You would be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t personally know a student whose education was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were a key demographic hard hit by the pandemic with government-imposed lockdowns resulting in the closure of educational institutions and loss of learning. The technological revolution within the education sector may have started decades ago, but the pandemic led to institutions and students scrambling—to speed up technology adoption and resume learning.

This Insight focuses on recent trends in the adoption of technology by higher educational (higher ed) institutions. These are establishments that provide post-secondary (or post K-12) education and include state university systems, public and private universities, and community colleges.

Higher ed technology (EdTech) refers to the use of technology by higher and vocational education institutions to transform instruction, learning, assessment, and campus infrastructure to achieve their desired learning objectives and outcomes and enhance the student experience. It aims to allow students and faculty to learn and work more flexibly and help institutions function more efficiently.

Besides supporting higher ed institutions (B2B), higher EdTech products also support college students and adults desiring post-secondary credentials (B2C). Some of these offer alternative learning experiences and pathways not provided by traditional players, directly competing with them.

Before delving into some of the recent trends in the higher EdTech space, let’s take a look at some of the factors that are driving change in higher ed itself.