Today’s higher education institutions operate complex digital ecosystems that were unimaginable a decade ago. Behind every college lies a portal of interconnected systems for registration, financial aid, course management, and campus services. The students using those systems are digital natives who can order food in seconds on their phones or have packages delivered the same day they order them. When registration crashes or financial aid portals lag, they’re not comparing their experience to other schools. They’re comparing it to the dozens of other apps they use daily. For CIOs at higher education institutions, ensuring a positive student experience has become a critical outcome of their technology investments. 

But the operational reality presents harsh constraints: 58% of IT leaders cite cost as a barrier to innovation. This creates an impossible equation for IT teams, who must manage legacy technology systems and sprawling infrastructures with skeleton crews. Things like alert fatigue can drown out real problems, which are slow to get resolved due to antiquated systems. Meanwhile, students expect 24/7 support, instant responses, and seamless digital experiences across every touchpoint.

Most universities view AI as a priority but are unable to modernize due to budget constraints and skill shortages. The cost of upgrading is often the reason legacy systems continue to lag, but many institutions fail to consider the broader impact a network outage could have on their reputation and the student experience. 

How some universities are getting ahead

Nonetheless, forward-looking institutions are modernizing their operations and seeing immediate results from their investments. Boston University offers a compelling example. Their legacy platform, StudentLink, delivered a fragmented student experience. BU reinvented it to create MyBU, a modern portal that puts design thinking and user experience first. 

The transformation went beyond a simple tech upgrade. BU embraced self-service capabilities, intuitive interfaces, and reduced complexity for its front- and back-end systems. By dramatically improving usability, they created a system that students and staff would want to use. This didn’t just improve satisfaction—it delivered significant ROI by reducing support tickets and operational overhead.

What’s next for higher ed

BU’s student portal transformation points to a larger phenomenon in higher education where universities are adapting to the demands of a modern student body and using agentic AI to get there. Unlike generative AI, which produces content and/or images and requires constant oversight, agentic AI intelligently manages complex systems, predicts problems, and automates routine maintenance. For resource-constrained higher ed IT teams, agentic AI offers a 91% reduction in alert noise and 50% fewer incidents, which lead to improved student satisfaction scores. 

When AI agents can help manage systems, staff can focus on designing better learning experiences for students. 

The path forward

As higher education continues its digital transformation, the choice becomes increasingly clear: Embrace agentic AI and automation to modernize operations, or continue struggling with legacy systems that can’t meet modern demands. The institutions that act now will be better positioned to deliver the seamless, always-available digital experiences today’s students expect, while making more efficient use of limited IT resources.

If you’re interested in transforming your university’s legacy system, learn more about PagerDuty’s solutions for higher education and discover how we can help you reduce alert noise, improve incident response, and enhance the student experience.