EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative: What It Is and Why It Matters in 2025

Globally, the EdTech market is expected to reach US$598.82 billion by 2032, with an annual growth rate of over 17%, according to the Digital Learning Institute. With this level of growth, higher education institutions are under immense pressure to navigate digital transformation effectively while maintaining educational quality.

During my work with universities across the UK, I've seen firsthand how challenging it can be for academic leaders to separate genuine innovation from vendor hype. Through over 50 interviews with university staff, from course leaders to pro-vice-chancellors, one pattern emerged consistently: institutions need trusted, research-backed guidance to make informed decisions about educational technology.

This is precisely where the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative comes into play. Unlike vendor-driven organisations or purely technical groups, ELI operates as a community-driven force that brings together academic leaders, instructional designers, and educational technologists to tackle real pedagogical challenges through evidence-based approaches.

In 2025, as AI-enabled learning design and data-informed decision making become central to institutional strategy, ELI's role has become more critical than ever. The organisation's research shapes how institutions approach everything from personalised learning pathways to student mental health support through technology.

Whether you're an academic leader planning digital transformation or an educational technologist seeking proven implementation frameworks, understanding ELI's programs, community structure, and strategic focus areas can significantly impact your institution's success in navigating the complex landscape of educational technology.

What is the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative?

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, or ELI as it's commonly known, is a specialised program within the broader EDUCAUSE organisation that's completely focused on one thing: advancing how we teach and learn through technology in higher education.

But here's what makes ELI different from your typical educational technology group – it's not run by vendors trying to sell you something, and it's not just another IT department talking about servers and networks.

Instead, ELI brings together the people who are actually in the trenches of education: faculty members, instructional designers, academic leaders, and educational technologists from universities and colleges across the globe. These are the folks who wake up every day thinking about how to help students learn better, not just how to keep the wifi running.

ELI's Mission: Where Teaching Meets Technology

ELI's mission is straightforward – to convene and support the higher education community in adapting and excelling with technology-enabled learning environments.

What this means in practice is that ELI creates spaces where educators can come together, share what's working (and what isn't), and figure out how to use technology to actually improve learning outcomes rather than just digitising old ways of doing things.

The key word here is "pedagogical innovation" – ELI isn't interested in technology for technology's sake. They're focused on how technology can transform the actual practice of teaching and learning. This emphasis on evidence-based practices sets them apart, as they gather research, case studies, and outcomes data through member surveys, multi-institutional pilots, and programme evaluations to ensure their recommendations actually work in real classroom settings.

How ELI Differs from General EDUCAUSE Activities

While EDUCAUSE as a whole deals with everything from cybersecurity to enterprise resource planning, ELI has a laser focus on the classroom experience.

Think of it this way: if EDUCAUSE is concerned with keeping the entire university's technology infrastructure running smoothly, ELI is specifically concerned with what happens when a student sits down to learn something new, whether that's in a physical classroom, online, or somewhere in between.

This distinction matters because the challenges facing someone trying to design an effective online course are completely different from the challenges facing someone trying to prevent a cyberattack on the university's data systems.

ELI differentiates itself from other educational technology organisations like the Online Learning Consortium and Quality Matters by providing broader institutional support and multi-modal teaching and learning resources rather than focusing solely on online course standards or quality assurance frameworks.

The Community-Driven Collaborative Framework

Here's where ELI gets really interesting – it operates on a community-driven collaborative model that's quite different from most organisations in the educational technology space.

Rather than being led by a small group of executives or dominated by companies with products to sell, ELI's direction comes from its community of practitioners. Academic leaders, faculty, instructional designers, and educational technologists from member institutions don't just attend ELI events – they help shape what those events focus on.

The governance structure facilitates this through committees, advisory panels, task forces, and subcommittees, many of which are staffed by community volunteers who provide expertise and guidance. While these volunteers don't hold formal governance authority, they have significant influence in shaping ELI's priorities and initiatives through volunteer roles, community discussions, and direct involvement in programme advisory panels.

This means when ELI publishes guidance on digital learning strategies or hosts a workshop on course design, the content comes from people who are actually doing this work day in and day out, not from people trying to sell you a learning management system.

ELI as a Convening Force

One of ELI's most valuable functions is simply bringing people together who are working on similar challenges at different institutions.

