IT leaders in higher education are constantly battling competing priorities. They must provide seamless network access for faculty and students while safeguarding confidential data. They’re tasked with keeping IT systems current on tight or shrinking budgets. And now, they must contend with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), seizing upon its benefits while contending with its challenges. 

It can sometimes  feel like a no-win situation. 

Enterprise browsers like Island offer schools and universities a new way forward. Built to simplify IT, they help higher ed institutions use technology and data to improve the educational experience, provide more secure access to data, address shifting regulations, address digital campus challenges, and put AI to work in safe and sensible ways.

Managing IT for Everyone, Everywhere

Higher ed, which serves one of the most diverse user bases of any industry, needs these kinds of solutions. Their faculties require seamless access to research data, often while traveling. Teaching staff require secure academic workspaces on personal devices. Administrators and guest lecturers need tools that work, without adding any friction.

Providing secure access across a wide spectrum of needs has always been difficult. Legacy systems often force one-size-fits-all solutions that frustrate users and leave security gaps.

Modern IT tools are flipping that dynamic, introducing role-based access controls that allow universities to customize security based on user identity and device posture. Sensitive data stays protected and users get what they need without compromising the system's integrity.

The Ever-Present Compliance Puzzle

All this work is critical because higher ed faces some of the most stringent IT-related compliance requirements of any sector. Among other rules, institutions must protect student financial records (Gramm-Leach Bliley ACT or GLBA), health data (HIPAA), the use of use copyrighted materials in digital and online classrooms (the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act or TEACH Act), “controlled unclassified information” as defined by the Department of Defense (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0) and personal information (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA).

Penalties for failing to meet the standards can be severe. In early 2024, for instance, Liberty University was ordered to pay a record $14 million fine for allegedly violating the Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to disclose campus crime statistics and security policies to ensure transparency and promote safety for students and employees.

Universities are adopting tools with compliance baked into their design to meet regulations. Features like dynamic copy/paste restrictions, detailed activity logs, and application boundaries that prevent unauthorized data sharing are transforming how institutions manage regulatory demands.

The Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM), for example, wanted to enhance its information security posture to address GLBA compliance concerns.  ICOM relies on software-as-service (SaaS) applications, which means it needs to closely control data transmissions and have the ability to report on how it was securing them in order to meet regulatory requirements. Island, with its universal application access controls, device visibility and management capabilities, and zero trust network access approach checked a lot of boxes.

But ICOM CIO Brian Atkinson said one of the most important Island advantages was how it processed data when an instructor used the browser.

“The biggest aha moment for me was the concept that my data no longer has to leave the browser,” he said. “That’s significant.”

Eighty percent of faculty and staff  at the school have also made Island their default browser because of its familiar user experience, integrated AI assistant, and minimal learning curve, Atkinson added.

The Shift to Digital Campuses

The shift to sprawling networks of campuses and online schools across cities and countries is another issue putting pressure on IT departments to more closely manage and secure their ecosystems.

Systems today must handle everything from a student logging into a dorm’s network to a professor accessing sensitive data while traveling abroad. The demand for remote access adds to this complexity, as does the rise of hybrid learning models that blur the lines between physical and digital classrooms.

Legacy tools like VPNs, once the gold standard for secure connections, aren’t well suited to handle the scale of modern campuses. Emerging zero-trust architectures are transforming how distributed campuses operate. By securing data and applications in an enterprise browser like Island where faculty and staff are doing their work — instead of relying on network perimeter fortification— universities can provide seamless access to users across their entire ecosystem — on-campus, remote, or hybrid —while maintaining tight control over sensitive information.

Taming the GenAI Surge

A more recent issue higher-ed IT departments face is ensuring AI can be used both safely and securely. In 2024, use of GenAI by higher ed faculty nearly doubled to 45% from the previous year, according to a Cengage study. At the same time, 86% of students reported using AI in their studies, with 24% saying they use it daily, a separate Digital Education Council survey found. 

Faculty, and staff naturally want free-flowing access to AI tools and, at the same time, expect higher-ed IT departments to ensure they can use them without compromising their personal information. On the other hand, IT departments must strike that delicate balance between saying “yes” to faculty and staff requests and doing so in a way that protects their networks as well as the people accessing them.

Island addresses these competing demands by providing a safe environment in which to use generative AI tools — without risking security or compliance. With complete visibility into AI usage, the browser enables IT teams to monitor interactions, audit prompts, and enforce governance — redirecting users to approved AI platforms while blocking unvetted tools and extensions. Dynamic in-browser messaging reinforces security policies in real-time, preventing sensitive data from being pasted into AI prompts and educating users on acceptable AI usage. Additionally, contextual DLP controls and AI code scanning help safeguard institutional security by blocking confidential data exposure and ensuring AI-generated code meets quality and security standards, all while maintaining a frictionless user experience.

Future-Ready Universities

Higher-ed IT is at a crossroads. The challenges are immense, from meeting compliance requirements to securing remote access to preserving academic integrity in the age of AI. But the tools to address these challenges are already here, and they’re changing the game for institutions willing to embrace them.

Modern IT solutions aren’t just about keeping up—they’re about setting universities up for success in a rapidly changing landscape. By investing in smarter, leaner systems, higher ed can turn IT headaches into a competitive advantage.