https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/ en https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/why-right-infrastructure-higher-ed-ai-workloads-might-be-hybrid As higher education institutions become more experienced with using artificial intelligence in their workflows, they are looking to optimize operations with the technology infrastructure that best meets their needs. For a growing number of colleges and universities, this means running AI workloads in hybrid environments. In fact, IDC predicts that by 2028, 75% of enterprise AI workloads will be deployed on hybrid infrastructure. “The future of the data center is hybrid,” says Sana Gutierrez, senior manager of the data and artificial intelligence practice at CDW. “There are organizations that… Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:43:40 -0400 Matt McLaughlin https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/why-right-infrastructure-higher-ed-ai-workloads-might-be-hybrid https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/how-higher-ed-institutions-can-control-ai-spending-without-curbing-innovation Universities are expanding access to generative artificial intelligence just as vendors are starting to shift more services from predictable per-user subscriptions to consumption-based pricing. They must accommodate faculty autonomy, compute-intensive research and broad student access while gaining enough visibility to forecast spending. As AI use expands, inefficient prompting, repeated agentic workflows and automatic use of premium models can become unpredictable operating expenses spread across academic departments, research programs and administrative units. Institutions are responding… Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:26:05 -0400 Nathan Eddy https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/how-higher-ed-institutions-can-control-ai-spending-without-curbing-innovation https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/human-speed-machine-speed-how-higher-ed-security-using-ai-fight-agentic-attacks As someone who spends his days talking with higher ed CIOs, CISOs and security teams, I’m watching their world shift from human speed to machine speed almost overnight. There’s an asymmetrical gap that I’m seeing. Many security teams at these universities are still manually focused. They’re overmatched by anything automated and artificial intelligence–driven, especially agentic attacks. A two- to five-person team at a regional public university can’t manually triage the volume of signals coming in from all their tools. They get overwhelmed and must start prioritizing — and that’s exactly what… Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:13:44 -0400 Aaron McCray https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/human-speed-machine-speed-how-higher-ed-security-using-ai-fight-agentic-attacks https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/why-ai-driven-modern-classrooms-require-major-security-conversation When I walk into a modern classroom now, I don’t just see audiovisual gear. I see endpoints. The pan-tilt-zoom camera at the back of the room isn’t only for lecture capture now; it’s a sensor on the network. The speakers in the ceiling aren’t just to enhance video clips. On many campuses, they’re tied into an audio notification system that can push out warnings, lockdown messages or weather alerts.  The interactive flat panel or projector isn’t just a teaching surface. It’s a big, bright authenticated display that can just as easily show an emergency message as it can a presentation.… Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:46 -0400 Mark Smith https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/why-ai-driven-modern-classrooms-require-major-security-conversation https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/how-university-it-leaders-can-budget-volatile-ai-pricing-models For many higher ed institutions, budgeting for artificial intelligence lately can look a lot like dropping quarters into a magic Zoltar fortune teller machine: You put your tokens in to get an answer, but you have no idea what it’s going to truly cost you until the bill comes. The allure of AI is real, but many are signing up without reading the fine print on consumption pricing.  “We’re being asked to lead AI adoption and help other units cut 5%, even as we get the same 5% cut. We haven’t articulated this tension well,” said an anonymous CIO from a private research university in a May… Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:46:28 -0400 Fred Sessoms https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/how-university-it-leaders-can-budget-volatile-ai-pricing-models https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/risks-and-rewards-iot-higher-education-perfcon Connected minifridges, smart speakers and internet-based gaming consoles are among the devices students are bringing to college that IT departments may not have accounted for — or even know are connected to the campus network. These devices may run on default passwords and have little to no security configuration, making them an attractive and vulnerable entry point for a cyberattack. For higher ed IT, the stakes couldn’t be higher. According to the Zscaler ThreatLabz 2025 Mobile, IoT and OT Threat Report, the education sector saw an 861% rise in malware attacks from Internet of Things… Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:25:49 -0400 Akeya Dickson https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/risks-and-rewards-iot-higher-education-perfcon https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/microsoft-report-highlights-trends-higher-education-ai-adoption Artificial Intelligence use in higher education continues to be hotly debated, but there’s no doubt it’s widely used: About 9 in 10 students, educators and education leaders say they’ve already used AI for school. That comes from Microsoft’s third annual AI in Education Special Report, which examines how K–12 districts and higher education institutions are adopting and using AI. The report consolidates survey results from more than 3,000 instructors, education leaders and students in K–12 and higher education environments around the world. The findings go beyond who is using AI in education… Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:25:21 -0400 Kellie Escoto https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/microsoft-report-highlights-trends-higher-education-ai-adoption https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/year-round-education-requires-year-round-it-support Institutions across higher education are expanding hybrid, online and year-round enrollment as a response to the demographic cliff. Remote, asynchronous and hybrid learning options are designed to support learners who need an added layer of flexibility: students with families, full-time jobs or other nontraditional schedules who need access to a school's online tools outside of business hours.  However, the IT support model at most institutions was built around a traditional 9-to-5, fall-to-spring academic calendar. And a December 2025 Student Digital Experience survey from Pathify found… Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:54:06 -0400 Suchi Rudra https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/year-round-education-requires-year-round-it-support https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/what-could-brain-computer-interfaces-mean-students-disabilities Picture this: A college student sits at their desk, staring at a cursor blinking on a blank document, and suddenly, words start appearing on the screen — without the student touching the keyboard. It’s not science fiction; it’s happening now with the use of brain-computer interface technology, which interprets electrical brain activity through an EEG headset or an implanted chip and sends those signals to a connected computer — or in this case, a word processor.  For students with ALS, severe cerebral palsy or spinal cord injuries, BCI could eventually replace or augment assistive tools… Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:43:24 -0400 Suchi Rudra https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/what-could-brain-computer-interfaces-mean-students-disabilities https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/are-colleges-ready-support-ai-workforce For decades, colleges prepared students for a predictable workforce. Students chose a major, learned a defined set of skills and entered a career path that changed slowly over time. Artificial intelligence has ended that arrangement. Every few weeks, another report warns that AI will eliminate jobs. A recent Graduate Management Admission Council survey of more than 600 corporate recruiters found that one-third of employers are already replacing some entry-level roles with AI. In technology, that number rises to 40%. Yet the same survey named proficiency with AI tools the single most valuable… Wed, 09 Sep 2026 10:44:02 -0400 Grace Alexis https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2026/09/are-colleges-ready-support-ai-workforce