If you're an instructional designer at a mid-sized university trying to figure out how to support faculty in creating engaging online content, ELI connects you with instructional designers at research universities, community colleges, and liberal arts schools who are grappling with the same questions.

This cross-institutional collaboration is particularly powerful because it means solutions and strategies can be adapted across different types of institutions rather than being developed in isolation. A practical example of this is the University of Central Florida's collaboration with ELI to develop an online faculty development toolkit using EDUCAUSE Teaching and Learning resources – this toolkit was explicitly designed for reuse and adoption by other institutions across the higher education community.

The collaborative framework operates through several key mechanisms:

• Online communities and discussion forums hosted within the broader EDUCAUSE Community platform
• Resource libraries providing toolkits, case studies, guides, and benchmarking tools for teaching and learning with technology
• Face-to-face offerings including topical webinars, cross-institutional working groups, and collaborative document development
• Targeted programmes that help institutions assess where they are and where they want to go with their digital learning initiatives

The platform's functionality includes searchable resources, event hosting, asynchronous discussions, and partnership facilitation for multi-institutional projects, creating mechanisms for peer exchange, crowdsourcing solutions, and sharing best practices.

What makes this work is that it's built on peer-to-peer engagement rather than top-down directives – the community itself drives what gets discussed, researched, and shared.

ELI often serves as the convening body for pilot studies, resource development, and knowledge dissemination amongst diverse universities and colleges, with their toolkits, benchmarking instruments, and community-developed frameworks often serving as de facto industry standards for technology-enabled education.

This approach has evolved since ELI's founding in the early 2000s specifically because there was a gap in the marketplace for this kind of academically-focused, community-driven approach to educational technology.

While plenty of organisations existed to help universities buy and implement technology systems, ELI was created to help them use those systems to actually improve teaching and learning – and that distinction has shaped everything they do since then.

ELI's Core Programs and Strategic Focus Areas

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative works through three main pillars that collectively shape how educational institutions approach teaching, learning, and technology integration. Think of these as the gears that keep higher education's innovation engine running smoothly.

Let's walk through how each one works and why they matter for your work.

Research and Publications

ELI's research arm is where the magic happens in terms of understanding what's actually working (and what isn't) across higher education.

Their annual "key issues" surveys are particularly valuable because they don't just collect data—they capture the collective wisdom of academic leaders dealing with real challenges in real institutions. The process involves structured questionnaires and ranking exercises distributed across the higher education community, with results synthesised into trend reports that highlight sector-wide priorities like learner engagement and institutional transformation.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series has become particularly influential, with recent releases tackling the most pressing issues facing institutions. Their 2023 brief on generative AI provided crucial early guidance when institutions were scrambling to understand ChatGPT's implications. The 2024 edition on unified data models addressed the growing need to break down institutional data silos, while the 2025 brief on mental health supports reflects institutions' increasing focus on student wellbeing technology.

What makes ELI's research different is that it's **community-sourced rather than vendor-driven**. You're getting perspectives from the ground level, not theoretical viewpoints from companies trying to sell you something.

The EDUCAUSE Horizon Action Plans represent some of their most practical work. The 2024 action plan on unified data models provides institutions with concrete frameworks for breaking down information silos, while the 2025 plan on mental health supports offers technology-enabled strategies for student wellbeing that institutions can actually implement. These aren't just aspirational documents—they're built from real institutional experiences and challenges.

Their implementation toolkits are particularly useful because they include:

• Self-assessment rubrics
• Decision guides
• Sample documentation that you can adapt to your specific institutional needs

The University of Central Florida, for example, used ELI resources to build a publicly available toolkit for developing high-quality online faculty development programmes.

The research covers emerging challenges like AI-enabled learning design, personalised learning pathways, and organisational readiness for rapid educational technology change—exactly the sorts of issues that keep institutional leaders up at night. All publications are accessible through the EDUCAUSE Library, making it easy to find relevant resources when you need them.

Community-Building Initiatives

This is where ELI really shines in connecting institutions that might otherwise be working in isolation.

