Budget‑strained colleges are adopting AI‑powered infrastructure and new data architectures to scale student services and institutional analytics. EDUCAUSE and vendor research show campuses are investing in AI agents, data meshes and federated governance to decentralize data ownership and accelerate decision‑making. Institutions report constrained IT staffs and forecast budget tightening; many expect AI to automate routine tasks while shifting staff toward governance, data literacy and interoperability roles. Case studies highlight hospitals and universities using mixed‑methods analytics to combine qualitative student feedback with quantitative indicators. Experts advise phased modernization, stronger data governance and investment in campus data literacy to avoid uneven adoption and to protect student privacy as reliance on predictive analytics grows. Clarification: “data mesh” refers to a decentralized approach to data architecture that assigns ownership to domain teams while enforcing central governance standards.