The Future of Higher Ed Podcast

Artificial intelligence has become the default answer to nearly every challenge in higher education, but most institutions are applying it on top of the same fragmented, siloed systems that have slowed them down for years. The result isn't transformation, it's amplification, and leaders are left trying to separate real value from noise.

In Episode 2 of The Future of Higher Ed with Ellucian, Mike Wulff, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Ellucian, joins the show to unpack what it actually takes to move an institution from a system of record to a system of intelligence. Drawing on Ellucian's work with more than 3,000 institutions worldwide, Mike explains why AI adoption so often stalls, and what separates institutions that are scaling AI responsibly from those accumulating tools that don't talk to each other.

Hosted by Joe Sallustio, the conversation explores why “AI sprawl” is really a data problem in disguise, why expertise has to sit both in the institution and in the platform, why determinism, not creativity, is the standard student records demand, and why unpredictable, token-based pricing is putting CFOs and CIOs in an impossible position.

In this episode:

• Why AI sprawl is a symptom of a deeper data and integration problem
• How to name the outcome before naming the tool, and why shadow AI is the new shadow IT
• What has to be true before an institution trusts AI with a student record
• Why “usually right” is a liability, not a standard, in higher ed
• How token-based pricing creates unpredictable costs, and what to ask vendors instead
• What MCP is, in plain English, and why open standards protect institutional choice
• The difference between a system of record and a system of intelligence

Guest: Mike Wulff, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Ellucian.

Host: Joe Sallustio, Chief of Industry Engagement, Ellucian.

Additional Resource:

Explore how Ellucian AI is built on 60 years of higher education expertise and the Ellucian Higher Ed Knowledge Graph — so your institution can act with confidence. www.ellucian.com/artificial-intelligence

Resilience Is Governed, Not Inherited

Public higher education is entering a defining period. Enrollment pressures, funding uncertainty, demographic shifts, and rising operational costs are forcing leaders to make increasingly difficult decisions. Yet some systems remain resilient while others are rapidly running out of options. Why?

In the inaugural episode of The Future of Higher Ed with Ellucian, Dan Greenstein, Ph.D., Chief of Industry Transformation at Ellucian and former Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, shares insights from his groundbreaking research examining 91 public university and community college systems serving approximately 15 million students.

Drawing from both the data and his own leadership experience, Dan explores what separates resilient systems from those moving toward distress. The conversation examines the role of governance, leadership capacity, data visibility, and institutional decision-making in shaping long-term sustainability.

Hosted by Joe Sallustio, the discussion challenges several common assumptions about higher education resilience, including why authority alone doesn't guarantee action, why waiting can dramatically reduce available options, and why cost-cutting by itself rarely changes an institution's trajectory.

In this episode:

• What Dan learned from analyzing 91 public higher education systems
• Why resilience is governed, not inherited
• The surprising gap between authority and the ability to act
• How leaders can recognize risk before it becomes a crisis
• The difference between stabilization and transformation
• Why demand-side strategies matter as much as cost controls
• What presidents, chancellors, and boards should do while they still have choices [EllucianPo...ow_Joe_Dan | Word], [Joe Sallus...Transcript | Word]

Guest: Dan Greenstein, Ph.D., Chief of Industry Transformation, Ellucian; former Chancellor, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. 

Host: Joe Sallustio, Chief of Industry Engagement, Ellucian. 

Additional Resource:
Download a free customized system risk assessment and explore the research discussed in this episode. https://www.ellucian.com/riskreport