Key highlights:
- Ellucian recognized for delivering purpose-built, responsible AI that drives measurable outcomes for higher education institutions.
- Embedded AI capabilities help reduce administrative burden while improving decision-making and student success.
- Award underscores Ellucian's leadership in advancing AI innovation tailored to the unique needs of higher education.
RESTON, Va., June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellucian, the leading higher education technology solutions provider, announced it has been named the winner in the "AI Education: Best Outcomes, Higher Education" category of the 2026 Newsweek AI Impact Awards. The Newsweek AI Impact Awards celebrate organizations that are setting a new standard for the practical and responsible application of AI. Winners are honored for developing technologies and strategies that enhance operations, solve complex challenges, and create meaningful business and societal impact.
"This recognition from Newsweek highlights the real impact AI can have when it is designed specifically for higher education," said Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian. "Our AI-powered platform helps institutions operate more efficiently while delivering more personalized, data-driven experiences that support student success at every stage of the journey. We are proud to lead the way in helping colleges and universities turn AI innovation into action."
Ellucian was recognized for delivering purpose-built, responsible agentic AI capabilities embedded across Ellucian Student, higher education's complete solution that powers the end-to-end student lifecycle. Ellucian Student reduces administrative friction, improves decision-making, and better supports student success.
"Artificial intelligence is rapidly redefining the way organizations operate, innovate, and compete," said Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Jennifer H. Cunningham. "The companies recognized through the AI Impact Awards are demonstrating the transformative potential of AI through thoughtful implementation, measurable results, and forward-looking leadership."
Growing Momentum for AI in Higher Education
The award comes as AI adoption accelerates across higher education, with institutions increasingly embedding AI into core strategy to improve efficiency and outcomes. According to Ellucian's third annual survey of higher education professionals, 66% report their institution is currently leveraging AI, up from 49% the previous year, and 88% expect institutional AI use to increase over the next two years.
Ellucian's approach to AI emphasizes trusted, responsible innovation — embedding intelligence directly into the systems institutions rely on to create capacity, improve agility, and deliver better outcomes for students, faculty, and staff.
Intelligent Automation at Scale
Powered by the Ellucian Platform and trained on the richest dataset available in higher education, Ellucian Student embeds agentic AI directly into institutional workflows to streamline operations and improve outcomes. Underpinning these capabilities is Ellucian's Knowledge Graph — a living catalog of nearly 10,000 unique higher education workflows informed by Ellucian's deep experience working exclusively with colleges and universities. This enables automation that uniquely reflects institutional policies, processes and compliance requirements.
These AI-driven capabilities help institutions:
- Automate routine and time-intensive administrative processes.
- Surface timely insights that improve institutional decision-making.
- Streamline workflows that support student progression and staff productivity.
To learn more about Ellucian AI capabilities, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/artificial-intelligence
To see the full list of winners, visit: https://www.newsweek.com/newsweeks-ai-impact-awards-2026-winners-11934612
WHAT ARE THE NEWSWEEK AI IMPACT AWARDS
The Newsweek AI Impact Awards recognize organizations applying artificial intelligence to drive innovation, improve operations, solve complex challenges, and create measurable business or societal impact. The program highlights companies demonstrating practical, responsible, and forward-looking uses of AI across industries.
WHAT IS NEWSWEEK
Newsweek is the global digital news organization built around the iconic 93-year-old American magazine. Newsweek reaches 100 million people monthly with its thought-provoking news, opinions, images, graphics, and video delivered across a dozen print and digital platforms. Headquartered in New York City, Newsweek also publishes international editions in EMEA and Asia.
WHAT IS ELLUCIAN
Ellucian powers innovation for higher education, partnering with approximately 3,000 customers across 50 countries, serving more than 21 million students. Ellucian's AI-powered platform, trained on the richest dataset available in higher education, drives efficiency, personalized experiences, and strengthened engagement for all students, faculty and staff. Fueled by decades of experience with a singular focus on the unique needs of learning institutions, the Ellucian platform features best-in-class SaaS capabilities and delivers insights needed now and into the future. These solutions and services span the entire student lifecycle, including data-rich tools for student recruitment, enrollment, and retention to workforce analytics, fundraising, and alumni engagement. Ellucian's innovative solutions, vast ecosystem of partners and user community of more than 45,000 provides best practices leading to greater institutional success and achieving better student outcomes.
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SOURCE Ellucian
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