like pharmacy and computer applications. ii. India’s outbound #studentmobility displays strong growth from 6.8 lakhs in 2016 to 13.35 lakhs in 2024. USA, Canada, UK & Australia remain top destinations. Andhra Pradesh, Punjab & Maharashtra are leading contributors. At the disciplinary level, there is a decline in Engineering and Business, and rising interest in #SocialSciences and #interdisciplinary fields. iii. Consequently, annual outward #remittances under the ‘studies abroad’ component have increased by over 2,000% from $0.16 billion (INR 975 crore) in 2013-14 to $3.4 billion (INR 29,000 crore) in 2023-24. This represents approximately 53% of the Union higher education budget, which stood at INR 55,000 crore in 2023–24. iv. Expenditure on foreign education by #Indianstudents in 2025 is nearly 75% of India's overall #tradedeficit in FY 2024-25. This trend underscores the increasing #forexburden on the #Indianeconomy due to student demand for overseas education, thereby reinforcing the imperative to strengthen #internationalisation efforts within the domestic #highereducation system. II. Action Pathways: i. Set Student Mobility Targets ii. Promote Reciprocal Student Mobility iii. Create customised Branding, Communication and Outreach strategies iv. Strengthen Institutional Capacity through International Alumni Collaboration v. Build Regional Networks in STEAM3 Areas vi. Promote Exposure to India’s low-cost high impact R&D and #Innovation Ecosystem vii. Leverage Immersive Experience in India’s #Startup Ecosystem viii. Integrate Industry and Rural Internship Experience with all Programmes ix. Create Extended Stipend-based #Internships x. Create a Conducive #Culture on Campuses of Leading Indian HEIs xi. Develop a Mobility Dashboard and Publish Annual Mobility Scorecard xii. Ease of Regulation for International Collaborations & Academic Mobility The full Discussion Paper can be accessed at: https://lnkd.in/gQYJqAep

In higher education, we talk a lot about new students and traditional learners—but far less about the experiences of students who transfer. My early graduate student work with Texas A&M’s transfer orientation program made this clear years ago: the transfer experience isn’t just uneven. It’s often invisible, fragmented, and misaligned with how students actually move through learning. Modern learners do not experience higher education in linear ways. They transfer early, late, and often more than once. According to new research from Trellis Strategies, nearly 40% of students transfer at least once—and many do so multiple times over the course of their postsecondary journey. Learning happens everywhere. Our systems, however, still struggle to recognize it consistently. Each transfer increases the likelihood of lost credits, higher debt, longer time to completion, and reduced access to institutional aid. Transfer is the norm—not the exception—and the costs of ignoring that reality fall disproportionately on students already navigating complexity. If learning truly happens everywhere—and it does—then credit portability must become a standard across higher education. So what does it look like to turn this research into practice? First, we need structural commitments, including: • Clear, predictable, and automated credit transfer policies that don’t rely on student self-advocacy. • Equitable access for transfer students to meaningful advising, financial aid, scholarships, and high-impact learning opportunities. • Intentional recognition of learning across institutions and contexts, with guardrails that support rigor without penalizing mobility. • Leadership from state higher education agencies and coordinating boards to move beyond institution-by-institution or state-by-state solutions—and toward a shared, national framework for credit transfer and portability. Students move across state lines; our systems should, too. Second, we need true cultural shifts on our campuses/in our systems: • Treat transfer as a core student success strategy, not a workaround. • Align faculty, advisors, registrars, student affairs staff, and financial aid teams around shared responsibility for transfer outcomes. • Use data not just to report transfer success, but to redesign pathways that actually work for these more mobile learners. Transfer students aren’t breaking higher education—they’re revealing how it actually functions. Institutions and systems that design for movement, commit to credit portability, and center real learner behavior—not legacy assumptions—will be the ones that expand opportunity and improve outcomes. #Transfer #StudentSuccess #TransferStudents #SHEEO #ModernLearners #StudentSuccessResearch #StudentSuccessArchitecture Trellis research brief can be found here - https://lnkd.in/gxZCT7S2

