There was a time when chalk dust filled the air and faculty meetings debated whether whiteboards were just a trend. When email first replaced campus mail. When transparency projectors gave way to smartboards. Each shift felt momentous and in retrospect, inevitable.
Change, even when incremental, has always been part of higher education’s story. So why do we hesitate when the next evolution knocks?
Today’s students navigate a world shaped by real-time technology, economic pressure, and rising mental health challenges. They learn differently. They live differently. And they need us to meet them there; not with nostalgia for the old ways, but with strategies designed for now.
Because here’s the truth: Nothing changes if nothing changes. That’s not just a cliché. It’s a call to action.
Across the country, forward-thinking campuses are doing more than adapting. They’re redesigning support with student realities in mind. They're questioning legacy systems. Reexamining how, when, and where support is delivered. Prioritizing models that are flexible, relational, and built for this moment, not the last one.
And they’re seeing what happens when we stop assuming yesterday’s tools will work for today’s students.
The story of higher education is one of reinvention. The question now is: will we write the next chapter, or let it be written for us?
Because nothing changes if nothing changes. But everything can, if we’re bold enough to begin.
At Knack, we partner with institutions ready to reimagine support for today’s learners. Let’s build what comes next—together.
