Navigating the Impact of AI in Higher Ed

Artificial intelligence is now an integral part of our technological landscape, with integrations in business, private life, and education. Higher education institutions have the dual responsibility of preparing students for careers where AI plays a role and finding ways to benefit from artificial intelligence while balancing any potential risks.

According to a 2024 report by Educause, 89 percent of higher education institutions are working on some form of artificial intelligence strategy [1]. Respondents to this survey cited the risks associated with AI and the rise in learner use as common reasons higher education is embracing the technology and figuring out how to use it as a resource and tool. 

In this article, we'll explore some AI innovations in higher education and how institutions use this technology to power personalized teaching resources for learners, professors, and administrators. 

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AI applications transforming higher education

As artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, its potential for use in higher education is both exciting and complex, introducing new ways for learners to get more from their courses with personalized learning resources. Additionally, professors and administrators can use AI to automate time-consuming tasks and offer real-time insights into everything from classroom management to enrollment statistics. Take a closer look at some ways that higher education institutions use artificial intelligence and the possibilities for how they might use this technology in the future. 

Enhancing AI learning experiences 

One use case for AI in higher education is creating trained resources that help students learn in personalized and engaging ways. Universities can use AI to create teaching assistants and virtual tutors that can anticipate learners’ needs based on their performance, make recommendations, and answer questions learners might have. 

The following offers a few ways that higher education institutions use artificial intelligence to enhance learning experiences: 

• AI-powered personalized learning paths for learners: AI can help learners plan their degrees based on their interests, academic performance, and available class schedules. 

• Adaptive learning platforms and intelligent tutoring systems: Learners can use an AI tutor that uses data about their performance to understand what extra resources they would benefit from and automatically provide them, making it easier to offer personalized instruction at scale. AI learning platforms can generate practice assignments, provide personalized feedback, and make recommendations about what learners could read or explore next. 

• Virtual assistants and chatbots can improve learner engagement. Learners can engage with a chatbot to “talk through" an assignment and bounce ideas off an artificial mind. They can ask a chatbot for ideas and help thinking about how to approach their task. AI can also power virtual learning experiences, allowing new ways for learners to interact with educational materials. 

• Predictive analytics for early intervention and retention strategies: When learners struggle, AI can help assess those difficulties and provide resources and intervention strategies to help them get back on track, ultimately improving retention. 

• Career services after graduation: AI can also aid learners in the career services department, helping them decide which career path they would like to take, organizing their career search, and helping create resumes and cover letters for each position. 

Revolutionizing administrative processes with AI

Artificial intelligence is also making an impact on the administrative aspects of higher education, including the admissions and enrollment process, course scheduling, and financial aid. The following list describes some of the ways that learning institutions are using AI for administration: 

• Streamlining admissions and enrollment: AI can create virtual enrollment chatbots to answer potential learners' questions at any time of day or night. It can also tailor marketing materials to potential learners based on their interests, career goals, and academic performance. 

• Financial aid support for learners: Virtual financial aid assistants can walk students through any paperwork they need to fill out or answer any questions about the financial aid process, as long as data privacy and financial advising legal constraints are followed.

• AI in application review and admissions decision-making: AI could help create a streamlined application review process, automating tedious tasks and freeing up administrative staff from repetitive and time-consuming tasks so they can focus on the most impactful elements of admissions. 

• AI-optimized campus operations: Professors and administrators can use AI to get recommendations for various campus processes. For example, AI could automate course planning for future semesters based on current enrollment.

• AI in curriculum development and innovation: Another way higher education institutions use artificial intelligence is in developing curricula. Educators can use AI to study large data sets, better understand their academic field, and plan curriculum and professional development. 

• Research and grant funding: AI can help automate tasks related to academic research and grant funding, such as finding and evaluating grant opportunities and outlining grant proposals. 

Addressing the ethical and privacy challenges of AI

It’s clear that artificial intelligence can introduce a wide range of benefits in higher education. Still, at the same time, it introduces various potential roadblocks related to data privacy and ethical concerns. According to the Educause study previously mentioned, these challenges posed by AI are a source of concern for privacy and security professionals, ranking their top concerns as data security (82 percent), compliance with federal regulations (74 percent), ethical data governance (56 percent), compliance with local regulations (56 percent), and the impacts of biases in data (52 percent) [1]. 

Some challenges to consider include: 

• Ensuring fairness and equity in AI-driven decision-making: When designing artificial intelligence, you must be careful to address hidden biases and stereotypes that transfer into the algorithm from biased training materials. Although AI has been shown to be susceptible to bias in the past, safeguarding fairness and equity in training data can reduce this risk. 

• Safeguarding learners’ data privacy: AI opens new channels for exposed data. One solution may be to create artificial intelligence tools that exist on a server private to the institution to limit learners' exposure to data breaches. Schools should also inform attendees and prospective learners about the kind of personal data they will collect and give each individual a chance to opt out. 

• Establishing robust data governance policies: To keep data safe, users need to practice proper data storage, develop clear guidelines for who has access to the data, and conduct regular audits to ensure that everything is as it should be. 

Getting started with Coursera

Colleges and universities are embracing AI's implications for higher education and learning to position themselves to harness this technology's benefits while reducing risks to security and other data concerns. Coursera for Campus can help.

Coursera for Campus empowers any university to offer job-relevant, credit-ready* online education to students, faculty, and staff. With Coursera for Campus, you can promote student employability by teaching in-demand skills for high-growth fields and help students master job-ready skills with Guided Projects, programming assignments, and in-course assessments—online, offline, and via mobile. Enable faculty to create projects, assessments, and courses tailored to learner needs with Coursera for Campus.