Align IT Projects with Goals for Student Success

March 21, 2024 |  5 Key Initiatives, Students
2 min

As IT leaders step into the spotlight to tackle student success and budget challenges, they need powerful and reliable tools for data collection, analysis and campus IT software asset management.

IT plays a transformative role in shaping the future of higher education, a role which expands beyond IT asset management. In a recent survey, higher education IT professionals listed their top priorities as impacting student success, saving staff time and labor, and managing budgets. 

These priorities are not new. Back in 2019, Educause listed “student success” as one of the top 10 IT issues:

“Student Success: Serving as a trusted partner with other campus units to drive and achieve student success initiatives.” 

EDUCAUSE 2019 Top 10 IT Issues

The theme continues in the EDUCAUSE 2024 Top 10: “Diving Deep into Data: Leveraging analytics for actionable insights to improve learning and student success.”

As IT leaders step into the spotlight to tackle student success and budget challenges, they need powerful and reliable tools for data collection, analysis and campus IT software asset management.

Make Data-Driven Decisions 

University IT staff have the opportunity to enhance student success by determining what technology should be purchased and where it should be installed. In order to make data-driven 

Computer lab usage tracking software is the key to understanding how specific groups of students currently use hardware and software on campus. By tracking obfuscated user activity in specific locations on campus, proactive IT teams can begin to build a picture of current activity. Then they can draw insights from the data to determine the best way to support the success of a wide range of students.

Support Diverse Student Populations

Computer lab license usage can help IT teams address the unique needs of a diverse student population in the following ways: 

  • First-year students: IT leaders may focus resources for first-year students in the library, as it’s often the default study space on an unfamiliar campus.
  • Pell Grant and Dream Act students: IT leaders may pull back on the assumption that all students have powerful laptops and access to expensive software, and provide those resources strategically on campus for financial aid dependent students.
  • Single parent students: IT leaders might create a dedicated computer lab near the campus daycare to allow single parents to maximize their time on campus.
  • Commuting students: IT leaders may consider the schedule for public transportation when determining opening and closing hours for computer labs.
  • International students: IT leaders might enhance support for international students by opening bookable study rooms, where students can collaborate and build community.
  • Grad students: IT leaders may improve services for grad students by opening up hotdesks or quiet spaces with computers for focused work.

Higher education IT leaders can also impact Teaching Excellence and student outcomes Framework (TEF) scores at institutions that use the National Student Survey (NSS) by ensuring that IT initiatives are aligned with specific TEF objectives.

5 Key Initiatives ebook download
Download the 5 Key Initiatives Ebook

Understanding the unique needs of a diverse student population is the key to aligning IT projects with campus-wide goals for student success. The most effective way to understand those needs is through data, specifically hardware, software and obfuscated user data. 

To learn more about how LabStats helps sheds light on hardware and software usage to align with student success goals, download our latest ebook: 5 Key Initiatives for Higher Ed IT Leaders in 2024.


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