The Leading Academic Transformation network operates as a professional community specifically for campus leaders working on digital transformation initiatives. Membership is selective—typically involving provosts, CIOs, and instructional technology directors who apply through a nomination process and are reviewed by ELI staff. This ensures that participants are genuinely committed to institutional change and have the authority to implement recommendations.

The network facilitates collaboration on cutting-edge challenges. Recent projects have included:

• Leveraging AI for academic success
• Developing data-driven student engagement strategies
• Creating institutional policies for digital accessibility

These aren't just discussion groups—they're working partnerships that have produced joint implementations of adaptive learning systems and collaborative research on inclusive teaching practices.

Their professional learning cohorts provide more structured development opportunities. These 8–12 week programmes combine synchronous virtual meetings with asynchronous discussions and collaborative project work. The format is built around action research, with participants typically committing 2–3 hours per week. Recent cohorts have tackled generative AI in teaching, mental health technology integration, and data governance for student success.

What's particularly valuable about the cohort model is the **documented outcomes**. Participating institutions have reported:

• Increased cross-campus adoption of learning analytics
• Development of comprehensive AI policies
• Improved digital wellbeing support services for students

Many institutions publish their reflections and results through EDUCAUSE channels, creating a knowledge base that benefits the entire community.

The **participatory projects** address sector-wide challenges that no single institution can tackle alone—things like equity, inclusivity, and student mental health through technology. Current initiatives focus on digital inclusion frameworks, accessibility assessments, and culturally responsive teaching via technology. These projects typically span 6–18 months, with participating institutions contributing pilot data and adopting shared toolkits.

What's particularly smart about ELI's community approach is that it recognises different institutions have different strengths. A community college might have cracked the code on student engagement, while a research university might have figured out faculty development. The network lets everyone learn from everyone else.

Events and Professional Development

ELI's events serve as both learning opportunities and networking hubs, which is crucial in a field where relationships often matter as much as technical knowledge.

The ELI Annual Meeting draws 600–900 higher education technology leaders and balances hands-on learning with strategic thinking. The structure is carefully designed:

• 40% workshops and hands-on labs
• 40% strategic sessions and panels
• 20% plenary sessions and keynotes

This mix ensures you get both practical skills and big-picture perspectives.

Recent programming has reflected the sector's most pressing concerns. Workshops on "Building Mental Health Supports with Digital Tools" and "Practical Applications of Generative AI in the Classroom" provide actionable guidance on implementing new technologies. The "Implementing Unified Data Models for Student Success" sessions help institutions break down data silos that often frustrate strategic planning.

The **keynote speakers bring genuine expertise** rather than promotional presentations. Recent meetings have featured leaders in generative AI deployment, mental health technology experts, and data governance thought leaders—people who are actually solving these problems in institutional contexts rather than selling solutions.

Their webinar series covers both foundational topics and cutting-edge developments, which means whether you're new to educational technology or you've been doing this for years, there's something relevant for you.

The virtual summits and specialised workshops provide practical skill development and implementation strategies, often with expert-led programming that would be difficult to access otherwise.

For EDUCAUSE member institutions, there's **exclusive access and discounted pricing**, which makes sense given that these institutions are contributing to the research and community that makes ELI possible in the first place.

The key thing to understand about ELI's approach is that **everything connects**. The research informs the community discussions, which shape the professional development offerings, which generate new research questions. It's a continuous cycle that keeps the initiative relevant and responsive to what's actually happening in higher education.

This integrated approach means that when you engage with ELI, you're not just getting information—you're joining a community of practice that's actively shaping the future of teaching and learning in higher education.

Target Audience and Participation Structure

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative casts a wide net across higher education institutions, but it's particularly valuable for professionals who are directly shaping how teaching and learning happens on their campuses.

What makes ELI interesting is that it doesn't operate as a separate membership organisation - instead, it's woven into the broader EDUCAUSE framework. EDUCAUSE membership is available to a diverse range of institutions and organisations:

• Public universities and private colleges
• Community colleges and for-profit institutions
• International institutions and nonprofits
• K-12 organisations and consultants
• Corporations and emerging technology companies

If your institution is already an EDUCAUSE member, you're essentially already in. Importantly, membership is organisational, which means everyone at your institution gets full access to member-only resources, discounts on professional development events, webinars, and partner content.

