Before I begin with key takeaways from our time at Alliance 2024, I’d like to take a moment to thank Josh Vincent and the entire executive committee and planning team for putting together a thoughtful, engaging, and organized conference. I’ve been attending Alliance for several years, and this was the best one I’ve seen. You’ve set a high bar for New Orleans next March!
There was no shortage of topics to cover when reflecting on Alliance 2024, but in the sessions I attended and the discussions with colleagues and co-attendees, several preeminent themes resonated in Phoenix.
- AI is the elephant in the room. There were multiple sessions (including a standing-room-only session by my colleague Geof Corb). Higher education understands that AI is powerful, but when, where, and how to use it inside and outside the classroom remains an area of both consideration and concern. We are seeing the capabilities grow quickly, and looking into capabilities (like powerful searching, generating templates, and summarizing meetings) are only the beginning.
- There is no single approach to Digital Transformation (and you can’t do it all at once). True Digital transformation requires outstanding technology and dedicated people. I attended multiple (and presented in two) sessions about how institutions were evolving with digital mindsets, focused on a better user experience and realizing efficiencies and economies of scale. All of this requires significant resources to do at an enterprise level. What I’ve found most impressive in hearing from this year’s presenters, however, is how savvy some institutions have gotten in matrixing change considerations and pushing small-effort, high-impact changes in thoughtful and meaningful ways.
- Most institutions remain cautiously optimistic. While there were discussions about the concerns with the new FAFSA, the challenges of government scrutiny over outcomes, and the change and systems fatigue that many institutions face as they attempt to modernize and evolve, the engagement, the openness to new ideas, and the drive to be better this year than last year remain strong. Alliance 2024 featured a resilient group of participants, pragmatically considering their headwinds while seeing a positive and achievable path forward with a clear sense of technology's critical role.
Engaging and re-engaging with so many thought leaders across higher education was wonderful. The energy and focus on achieving positive outcomes and collaborating to support their institutions continue to be one of the things I most appreciate and enjoy about Alliance.
Until next year, Laissez le bon temps roulez!