10 higher education trends to watch in 2026

Assessing the impact these trends could have on your institution

The past year in higher education has been tumultuous, to say the least. Shifts in federal grants and funding, staff shortages nationwide, the partial dismantling of the Department of Education and more have left many feeling uncertain about what 2026 will bring — and racing to keep up with the changes. Despite it all, students still yearn to find institutions where they not only feel like they belong, but can thrive through completion and obtain quality jobs for successful futures. 

Colleges and universities like yours are navigating this new road, doing more with less to continue to provide all students with the quality education they seek. But schools don’t have to do it alone. The beauty of higher ed is the natural tendency toward growth, innovation and collaboration. Institutions and the organizations that support them can work together and share problem-solving strategies to continue strengthening the student support services that remain the backbone of learner success.

With 25 years of experience supporting over 3.6 million learners, InsideTrack’s insights are grounded in the real-world interactions our coaches have every day with students from all backgrounds and experiences. As we embrace 2026, we’ve identified 10 higher education trends that are affecting student support nationwide, from community colleges and 4-year institutions to MSIs and professional programs. This blog is meant to be a resource to help you evaluate the severity with which these trends may be affecting your institution, and then consider a few assessment questions to help you continue supporting students — from enrollment through completion. 

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Trend 1. Shifts in higher ed funding models are increasing the need for institutions to prove ROI

Over the past year, changing federal funding models have affected every corner of higher ed — and ultimately, our learners. This includes:

• Cuts to funding for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)
• New legislation requiring proof of ROI (e.g. completion rates) to determine the amount of federal support (e.g. Pell Grants) institutions receive
• Depletion of federal COVID-19 stimulus dollars, often used in student retention and mental health services

These major changes are leaving institutions considering new ways to make the case to keep student support programming and prove ROI in 2026 — because higher education leaders, students and funders all want to feel certain that investment in your institution is worth it. 

Programs like coaching or specialized advising are the most susceptible to these changes, especially since institutions’ budgets and staff are limited. These supports are often the first targeted because they fall into "discretionary" or "non-instructional" spending categories, making them easier to eliminate than other costs. However, these programs can often generate large ROI for institutions — both in terms of revenue and in stronger student outcomes and deeper impact on each learner's life.

To protect these services, leaders can shift from anecdotal evidence to a more data-driven narrative by:

• Quantifying program revenue: Calculate the forecasted revenue saved by your program (e.g. additional tuition generated as a result of an increased retention rate or dedicated re-enrollment effort)
• Showcasing the success of performance-based funding programs: If your institution's funding is tied to certain completion milestones, you can show how student support programs help to positively impact these metrics
• Looking beyond completion: Show how support services can lead to higher employment rates for your graduates

As we embrace this new year, the challenge for institutions will be to prove the ROI of student support programs — because research shows that students who feel supported are more likely to stay and complete their degrees than those who don’t.

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To assess your readiness in proving ROI, especially for your student support programs, you can ask yourself: 

• As federal funding is shifting, what is your strategy for making a compelling case to internal or philanthropic sources for sustained investment in student success initiatives?
• Have you considered the ROI for not just your institution, but for your learners and the broader community?
• What private philanthropy avenues has your institution explored?

‍Bonus: Read more about how to prove ROI while helping your students succeed.

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Trend 2. The diversification of student populations is here to stay — and so is hyper-personalization

Today, the “typical” student is anything but. From adult learners to first-generation students, campuses are more diverse than ever — but some institutions are still catching up to be able to support their unique lives. Adult learners, for instance, often need flexibility and extra support in order to balance work, family and other obligations. First-generation learners and students of color may require proactive support to navigate curricula, systemic barriers and imposter syndrome — all of which can impact their sense of belonging.

Institutions that invest in personalized services, training, inclusive curriculum, flexible learning models or special initiatives — like on-campus childcare or reimbursable transportation — show students from all backgrounds that their unique identities are seen as assets to the campus community, not deficits. For example, an effective way to deliver this personalized care is through success coaching, which provides a single, consistent point of contact for the student. A dedicated coach can bridge the gap between disparate departments, ensuring all students feel their lived experiences are valued and that they have a personal advocate helping them navigate the college journey.

In 2026, students expect this level of hyper-personalization; they are actively seeking institutions that don't just accommodate them, but intentionally design the student experience around their specific lives and goals. They want services that will support them and their unique needs, challenges and barriers — as well as celebrate their knowledge, skills and beliefs that will get them to graduation.   
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To make sure your institution truly supports all learners, consider: 

• What percentage of your current academic programs offer a flexible learning option (e.g. hybrid, micro-credential, evening/weekend) that directly addresses the needs of the working or non-traditional student?
• Can a student navigate a complex administrative issue (e.g. a financial aid hold or degree-plan change) without having to re-tell their story to multiple departments?
• How do you leverage various modes of communication to ensure students from diverse backgrounds feel their lived experiences and skills are valued as part of their academic journey?

