The Hybrid Classroom Experience

Track: Innovation, Partnerships, and Emerging Technologies
Presenters: Tara Hughes, Matt Hughes
View Digital Sovereignty Session

Digital sovereignty is having a moment on the global stage, but it’s also worth thinking about for our own institutions. Many of us have heard, “No one gets fired for buying IBM,” the age-old wisdom of choosing a market leader. What’s less often discussed is how vendor lock-in can introduce risk as pricing rises, terms change, and trusted partners shift direction. What makes this a unique moment is that those risks now coincide with real alternatives. Open-source software, the longtime dark horse, combined with modern automation tooling and AI, the “king of disruption,” is making it more feasible than ever to build systems that are open and flexible, and to focus on strategic partnerships rather than vendor dependence. In this session, we’ll explore the why, the how, and what participants at every level can do to move the needle.

Track: Innovation, Partnerships, and Emerging Technologies
Presenters: Marg Knox, Brian Luper
View Smarter Buying in Tight Times Session

This interactive session explores how IT and Procurement are evolving their partnership in an era of SaaS, consumption-based licensing, and decentralized technology adoption. Panelists will discuss strategies to maintain governance, optimize costs, and enable innovation as budgets tighten and users increasingly source their own solutions. Join us to learn how institutions are adapting procurement models, strengthening collaboration, and leveraging community insights to address emerging challenges in software acquisition and management.

Track: Leadership, Strategy, and Organizational Change
Presenters: Fallon Nyce, Charlotte Souffront-Garcia, Elizabeth Zickgraf
View Stop Taking Orders Session

IT does not become a strategic partner by accident. It requires intentional alignment of governance, culture, and workforce strategy. This session explores how a decentralized IT organization moved beyond an order-taking model by evolving governance, building a “One IT” community, and turning listening into action. Learn how aligning structure, culture, and strategy can reposition IT as a driver of institutional impact and what it takes to sustain that shift.

Track: Data, Analytics, and Data-Informed Decision-Making
Presenters: Stan Waddell, Henry Zheng
View From Isolated to Unified Session

Artificial intelligence is only as trustworthy as the data that powers it. As institutions accelerate AI adoption, many are discovering that traditional data governance alone is insufficient to support responsible and reliable AI deployment. This session explores how Carnegie Mellon University integrated data governance and AI governance into a unified operational framework designed to enable trustworthy AI. We will discuss how aligning governance structures across data stewardship, analytics, and AI initiatives creates the foundation for reliable natural language interfaces, reduced hallucination risk, and scalable institutional AI innovation. Drawing on higher education practice and emerging governance guidance, the presenters will introduce a practical framework for transforming distributed institutional data into AI-ready data products. Participants will learn how establishing data maturity standards, audited data pipelines, and SQL-augmented AI architectures enables accurate natural language interrogation of institutional data. Attendees will leave with a higher ed-tailored blueprint for moving from siloed data management to unified data and AI governance, enabling trustworthy analytics, natural language access to institutional data, and safer deployment of AI workflows and agents.

Track: Institutional Transformation and Sustainability
Presenters: Sara Harrison, Wesam Helou, Jen March-Wackers, Larry McWilliams, Josh Thomas
View Acting Like a System Without Being One Session

Software costs in higher education are rising rapidly due to vendor consolidation, sole- source claims, premium pricing models, and bundled products that lock institutions into accelerating renewal cycles. These pressures are particularly acute for public universities that negotiate independently and lack the leverage of formal statewide systems. In Ohio, the Inter University Council of Ohio (IUC) offers a different path. While not a system, IUC public universities increasingly operate like one through voluntary collaboration, shared procurement strategies, and coordinated decision- making. In response to the growing software cost crisis, the IUC convened a multi-campus Software Strategy Work Group of CIOs and procurement leaders to examine root causes and design a consortium wide strategy. This session will introduce the resulting framework, including strengthened governance and decision structures; pre-RFP commitments and spend band pricing models; standardized negotiation and supplier management practices; statewide tools for visibility into software spend and renewals; and methods for capturing non-price value, such as training, certifications, internships, and workforce partnerships. Participants will learn how a voluntary consortium can act as a unified buyer, restoring supplier leverage and improving outcomes across campuses while preserving institutional autonomy.

