Recent Digital Student Service Launches

A new project backed by the Gates Foundation is assembling a consortium of access-focused colleges and nonprofit partners to study and strengthen the digital platforms institutions use to support students. The effort aims to identify where current tools fall short and how they can be redesigned to better serve diverse learner populations.

Separately, the University of Utah has rolled out a campus application in partnership with digital engagement platform Pathify, while Allegion US is working with Florida Institute of Technology and Denison College—integrating Transact + CBORD technology—to deploy mobile student IDs across both campuses. Students will be able to add their credentials to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, using phones to enter residence halls, facilities and other campus spaces.

National University, which serves a high proportion of online and working adults, has opened a physical support hub called The Nest. The facility offers child care, work-and-study areas, and wraparound services designed to help students balance career, education and family obligations.

At the September 2025 Tech Tactics in Education conference, Julia Freeland Fisher, director of education research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping social ties and social capital on campus. A forthcoming webcast from Campus Technology will also share survey data on how colleges are moving AI from pilot projects to operational deployment, including insights on building internal buy-in and avoiding common mistakes.

Why Mobile IDs and AI Are Reshaping Campus Support

Phone-based credentials are becoming the norm

The Allegion deployments at FIT and Denison reflect a broader shift: mobile student IDs are no longer a novelty. By tapping into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, institutions reduce the cost and environmental footprint of physical cards while meeting student expectations for a phone-centric experience. For campus card offices, the move also opens the door to real-time access control and data integration with other systems, though it requires tight coordination between hardware, software and institutional IT.

Support hubs blur the line between academic and life services

National University's The Nest illustrates a tangible response to the reality that many students are also parents, caregivers and full-time employees. By embedding child care alongside study areas, the facility acknowledges that retention and completion are often interrupted by logistics, not by a lack of academic commitment. This model, if it proves effective, could push more institutions—especially those serving nontraditional students—to rethink the physical campus as a suite of life-integration services rather than just a collection of classrooms.

AI's role in social connection is under scrutiny

Fisher's keynote puts a different lens on the AI conversation. While much of the sector's energy goes into generative tools for tutoring or content creation, her focus on social capital asks whether algorithm-driven systems risk thinning the very peer and mentor relationships that help students persist. The upcoming Campus Technology survey will likely confirm that adoption is accelerating, but the challenge for institutional leaders is to ensure that AI deployments strengthen, rather than replace, the human connections that underpin student success.