‍Bonus: Get these nine tips to help your adult learners start off strong.

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Trend 3. Improving student sense of belonging — and therefore retention — involves showing learners they truly matter

Sixty-nine percent of students say that they are more likely to stay enrolled in college if they feel like they belong there. However, simply offering support systems, clubs or other community programs isn’t enough for improving sense of belonging and boosting student retention. Learners need these services to feel relevant to their unique challenges, be easily accessible and be worth their time. Over the past year, institutions have had to navigate a complex environment where traditional DEI-related initiatives and programs face new restrictions — and this won’t likely change in 2026. Despite these shifts, the fundamental need for students to feel like they belong and have a place on campus remains critical.

To meet this need, institutions have started moving beyond the buzzword of belonging to show learners that they truly matter. This involves focusing on high-touch, consistent support. Coaching, for example, is transformative because it provides a dedicated human connection that validates each student's place on campus. Having a coach in their corner throughout their entire journey, from enrollment to completion, helps learners — particularly those who have traditionally been underserved — understand that they aren’t just a number in your system; they are a vital part of your institution.

In 2026, the institutions that see high student retention numbers will likely be those that collaborate across departments to ensure every student interaction is an opportunity to prove to students that they matter.

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Do students feel like they belong at your institution? Here are some questions to help you assess:

• What messaging, policies and processes do you have in place to cultivate a student's sense of belonging from the very beginning of their journey?
• Are faculty, staff and students from historically marginalized groups comfortable expressing their authentic selves at your institution, and do they feel their voices are valued in policy and decision-making?
• Do your physical and digital spaces reflect your diverse student body? Do students see themselves represented in the imagery, curriculum and leadership of the institution?

‍Bonus: To see how belonging and retention go hand in hand, check out our partner story from The University of Utah.

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Trend 4. Addressing basic human needs and student mental and emotional health continues to be critical for institutions

Stress and mental health issues are on the rise, with 49% of students reporting that they have considered stopping out of school due to emotional stress and 41% due to personal mental health reasons. Fifty-nine percent of students nationwide are also struggling with basic human needs insecurity like loss of housing, food or financial pressures. Adding to these challenges is a tense political climate and heightened polarization across the country, which has many students feeling not just uneasy, but in some cases unsafe — in their homes, communities and on campus.

Institutions are no longer relying solely on siloed counseling services to help students through these real and pervasive issues. They’re turning to innovative solutions, wraparound services and advanced wellness programs that can work in tandem with counselors to show learners that their physical, emotional and mental health matters as much as their academic performance. This holistic approach to student support services ensures that wellness is integrated into your entire institution, not just a single office.

In a recent webinar, panelists from TimelyCare, The Jed Foundation, CAEL and InsideTrack discussed the importance of mental health services and basic human needs security and shared creative ideas that you can implement in order to offer more holistic and proactive support. This could look like:

• Investing in 1:1 coaches who proactively assess for mental and emotional well-being challenges
• Providing emergency microgrants to help students overcome sudden financial hurdles that threaten their basic needs
• Identifying opportunities to bring awareness of support services to students on campus
• Training advisors and faculty to triage mental health concerns

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To assess your institution's approach to proactive wellness, consider:

• Beyond the counseling center, what mechanisms are in place for training every frontline staff and faculty member to identify and respond to basic student mental health needs?
• Do you have an established emergency fund or microgrant program to support students facing sudden basic needs insecurities?
• Are you collaborating with community partners (e.g. local food banks, housing authorities) to extend your support network beyond the physical boundaries of your campus?

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Trend 5. Institutions are seeking sustainable solutions to advising staff burnout and bandwidth issues

Staff at colleges nationwide are struggling to manage their student caseloads, with a report by Huron and The Chronicle of Higher Education citing that only 34% of staff agreed that their institution had the right organizational structure to manage a modern work force. Tyton Partners’s 2025 Report found similar statistics: staffing shortages are pushing more than 70% of large and public institutions to increase advisor caseloads, despite high caseloads being the top barrier to effective advising. When team bandwidth issues lead to staff burnout, it’s not just your institution’s employees who suffer, but your students too.  

To manage this stress, many institutions are turning to a variety of holistic solutions that can help address advisor burnout and staff capacity issues. This could include implementing AI tools to handle repetitive tasks, adopting proactive case management processes or launching robust employee wellness programs.