Track: Teaching and Learning
Presenters: Kim Arnold
View On the Horizon Session

In a sea of relentless change, how can teaching and learning professionals strategically focus? Colleges and universities are navigating evolving technologies, changing student expectations, and shifting institutional priorities. This panel session will spotlight a new feature of the EDUCAUSE Horizon Report Teaching and Learning Edition. In Signals of Change, early indicators are paired with real examples that point to where teaching and learning may be headed. We will explore selected examples from the report and discuss how institutions can use strategic foresight to look for and make sense of emerging issues, opportunities, and patterns that can inform planning, innovation, and decision-making. Attendees will gain insight into developments beginning to take shape across higher education; consider how these signals connect to their own institutional contexts; and leave with practical ways to use signals and examples to start conversations, guide strategy, and identify opportunities for action. Grounded in concrete examples, this session will offer both perspective and practical value for leaders, faculty, designers, and others shaping the future of teaching and learning.

Track: Cybersecurity, Privacy, Risk, and Compliance
Presenters: Scott Craver, Krista Poppe, Paula Russell
View Beyond Compliance and Onward Into the Future Session

The deadline has passed. The policies are written. The audits are underway. But when ADA Title II compliance is achieved—then what? This session explores the next chapter in digital accessibility: moving from meeting regulatory requirements to building a sustainable culture of inclusive design. While many institutions are currently focused on complying with updated ADA Title II regulations, long-term success requires embedding accessibility into everyday practices across teaching, communications, procurement, and technology. This session highlights practical strategies for making that shift—from one-time remediation efforts to ongoing accessibility-first workflows. Drawing on real-world implementation experiences, the presentation will share approaches for fostering cross-campus collaboration, empowering content creators, establishing governance and accountability structures, and using accessibility tools and audits effectively. The session will also explore how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are transforming digital content creation and what that means for accessibility moving forward. Participants will leave with practical insights and actionable ideas to help their organizations move beyond compliance and build more inclusive, accessible, and future-ready digital environments.

Track: Enterprise IT, Infrastructure, and Service Delivery
Presenters: Kerri Brown Parker, Laura Buker, Marty Dulberg, Bethany Smith
View Mastering the EdTech Lifecycle Session

Institutional technology portfolios often grow faster than the resources available to support them, leading to "tool sprawl" and fragmented user experiences. This session presents a robust, cross-functional framework for managing the entire life cycle of enterprise educational tools, from initial vetting to annual retention reviews. Using real-world examples from the implementation of tools like Wooclap, Padlet, and VoiceThread, we will detail a structured four-phase approach that includes Evaluation: internal examination and platform determination; Pilot: structured exploratory efforts with faculty feedback and data-driven recommendations; Phased Implementation: coordinated rollouts involving "Soft Launches" and "Enterprise Basic" stages to build expertise and resources; and Ongoing Support: a systematic annual review process to assess tool health, usage, and institutional alignment. Attendees will discover how to align technical, training, and support leads to ensure that every tool in their ecosystem remains effective, accessible, and sustainable. We will share the specific checklists and reporting templates used to bridge the gap between initial excitement and long-term sustainment.

Track: Teaching and Learning
Presenters: Melody Buckner, Adam Davi
View Escape the Ordinary Session

As higher education explores how to integrate AI meaningfully into teaching and learning, the most promising opportunities may not be about saving time?they may be about designing better learning activities. This session, grounded in work from the University of Arizona’s Center for Assessment, Teaching and Technology (UCATT), reframes AI as a creative and pedagogical design partner. AI becomes a collaborator to help instructional designers and faculty develop more engaging, evidence-based learning activities and build richer feedback loops that can deepen student reflection and growth. Attendees will leave with practical frameworks and strategies they can adapt across a wide range of learning contexts.

Track: Institutional Transformation and Sustainability
Presenters: Eric Tenkorang
View From Compliance to Culture Session

Join an interactive, open-format conversation exploring how higher education institutions are navigating accessibility requirements under Title II, including both persistent challenges and emerging successes. Through shared experiences and guided discussion, participants will exchange practical strategies, tools, lessons learned, and approaches for building sustainable, campus-wide accessibility cultures.