Higher‑education leaders told Inside Higher Ed podcasters and conference panels that institutions must finish foundational “data work” — governance, mapping, and integration — before AI or predictive tools can drive student success at scale. National University and Lumina Foundation speakers argued that data warehouses and governance were prerequisites for scalable, student‑centric interventions. On the front lines, Northwestern’s PATH peer‑mentor program is combining online coursework with small‑group peer support to address stress, perfectionism, and uncertainty, offering a model for blending human coaching with analytics. The two stories together highlight the operational sequence institutions must follow: build reliable data plumbing, then scale human‑centered interventions supported by analytics. (Inside Higher Ed podcast; Northwestern reporting.)