Likewise, comprehensive training options, like InsideTrack’s Coaching Development and Training programs, are a great way to alleviate team bandwidth challenges. These programs help staff become more efficient with their time by allowing them to get to the root of student challenges quicker — directly addressing caseload concerns. By equipping employees with the tools they need to make a meaningful impact, coaching can help staff feel more satisfied, motivated and empowered in their work, which is a critical step in preventing staff burnout. 

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If your staff members are struggling with overwhelming caseloads or are feeling burned out, here are some questions you can use to assess how to support them:

• What methods do you have for assessing staff burnout? (e.g. Are you using climate surveys to measure morale and change fatigue?)
• What options could you explore that would alleviate staff capacity? (e.g. Are there third-party partners or digital tools that can handle high-volume, transactional tasks?)
• Are there any tasks your advisors are doing that you could take off their plate? (e.g. Can administrative paperwork or basic scheduling be automated or delegated to free up time for high-impact student interactions?)

‍Bonus: Check out how University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) created a sustainable model that helped build staff capacity to ensure 45,000 learners receive consistent, high-impact support.

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Trend 6. In the age of AI, a human-focused approach must remain front and center

‍Just a year ago, the conversation around higher education in the age of AI was: How do we use it? As we begin 2026, the focus has shifted toward how we can use it responsibly. Institutions are grappling with the fine line between where AI efficiency ends and where necessary human involvement begins. AI companions and automated tools are here to stay, but they’ve sparked a renewed importance for the irreplaceable value of humans.

While AI can handle transactional tasks like sending enrollment reminders or answering FAQs, it cannot replicate the empathy, cultural nuances and deep listening that student advisors, mentors and coaches provide. The most successful institutions will use AI as a tool to aid staff by taking administrative burdens off their plates so they have more time for the high-touch support that keeps students on track. By treating saved time as an opportunity to deepen one-on-one connections, you can ensure that technology acts as a bridge rather than a barrier. 

Keeping a human at the helm for all critical student decisions will help institutions ensure that this technology enhances the student experience without losing the human heart of education.

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To assess whether the use of AI at your institution is truly human-focused, ask yourself:

• Do you have a published, campus-wide AI ethics policy that specifically addresses student data privacy and bias mitigation?
• In which student support functions are you using AI to replace a human connection, rather than using it to augment a staff member’s ability to provide deeper support?
• How are you measuring the impact of AI tools on your students’ sense of belonging and the quality of their engagement?

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Trend 7. Re-enrollment is shifting from a one-time campaign to a core enrollment strategy

There are more than 43 million Americans holding some college credit but no degree. Behind this number are individuals with complex personal and often systemic obstacles preventing them from returning. As we move into 2026, higher ed leaders are realizing that simple outreach campaigns aren't enough to help learners re-enroll — they need holistic, integrated re-enrollment initiatives that are thoughtfully implemented in order to help learners return  — and stay through completion.

Re-enrollment initiatives are most successful when they’re designed to understand the complex nuances of adult lives, including work obligations, family responsibilities, previous academic burnout and more. Institutions that include Re-enrollment Coaching as part of their strategy have seen success in bringing back stop-outs:

• Re-enrollment Coaching helped former Salt Lake Community College students return at a rate 5x higher than the national average. 
• Coaching brought over 300 stopped-out students back to nine HBCUs and PBIs within the UNCF network — more than doubling their expected goal.
• California Reconnect saw a 12.7% re-enrollment rate as a result of Re-enrollment Coaching.

It’s no secret that higher ed leaders are spread thin by competing obligations, but by treating re-enrollment as a core strategic commitment rather than a nice-to-have, you can create student-ready environments that support enrollment and retention for years to come — proving ROI not just for your institution, but for your learners and the wider community.

To assess your institutional readiness for a sustainable re-enrollment initiative, ask yourself:

• Can a returning student navigate your re-entry process without facing the same systemic barriers (e.g. rigid transfer credit policies or complex financial aid holds) that may have contributed to their initial stop-out reason?
• Do you have a unified, centralized process for identifying, segmenting and reaching out to stopped-out students?
• How are you measuring the success of your re-enrollment efforts to include long-term persistence and graduation rates?

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Trend 8. Expanding online learning models is a key strategy for increasing student access 

Online learning is no longer a luxury offered at some institutions — it is a learner’s baseline expectation. Almost two-thirds of students across the country are demanding digital-first options, and institutions that lack robust online or hybrid pathways may find it increasingly difficult to compete for the modern learner. Implementing online curricula isn’t just about digitizing a syllabus; it’s about providing the flexibility necessary for a workforce that is perpetually on the go.