Primary Participants

**Senior academic leaders and administrators** are probably the most obvious participants, especially those wrestling with digital learning strategy and institutional transformation. These are the folks making decisions about campus-wide technology adoption, budget allocations for learning platforms, and long-term strategic planning around educational innovation. They particularly benefit from ELI's cross-institutional benchmarking initiatives, where institutions submit demographic data, programme details, and outcome metrics to receive comparative reports and peer benchmarking summaries that inform strategy and justify investments.

**Instructional designers and educational technologists** form another core group. They're the ones actually implementing the technology solutions that senior leaders approve, and they need practical guidance on what works, what doesn't, and how to measure success. ELI provides them with research-backed frameworks like the Online Blended Learning Adoption Framework, which evaluates institutional readiness and progress in blended learning implementation, along with practical implementation guides and case studies that help them make informed decisions rather than just following the latest trends.

**Faculty members** who are genuinely interested in pedagogical innovation also benefit significantly. Not every faculty member needs to be deeply engaged with ELI - many are perfectly content with traditional teaching methods - but those who are actively exploring how technology can enhance their classroom effectiveness find real value in the resources and community connections. They can participate in collaborative networks like the Instructional Technology Leadership Community and access research on teaching practices through member-exclusive reports that often become available weeks to months before public release.

**Centre for Teaching and Learning staff** are natural participants because they're often the bridge between faculty and institutional technology initiatives. They're supporting professional development programmes and helping faculty adopt new tools, so having access to ELI's train-the-trainer programmes is particularly valuable. These provide curriculum and facilitation support to run internal workshops, complete with materials, facilitator guides, and assessment instruments that improve local training capacity.

**Campus IT professionals** round out the primary audience, particularly those who specialise in academic technology support rather than general IT infrastructure. These professionals need to understand not just the technical requirements of learning management systems and educational platforms, but also how these tools actually impact teaching and learning outcomes. They benefit from specialised working groups like the Learning Analytics Working Group and access to tools such as the Analytics Maturity Self-Assessment that evaluates data analytics capability across their institution.

Membership Benefits and Engagement Options

The participation structure is refreshingly straightforward - there's no separate ELI membership to purchase or maintain. EDUCAUSE uses a tiered dues structure where U.S. institutional membership is based on Carnegie classification and expenses to accommodate organisations of all sizes, whilst international institutions pay based on self-reported student FTE counts.

**Flat fees for 2024-2025 include:**

• Nonprofits and K-12: £2,291 per year
• Corporate membership: £3,751 per year
• Emerging technology companies: £933 per year
• Consultants: £630 per year

The practical benefits are quite substantial. Members get access to **exclusive research reports** that can save institutions months of internal research time. The self-assessment tools and implementation frameworks are particularly useful for institutions trying to benchmark their current practices and plan improvements. For example, members can access interactive web platforms for tools like the Online Blended Learning Adoption Framework, which institutions use to evaluate their readiness and progress in blended learning implementation.

The collaborative networks and strategic partnerships are where many participants find the most value. Higher education can be quite insular, and having access to peers at other institutions who are tackling similar challenges provides perspective that's hard to get elsewhere. Current working groups include the Transforming the Student Experience Working Group and the Learning Analytics Working Group, where any EDUCAUSE member professional can participate in online forums, regular meetings, and collaborative research that produces case studies, benchmarking reports, and best-practices toolkits.

Professional development opportunities provide **substantial savings**, with members consistently receiving reduced pricing on all events, workshops, training, and certification programs. For instance, the New IT Managers Programme costs members £595 compared to £775 for non-members, whilst the Annual ELI Meeting offers member pricing at £279 for on-demand sessions versus £449 for non-members. These discounts can add up to significant savings for institutions actively investing in staff development.

What's particularly smart about ELI's structure is that it recognises different professionals need different types of engagement. A senior administrator might primarily value the research reports and strategic networking opportunities, while an instructional designer might be more interested in the hands-on toolkits and collaborative working groups. The **priority access to toolkits and frameworks** means members often get practical resources before they become widely available, with major reports like the Horizon Report and ELI Trend Watch sometimes available to members weeks to months before public release, often with interactive datasets or extended content.

