Higher Ed’s “Netflix Moment” Is Here

“Pathify’s Shana Holman on digital belonging, the rise of Campus Experience Platforms and why the next competitive edge in higher education may be the campus app. INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero S tudents today expect their digital lives to feel seamless, intuitive and personal — whether they’re ordering dinner, streaming a movie or managing their finances. But when they log into a university system and encounter scattered portals, multiple passwords and tools that don’t talk to each other, the contrast is stark. For Shana Holman of Pathify, higher education has entered its own “Netflix moment”: a turning point where the quality of the digital experience shapes how students perceive the institution itself. In this conversation with EdTech Digest, Holman explores the emerging Campus Experience Platform category, why digital belonging is becoming a strategic priority and how universities can turn fragmented systems into connected campus ecosystems. You’ve described higher education as being at its “Netflix moment.” What does that mean for institutions rethinking digital experience? Students today live in environments where intuitive technology is expected. Their daily interactions — from banking to food delivery to entertainment — run on unified, personalized digital experiences. So when a campus presents dozens of logins, outdated portals or tools that don’t talk to each other, students notice that friction immediately. ‘Higher ed can deliver remarkable learning, but if the pathway to discovering, accessing or participating in that learning feels fragmented, students interpret that as a signal of institutional quality.’ The “Netflix moment” isn’t about copying a consumer brand. It’s about recognizing that experience now defines value just as much as content. Higher ed can deliver remarkable learning, but if the pathway to discovering, accessing or participating in that learning feels fragmented, students interpret that as a signal of institutional quality. When the digital environment is seamless, responsive and centered on people, it strengthens trust and belonging. You launched the Campus Experience Platform (CXP) category this past fall. Why does higher ed need a new technology class right now? For years, institutions solved digital problems by layering more systems into an already crowded stack. That created complexity, not clarity — and pushed the burden of navigating the digital maze onto students and staff. Now, institutions are turning to the CXP tech category, which features a unified digital hub connecting the entire institutional tech stack into a seamless digital ecosystem. Institutions don’t need another portal or front-end solution. They’re looking for a way to unify the interactions that shape the student lifecycle — engagement, communication, communities, resources, services — into one coherent environment. A new category gives the market language for what’s already happening: a move toward platform-level thinking that’s broader than UX, deeper than engagement tools and more cohesive than legacy portals. It positions experience as the connective tissue making the whole digital campus work. ‘…a move toward platform-level thinking that’s broader than UX, deeper than engagement tools and more cohesive than legacy portals. It positions experience as the connective tissue making the whole digital campus work.’ Belonging and connection keep coming up in conversations with student success leaders. Why are campuses prioritizing this now We’re in a phase where enrollment is volatile, competition is fierce and student expectations are rising. Belonging isn’t a “soft” concept anymore — it’s tied to persistence, mental health, engagement, and whether students feel their institution sees them. Traditional campus life is still crucial, but today’s students blend physical and digital communities seamlessly. They expect to discover opportunities, join groups, access services, and meet peers within a digital environment that feels just as alive as the in-person campus. If institutions don’t intentionally design for belonging in digital spaces, students fill the gap with group chats and third-party tools that scatter information and disconnect them from institutional support. Purposeful digital communities strengthen connection and keep students anchored to the campus ecosystem, which in turn drives engagement, retention and persistence — metrics critical to institutional viability and success in the current challenging higher education landscape of intense enrollment volatility. Pathify recently launched its enhanced Communities solution. What gap are you hoping to fill? Community is central to the student experience, yet most campuses rely on patchwork tools built for clubs, events or chats — none of which help institutions create a unified sense of campus life. We want to give institutions a modern way to bring groups, programming, communication, and co-curricular learning into one place. With the new standalone Communities solution, schools can consolidate fragmented experiences into a more cohesive environment. ‘We want to give institutions a modern way to bring groups, programming, communication, and co-curricular learning into one place.’ Features like co-curricular transcripts, badging and finance management are not about technology for technology’s sake. They’re about helping institutions recognize student involvement, connect participation to purpose and reduce the administrative friction that often limits engagement. This unified approach directly supports institutional goals by fostering a stronger sense of purpose and belonging, which are critical factors tied to student retention and overall success. Your new Student Digital Experience Survey points to rising frustration with fragmented systems. What should institutions take away from those findings? The survey makes one thing unmistakably clear: Digital fragmentation is no longer a minor inconvenience — it’s affecting student outcomes. Nearly half of students said they’ve missed a critical deadline because they couldn’t find what they needed, and many described their digital environment as a source of stress rather than support. The takeaway isn’t just “improve the tech.” It’s that institutions need a unified, consistent experience that reduces cognitive load and strengthens connection. When campuses bring their systems, services and communications into a single digital environment, students feel more supported, more in control and more connected to the institution overall. Based on the survey findings, prioritizing digital cohesion directly addresses the source of student frustration, moving the experience from fragmented confusion to seamless access promoting academic success. Institutions that succeed will treat their digital environment as a fundamental, mission-critical component of the student support ecosystem, ensuring easy navigation to every necessary resource and communication. — Victor Rivero is Executive Producer of Future Focus Forums ( F3 ) and Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com The post Higher Ed’s “Netflix Moment” Is Here appeared first on EdTech Digest .

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