In recent years, higher education's focus has changed from curricula-focused on student learning to curricula-intended to meet performance metrics and secure institutional resources. Shifting attention from students' learning to students' performance has left many students, faculty, and staff within higher education feeling isolated and disconnected. What can higher education professionals do to improve institutions and enhance the student experience? One way is to re-conceptualize and redefine the concept of hope and incorporate hope into practice. This article focuses on how institutions can draw on a re-conceptualized definition of hope to improve higher education and increase student learning.