The initiative also offers opportunities to contribute back to the community through research participation, conference presentations, and serving on advisory panels. This creates a virtuous cycle where practitioners share their experiences and help shape the resources that other institutions will use. The cross-institutional benchmarking initiatives exemplify this collaborative approach - institutions submit structured data through surveys or templates, then receive comparative reports and custom dashboards that inform strategy and support continuous improvement.

Getting involved is as simple as updating your EDUCAUSE profile to reflect your interests and professional focus, then joining the community groups and events that align with your role. The platform makes it easy to find peers in similar positions and institutions facing comparable challenges, whether you're engaging with digital pedagogy discussions, participating in analytics working groups, or accessing the member portal for downloadable reports and toolkits.

Current Industry Position and Relevance in 2025

Thought Leadership and Influence

EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative has cemented itself as the primary voice for teaching and learning technology across higher education.

When university leaders need to make sense of digital transformation, they turn to ELI's research-driven frameworks and evidence-based toolkits that actually work in real-world academic settings.

What sets them apart is their community-driven approach to problem-solving. Instead of top-down prescriptions, ELI convenes academic leaders from diverse institutions to co-create solutions that address genuine educational challenges. This collaborative methodology means their research outputs, like the widely-cited Horizon Report, reflect consensus across the sector rather than narrow expert opinions or commercial interests.

The numbers speak for themselves - institutions like the University of Central Florida have integrated ELI resources into system-wide faculty development programmes, demonstrating direct influence on campus-level strategy development. Real-world examples like SVECW showcase how institutions are implementing ELI's AI-driven collaboration models and adaptive learning strategies, with these innovations being adapted by peer institutions through the EDUCAUSE network.

Their Annual Conference and Executive Leaders Academy attract a global community of higher education technologists and administrators, reinforcing ELI's position as the standard-setter for digital pedagogical transformation.

Contemporary Strategic Priorities

ELI's 2025 agenda focuses on the technologies and approaches that are genuinely reshaping how students learn.

**AI-enabled learning** sits at the top of their priority list, with particular emphasis on adaptive learning systems and intelligent tutoring technologies that personalise student experiences. Their latest work showcases platforms that dynamically adjust exercise difficulty in real-time based on student responses, using collaborative filtering algorithms for academic content curation that's vetted by faculty and librarians.

Advanced AI-driven writing assistants are being piloted at member institutions, providing both grammar correction and mentorship while carefully defining the boundary between assistance and plagiarism. The 2025 Horizon Report highlights how artificial intelligence is transforming learning environments, moving beyond hype to practical implementation frameworks that institutions can actually use.

**Data-informed decision making** has become central to their work, with ELI developing comprehensive frameworks for learning analytics adoption that support student success initiatives. Their 2025 AI Landscape Study includes specific toolkits with evaluative frameworks covering:

• Strategy development and institutional alignment
• Policy creation and governance structures
• Workforce impact and professional development
• Digital divide considerations and equity measures

These toolkits come complete with supporting videos and resources for leadership teams. They're not just talking about collecting data - they're helping institutions build the organisational capacity to actually use it for strategic planning through cross-institutional collaborative models that enable continuous improvement using shared analytics methodologies.

**Equity in educational technology** represents another key focus area. ELI mobilises its community to identify and pilot effective uses of technology that close equity gaps in teaching and learning, ensuring that digital transformation doesn't leave underserved student populations behind.

Their current pilot programmes use AI and analytics to address equity gaps through adaptive platforms that tailor resources to individual student needs and AI-driven early alerts for struggling learners. These initiatives collaborate with Mission Partners to deploy solutions specifically designed to close digital divides, enhance accessibility, and promote inclusive learning practices.

The organisation also addresses **organisational readiness** for rapid educational technology change, recognising that even the best tools fail without proper institutional capacity and support structures. They've developed change management frameworks with self-assessment instruments for institutional readiness in AI adoption, evaluating strategy, leadership capacity, and digital infrastructure readiness to guide effective transformation.

Market Differentiation

ELI's strength lies in what they don't do as much as what they do.

Unlike vendors pushing specific solutions or consultants offering generic advice, ELI maintains deep integration with academic leadership and pedagogical expertise. Their focus remains on educational outcomes rather than technology for its own sake, which is why their recommendations carry such weight across the sector.