However, online learning requires specialized student support services to be successful. Without the physical touchpoints of a campus, online learners are at a higher risk of feeling lonely or isolated. By intentionally designing online spaces, institutions can attract a wider pool of learners, including those who cannot physically make it to campus due to geographic, professional or personal constraints. This shift is a powerful revenue driver, but more importantly it shows that your institution truly cares about catering to your students. When you offer high-quality online learning and support services, you are providing the essential accessibility that allows parents, full-time workers, rural students and learners with other unique needs to access the same education as their peers on campus.

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To assess the strength of your online learning programs, ask yourself:

• Do your current online models provide the true flexibility (e. g. asynchronous options, mobile-friendly platforms) required to accommodate the schedules of working adult learners?
• How are you ensuring that your online students have the same access to 1:1 coaching and support services as your on-campus students?
• What feedback loops do you have in place to measure the sense of belonging and engagement among your purely online student population?

‍Bonus: Check out this blog for five ways to support today’s online learner.

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Trend 9. Students want to see the career value of a college degree before they enroll 

Because college is a significant financial investment — and many students are balancing tight budgets with the rising cost of living — institutions must be able to demonstrate that their program pathways lead directly to higher-wage jobs. To attract, enroll and retain students through completion, institutions are finding success by ensuring their learners can see the true career value of a college degree or credential and view your college as a trusted source of career guidance. They want to feel certain that you can support them along their path — which is often not linear.

This shift in focus is driven by both individual learner needs and changing funding policies that increasingly prioritize long-term student outcomes. Being transparent about post-graduation data, aligning degree programs with viable employment opportunities, offering career-focused micro-credentials or providing students with coaches who can help them map their career paths are all tactics that illustrate how a credential from your university translates into a worthwhile financial decision. By helping students visualize the path from enrollment to a high-wage career, you empower them to see their education as a bridge to long-term stability and success.

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To assess how ready you are to show students the value of their degree from your institution, ask yourself:

• What steps are you taking to align your degree and non-degree offerings (like micro-credentials) directly with high-demand, high-wage local or regional workforce needs?
• How do you currently track and market the demonstrable career outcomes (e.g. salary, employment within 6 months, skills mastery) for your academic programs beyond general graduation rates?
• How are you translating market data and trends to individual students and supporting them beyond completion?

‍Bonus: See how staff at Peirce College committed to embodying a holistic coaching approach – ensuring students stay on track to complete their programs.

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Trend 10. A strong change management process will be critical for supporting institutional resiliency and adaptability

Clearly, many institutions are facing complex, sometimes contradictory requirements and initiatives, pushing them to find ways to strategically adapt to changes in areas like federal funding, research policies and the ever-evolving support services that students need to thrive.

In times of uncertainty, or even during planned organizational restructuring or change, institutions with strong change management processes are more prepared to navigate change with minimal disruptions or staff resistance. When you start with your people by preparing them for the change and providing reasons for its importance, you get buy-in up front — ultimately making the change more successful. This directly impacts your learners in various ways. Well-supported, informed staff: 

• Are better equipped to provide the consistent, high-quality care students need to stay on track
• Have fewer service gaps or confusion when changes are rolled out
• Are better able to embrace a culture of transparency and resiliency, creating a more supportive environment where students feel secure and valued
• Understand that every organizational shift is ultimately about improving the systems that lead to student persistence and completion

InsideTrack follows the Prosci Change Management Model to best support our partner institutions as they implement change initiatives for the well-being of their staff and students. The Prosci ADKAR Model is used by thousands of organizations around the world, created to provide the structure necessary to drive change forward. No matter where on the change management spectrum you are — from no change management policies to strong processes in place already — you can assess how prepared your institution is to embrace the higher ed changes we’ll no doubt see in 2026.

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To assess how ready you are to address change at your organization, ask yourself:

• When introducing a major new initiative, what communication and support plan is put in place to ensure staff adoption and to mitigate change fatigue?
• Do you have strong executive sponsorship to help your teams navigate change? If not, how can you work with your leaders to put this in place?
• Who isn't in the room who needs to be part of this conversation?

‍Bonus: To help navigate this climate of unrest, check out our Resources for Resilience Hub, a coaching toolkit to help higher ed leaders, student supporters and allies navigate uncertainty.

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Embracing the path forward in 2026

As we step into 2026, these ten higher education trends will likely be present in all corners of the industry. However, it’s important to remember that every institution’s journey is unique. Regardless of whether or not these trends affect your campus, the key to navigating them lies in preparation.

Throughout every shift in funding, technology or policy, the thread that holds the fabric of the student experience together is support services. Whether you’re implementing AI frameworks or high-touch re-enrollment initiatives, the goal remains the same: ensuring that all learners, regardless of background, feel seen, valued and supported.

By asking the right assessment questions today, you’re building a resilient foundation for tomorrow.