Episode 2: From System of Record to System of Intelligence

About the Episode

From System of Record to System of Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has become the default answer to nearly every challenge in higher education, but most institutions are applying it on top of the same fragmented, siloed systems that have slowed them down for years. The result isn't transformation, it's amplification, and leaders are left trying to separate real value from noise.

In Episode 2 of The Future of Higher Ed with Ellucian, Michael Wulff, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Ellucian, joins the show to unpack what it actually takes to move an institution from a system of record to a system of intelligence. Drawing on Ellucian's work with more than 3,000 institutions worldwide, Mike explains why AI adoption so often stalls, and what separates institutions that are scaling AI responsibly from those accumulating tools that don't talk to each other.

Hosted by Joe Sallustio, the conversation explores why "AI sprawl" is really a data problem in disguise, why expertise has to sit both in the institution and in the platform, why determinism, not creativity, is the standard student records demand, and why unpredictable, token-based pricing is putting CFOs and CIOs in an impossible position.

In this episode:

• Why AI sprawl is a symptom of a deeper data and integration problem
• How to name the outcome before naming the tool, and why shadow AI is the new shadow IT
• What has to be true before an institution trusts AI with a student record
• Why "usually right" is a liability, not a standard, in higher ed
• How token-based pricing creates unpredictable costs, and what to ask vendors instead
• What MCP is, in plain English, and why open standards protect institutional choice
• The difference between a system of record and a system of intelligence