Their **freely available research and benchmarking tools** support evidence-informed decision making across the sector. Interactive decision guides, collaborative toolkits, and assessment instruments are developed through member-driven working groups, ensuring they address real institutional needs rather than theoretical frameworks.

Their Learning Labs feature cohort-based programmes on integrating generative AI with Open Educational Resources, guiding participants through practical strategies to evaluate and implement adaptive, AI-enhanced learning environments with methodologies that prioritise bias mitigation, transparency, and equity.

The **cross-institutional collaboration model** enables strategic partnerships and accelerated innovation through peer networks. Institutions join working groups through open calls or direct invitations, participating in cohort-based learning labs or action research initiatives where they pilot innovations, share results, and iterate collaboratively.

When one institution pilots a successful approach to student success through learning analytics, ELI helps scale and adapt that model across their community through networked improvement communities and toolkit dissemination, with results documented in Horizon Reports and resource libraries. This data-driven approach extends beyond traditional academic performance metrics to include tracking and analysing professional development achievements, with institutions increasingly implementing comprehensive analytics dashboards to monitor credential usage and programme effectiveness across their learning ecosystems.

This community-based approach creates a unique feedback loop - practitioner experience informs research priorities, which then generate tools and frameworks that benefit the entire sector. It's a model that maintains relevance and responsiveness to real-world needs without commercial bias or academic insularity.

ELI's mission partnerships with solution providers further differentiate their approach, maintaining scrutiny and objectivity while staying connected to emerging technologies and implementation challenges. These partnerships involve multi-stakeholder input to ensure technology initiatives align with higher education values, with collaborative projects including campus-wide deployment of adaptive platforms focused on accessibility and compliance.

In 2025, this combination of sector-leading research, strategic convening, and collaborative problem-solving positions ELI as the central force shaping higher education's digital transformation landscape.

Why ELI Matters for Educational Technology Decision-Making

If you're making decisions about educational technology at your institution, you know how challenging it can be to cut through the marketing noise and find approaches that actually work.

That's where EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative becomes genuinely valuable — it's not just another research organisation, but a practical resource that institutions are already using to make better technology decisions and see measurable results.

Direct Institutional Benefits

The most compelling thing about ELI is how institutions are actually using their resources to solve real problems.

Take the University of Central Florida, for example. They used ELI's Teaching and Learning resources to build a comprehensive faculty development toolkit that any institution can adapt. Rather than guessing what might work for online learning, they had evidence-based frameworks to guide their decisions, resulting in higher faculty participation rates and better satisfaction with teaching tools.

What makes ELI particularly valuable is their Digital Learning Strategy Guide, which provides a structured framework around five core elements: Student Support, Enrolment & Academic Planning, Faculty & Staff, Digital Learning Design, and Learning Technology. This isn't theoretical guidance — it walks institutions through practical steps including needs assessment, stakeholder engagement, strategy development, resource identification, implementation, and progress review.

**The key benefits you'll see include:**

• Evidence-based decision frameworks that remove guesswork from technology adoption and help institutions avoid the common pitfalls of higher education technology project failures
• Professional networks where you can get real feedback from institutions who've already tackled similar challenges
• Benchmarking tools that help you understand where your institution stands and what improvements are most needed
• Risk reduction through proven implementation approaches rather than experimental pilots

The EDUCAUSE Benchmarking Service deserves special mention here — it enables institutions to complete maturity and deployment assessments collaboratively, generating metrics for institutional strengths and needs versus peer institutions, progress tracking relative to strategic plans, and assessment of technology adoption and impact. This means you're not making decisions in isolation, but with concrete data about how your approaches compare to similar institutions.

The practical value becomes clear when you consider how Thomas More University of Applied Sciences used ELI frameworks to implement their AI-powered "study compass" early-alert system. They had clear guidance on using prediction models for student coaching, which led to measurable reductions in dropout rates.

ELI's online communities and working groups, such as the EDUCAUSE Digital Learning Strategy Working Group, provide ongoing collaborative problem-solving and best practice sharing. These aren't just networking events — they're structured environments for developing strategic guidelines and addressing specific institutional challenges.

Sector-Wide Impact and Standards Development

ELI's influence extends well beyond individual institutions — they're actively shaping how the entire sector approaches educational technology.

