Four Universities Honored with 2025 Innovation Awards

Award Winners Honored at Eduventures Summit Include Florida Atlantic University, McMurry University, Oregon State Ecampus, and Suffolk University

CHICAGO, June 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Encoura, an educational technology, data science, and research organization, tonight announced the winners of the annual Eduventures® Research Innovation Awards Program at Eduventures Summit 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. The Innovation Awards Program honors individuals and organizations that exemplify Encoura's commitment to advancing innovation and improving outcomes in higher education. This year marked a record number of submissions, highlighting bold, forward-thinking initiatives driving meaningful change. In response to the exceptional quality and volume of entries, the awards also included a special recognition category, allowing judges to spotlight additional institutional initiatives.

Encoura and its Eduventures Research division celebrated the award winners, selected by a panel of higher education leaders and advisors, at a ceremony and reception that took place during the annual Eduventures Summit. Innovation Award winners and Recognition of Achievement honorees were announced by Cara Quackenbush, Eduventures Executive Vice President at Encoura.

The 2025 Innovation Award winners include:

• Florida Atlantic University
• McMurry University
• Oregon State Ecampus
• Suffolk University

2025 Recognition of Achievement honorees include:

• Bowling Green State University
• Old Dominion University
• National University of Singapore

One of this year's winners, Suffolk University, was chosen for its success in making business education AI-forward. The university's Associate Dean of Innovative Education & Programs, Jodi Detjen, elaborated about the school's AI-Human Educational Synergy (AHES) Framework sharing, "Business schools face the fundamental challenge of preparing business students for a rapidly evolving professional landscape transformed by artificial intelligence. With our framework, our students demonstrated success through critical evaluation of AI-generated outputs to identify limitations and applying ethical frameworks to decisions – with 85% of participating students reported increased confidence with AI tools."

About the Innovation Awards Program

Now in its ninth year, the Eduventures Innovation Awards Program honors organizations and teams that are shaping the future of higher education. Entries are submitted in 3 categories and are designed to identify higher education institutions that have demonstrated significant innovation when developing and implementing programs that impact these areas:

• Enrollment: A new enrollment management strategy in a fast-changing environment
• Student Experience: A new approach to teaching and learning or student support
• Outcomes: A new effort to define and report student outcomes

Judges select winners from written applications and, if needed, conduct follow-up interviews. Entries are scored on value to the institution, innovation, and relevance to the mission of the school and are announced in conjunction with the annual Eduventures Summit.

"We are at a critical inflection point with shifting population demographics, technology, and public perception where institutions are reimagining higher education through innovation," said Cara Quackenbush, Encoura's Executive Vice President of Research. "It's an honor to recognize universities who are overcoming a challenging climate by focusing on getting the student experience right and on thoughtful use of technology."

About Encoura, LLC

Encoura is an educational data science and research organization serving over 2,000 member institutions comprising public and private colleges and universities across the nation and abroad. Since 1972, Encoura has been a leading provider of data science, technology, and programs serving students, high school educators, colleges, and universities with offices in Austin, TX, and Boston, MA. These solutions represent the link between students making important life decisions and those providing the resources and information students need to succeed in their postsecondary educations and careers. For more information, visit encoura.org.

Media Contact:
Todd Boullion
Chief Marketing Officer
Encoura
800) 862-7759
[email protected]

SOURCE Encoura