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗪𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲 Higher education is undergoing a profound demographic transformation—and frankly, our profession hasn't caught up. My latest article in New Directions for Student Success examines how "new majority" student populations are reshaping the landscape of higher education. The data tells a story many of us haven't fully grasped: 📊 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲: * The average college student is now 26 years old—not 18-22 * One in four students is over 30 * 53% take at least one class online * 21% have disabilities (though many don't disclose) * 20% identify as LGBTQIA2S+ * First-generation students represent over one-third of enrollment * Only 4% are veterans, yet less than 1% graduate within 6 years Here's the disconnect: We still design services, programs, and policies as if most students are 18-year-old, full-time, residential learners enrolling straight from high school. That student is increasingly the exception, not the rule. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. When we require students to come to campus for orientation, counseling, or career services—yet more than half take classes online—we're creating barriers to the very supports that enable success. When we ignore the intersecting identities of a first-generation ethnic minority student who is also a veteran with a disability, we miss the compounded effects of systemic inequities that shape their college experience. The article argues for a fundamental shift in how we prepare student affairs professionals. Graduate programs must move beyond traditional student development theories to embrace intersectional frameworks that recognize the complexity of today's students. Professional development must address the real challenges practitioners face: supporting adult learners balancing family and work, creating inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA2S+ students, implementing trauma-informed practices for foster youth and justice-involved students, and designing accessible services for students with disabilities. This isn't about adding more programs—it's about fundamentally reimagining how we serve students based on who they actually are, not who we assume them to be. The question isn't whether demographics are changing. The question is whether we're courageous enough to change with them. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gCXuNUzt #HigherEd #StudentAffairs #Intersectionality #StudentSuccess #EdChat

'Students are time poor – students are working so many hours that studies often come second, with many missing out on core academic and extracurricular experiences. Impact on study – students who worked under 20 hours per week are more likely to be on track for good honours. Job quality matters – students in flexible, supportive and more meaningful roles are significantly more likely to achieve good honours degrees.' This is an important study which illustrates the real challenges faced by students and the direct impact it has on the student experience. We need to reaffirm 'student first' approaches to internal university recruitment, any job that can be done by a student should be . Universities need to lead from the front in providing a number of those 'flexible, supportive, and more meaningful roles' - there is a wealth of brilliant practice in terms of 'student as partners' models both within careers services and beyond, it is great for institutions not just an altruistic act to support students. It brings shared understanding, can bring the student voice into service design and delivery and provides students with crucial experience to improve their employability. The reality of students balancing work and study needs to be factored into how we design and structure courses and career development experiences. The biggest privilege is often time and increasingly students do not have it. Relying to heavily on extra-curricular engagement in career development activities is likely to exacerbate disadvantage. 'We cannot continue designing and delivering a higher education system around the ideal of the full-time residential student when they are now the minority.' https://lnkd.in/eXtbWx-d  

Today I would like share a rather lengthy (52 pages) report on AI in higher ed entitled, "Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) report AI and the Future of Universities (2025)" (https://lnkd.in/eb_vkted). The report argues that the AI revolution is right here and right now. AI is no longer a distant possibility, it is already reshaping how higher-ed operate, teach, assess, support students, conduct research, and govern professional services. 1) AI literacy is essential. One of the report’s core messages is that institutions must embed AI competence among staff and students. That means not just tool use, but understanding how AI works its strengths, limitations, risks and ethical implications. 2) Rethinking assessment and learning. As generative AI becomes capable of producing essay-style outputs, traditional assessments are increasingly challenged. The report calls for reimagining assessment to value human capacities critical thinking, creativity, metacognition, emotional intelligence over outputs that AI can mimic. 3) Institutional strategy and professional services transformation. AI isn’t just a classroom issue. The report highlights how universities can leverage AI to streamline administrative and business processes, conduct strategic planning, and free up human time for higher-value tasks. But doing so requires careful planning, evaluating value for money, data maturity, and ethical compliance. 4) Human intelligence amplified. Across essays, a dominant theme is using AI to enhance human intelligence rather than replace it. The future of universities, the report suggests, should be about cultivating human capacities while using AI as a mental extension. Universities should balance rapid adoption of AI with ethical, equitable, and pedagogically sound integration. That includes guarding against digital divides that could deepen inequities. There is a need for coordinated institutional strategy, tech choices, data infrastructure, financial modeling, and governance frameworks. Educational communities should collaborate to define responsible, transparent, and human-centered AI practices embedding continuous learning, ethics, and open dialogue. The report reminds us that institutions that respond thoughtfully, cultivating AI literacy, rethinking learning and assessment, and intentionally designing strategy have the opportunity to lead a transformation rooted in human intelligence. Reference Higher Education Policy Institute. (2025). AI and the future of universities. https://lnkd.in/eb_vkted

As 2025 winds down, I’ve been reflecting on the forces reshaping higher education—and how the field is responding. Skepticism about the value of college is growing. Costs remain a real barrier. And far too many students still struggle to navigate the system. But when I look back at the past year, I see evidence of progress—quiet but meaningful steps from institutions, systems, and policymakers that give me reason to be hopeful heading into 2026.   My final newsletter of the year looks at four trends that stood out in 2025:   *Demographic shifts are real AND institutions are evolving to meet them. *Value is under the microscope AND progress means helping more students finish and connect to careers. *Affordability remains a barrier AND FAFSA access and completion is improving. *Student preparation is uneven AND dual enrollment is creating momentum.   None of these shifts are happening overnight. But they’re happening and they’re helping reshape higher ed to better serve today’s students.   Read the full year-end edition here! Let me know what trends stood out in your work this year—and what you’re watching as we head into 2026. https://lnkd.in/gqGTsya6