Higher education has entered a new era of teaching and learning. Instructors now move between in-person, hybrid, asynchronous, overflow, and immersive experiences, and students participate from more locations than ever before. As these learning modalities expand, institutions are discovering that their existing AV and IT ecosystems were never designed to support this level of flexibility.
Recent research shows that institutions are seeing increased demand for online and hybrid learning, a shift that is expanding the range of learning modalities they must support inside learning spaces. As learning becomes more multimodal, pressure on campus technology to deliver consistent, reliable experiences continues to grow.
Over time, many institutions have added new tools and capabilities room by room, resulting in a patchwork of legacy systems, mismatched components and improvised solutions. The learning experience can vary dramatically from one space to the next, and this inconsistency has become one of higher education’s most persistent challenges.
Consistency Matters More Than Ever
Walk across campus with an instructor or an AV or IT leader and the impact becomes obvious. One classroom may have a modern camera setup and an intuitive interface, while the next relies on an older control workflow or a non-integrated system. Faculty often have only minutes between classes to adjust materials or begin a recording, and when rooms behave differently, even small inconsistencies can interrupt the flow of instruction.
This variation affects students just as much as it affects faculty. When the foundational AV experience — the ability to see, hear and follow what’s happening in the room — changes from space to space, students notice. A class that starts late because of a technical workaround or a recorded session with poor audio doesn’t just inconvenience faculty, it denies students the consistent access and quality of learning they rely on across multiple modalities. In an environment where students expect to participate live, revisit materials later, or join from different locations, small inconsistencies can become meaningful learning barriers.
Fragmentation also strains AV and IT support teams. Each non-standard room introduces its own quirks, requiring custom troubleshooting and specialized knowledge.
Unified Doesn’t Have to Mean Expensive
Unified AV and IT planning does not mean installing the most advanced technology in every space. The goal is not uniformity at all costs, but stability and predictability that institutions can maintain over time.
Many institutions want a consistent experience for faculty and students without deploying high-end AV systems everywhere. What matters most is the experience: shared workflows, familiar interfaces and reliable performance that feels the same wherever instruction takes place. When faculty do not need to relearn controls or troubleshoot each time they enter a room, students benefit from smoother instruction and more time focused on learning.
A cohesive strategy can support rooms of different sizes and purposes while grounding them in a common user experience. When interfaces behave predictably, instructors can begin teaching with confidence regardless of the room. When underlying systems share a foundation, AV and IT teams can manage devices, deploy updates and support users more efficiently.
Why Planning Now Matters
Students expect flexible access to course content and reliable digital experiences. Faculty want technology that supports their teaching rather than complicating it. Administrators expect investments to show clear connections to student engagement and outcomes.
When AV and IT are planned together, institutions are better positioned to meet these expectations. Variability is reduced, training is simplified and upgrades can be phased without compromising the broader ecosystem. Most importantly, the learning experience improves. When classroom technology is intuitive and dependable, instructors can focus on teaching, and students can focus on learning, regardless of where they are or how they participate.
The goal is not to build identical classrooms. It is to design a unified, campuswide approach where each space is equipped appropriately and consistently based on how it is used. When institutions plan this way, they reduce support strain and create learning environments capable of supporting the full spectrum of modern modalities.
By addressing the hidden challenges of fragmented AV and IT systems through intentional planning, institutions can elevate the student learning experience, ease the burden on support teams and help faculty thrive across every room they teach in.
Jay Lyons is education product manager at Logitech.