Their annual Horizon Report is widely cited in institutional strategic planning, and for good reason. When Northern Arizona University wanted to reshape their technology-enabled learning environments, they used ELI insights on universal design and data analytics to create multimodal degree pathways and implement analytics that enhanced both teaching and advising.

ELI's work on standards development is particularly significant. They contribute to accessibility standards (universal design, digital content accessibility), digital transformation strategy guidelines, and educational credentialing approaches through collaborative working papers and alignment with sector-wide initiatives. Their collaboration with organisations like Jisc has produced models for IT strategic planning and leadership that are now referenced as standards for professional practice in higher education IT.

The AI Literacy in Teaching and Learning Framework represents another major sector contribution. This comprehensive framework emphasises technical, evaluative, practical, and ethical competencies, guiding institutions through progressive steps from crafting general principles to implementing specific guidelines for AI adoption. This approach is particularly crucial given the corporate AI landscape where institutions can learn from the challenges faced in enterprise implementations.

**What this means for your institution:**

• Access to validated learning efficacy models grounded in constructivist and active learning theories that you can adapt to your specific context
• Proven analytics frameworks for tracking student engagement, retention rates, academic performance, and course completion
• Policy influence through collaborative research that shapes sector-wide best practices, including approaches to equitable decision-making in academic technology
• Standards development in areas like accessibility and digital transformation approaches

ELI's learning analytics resources provide specific guidance on measuring efficacy, informing intervention design, and benchmarking progress. This isn't just about collecting data — it's about creating feedback loops that demonstrate measurable outcomes and guide continuous improvement. When implementing credentialing technologies, having comprehensive analytics dashboards becomes essential for tracking credential usage, engagement patterns, and overall programme effectiveness.

The sector-wide impact is particularly relevant if you're working with digital credentials or achievement recognition. ELI's work on standards development and evidence-based approaches to digital transformation directly influences how institutions think about credentialing technologies and their integration with broader learning systems. Digital achievement certificates and badges, when properly secured with blockchain technology for tamper-proof verification, align perfectly with ELI's emphasis on evidence-based educational technology decisions.

Strategic Considerations for Institutional Engagement

Before diving into ELI membership or resources, it's worth considering whether your institution is positioned to make the most of what they offer.

ELI operates under EDUCAUSE's membership umbrella, offering institutional, organisational, and networked membership options. Each tier provides different levels of access to resources, research briefs, benchmarking services, community participation, and event discounts. The Technology Strategy Toolkit and IT Governance Toolkit provide structured guidance for aligning IT with institutional mission and establishing governance structures that consider institutional culture and policy alignment.

**Key factors to evaluate:**

While there are no strict time commitments for participation, benefits increase significantly with active engagement — participating in working groups, contributing to resource development, presenting at events, and volunteering for leadership roles. ELI's faculty adoption frameworks detail the categorisation of barriers (control/influence/no control), strategies for adoption, and methods to track impact on student learning outcomes. This approach helps address common challenges institutions face with resistance to technology adoption.

The collaborative, research-driven model works best when institutions are ready to implement changes based on evidence rather than just collecting information. If you're looking for quick fixes or surface-level solutions, ELI might not be the right fit.

However, if you're committed to making evidence-based technology decisions and have the institutional capacity to engage meaningfully with professional networks, ELI's resources and collaborative environment can significantly accelerate your progress.

The measurable outcomes that institutions like UCF, NAU, and Thomas More have achieved demonstrate that ELI's approach works — but only when institutions are prepared to use the research and frameworks systematically rather than sporadically.

Learning Innovation Leadership: Your Strategic Partner for 2025

When I started researching ELI's current impact and strategic focus, I was struck by how thoughtfully they're addressing the challenges institutions face today.

Their approach to AI-enabled learning design and data-informed decision making isn't just following trends — it's helping shape how higher education adapts to rapid technological change whilst maintaining focus on student success and equity.

What really resonated with me was their collaborative model. Rather than pushing one-size-fits-all solutions, they're building communities where institutions can learn from each other's successes and challenges.

If you're involved in educational technology decision-making at your institution, exploring ELI's research reports and considering participation in their networks could provide valuable strategic insights and professional connections for 2025.

• Yaz