Higher Ed Leadership Is Excited About AI

As corporate America races to integrate AI into its core operations, higher education finds itself in a precarious position. I conducted a survey of 63 university leaders revealing that while higher ed leaders recognize AI’s transformative potential, they’re struggling to turn that recognition into action.

This struggle is familiar for higher education — gifted with the mission of educating America’s youth but plagued with a myriad of operational and financial struggles, higher ed institutions often lag behind their corporate peers in technology adoption. In recent years, this gap has become threateningly large. In an era of declining enrollments and shifting demographics, closing this gap could be key to institutional survival and success.

High hopes face low preparedness and investment

The survey results paint a clear picture of inconsistency: 86% of higher ed leaders see AI as a “massive opportunity,” yet only 21% believe their institutions are prepared for it. This disconnect isn’t just a minor inconsistency – it’s a strategic vulnerability in an era of declining enrollments and shifting demographics.

While higher education grapples with this gap, corporate America races ahead. In Deloitte’s 2024 State of AI in the Enterprise report, 91% of surveyed organizations say they expect their productivity to increase as a result of generative AI. Investment and adoption has been led by IT offices, followed by marketing, sales, and customer service. In contrast, only 40% of our surveyed higher ed leaders say their universities prioritize AI investment.

Even within higher ed, there are leaders and laggards

Who’s winning the AI race? While leaders at private institutions show higher AI familiarity on average, public institutions placed a slightly higher priority on AI investment. This came as a surprise and rings a warning bell — typically, private institutions are known for greater potential for agility, free from the constraints of federal and state funding. However, that freedom comes with a cost, as they are the most vulnerable to insolvency without the safety net of such funding. With the number of undergraduates in the U.S. dropping each year, missing just ten expected enrollments can be enough to put a private institution in the red zone.

Similarly, we saw that larger institutions (15,000+ students) rated their AI preparedness as higher than mid-size and smaller institutions. This gap may widen as larger institutions, often public, leverage their resources to pull ahead in the AI race. In a world where a college closes every week, small and mid-size colleges must continue to innovate relentlessly. It’s not just about keeping up appearances; it’s about leveraging AI to enhance educational quality and operational efficiency.

Vice Presidents emerge as visionaries

One bright spot in our survey: Vice Presidents are emerging as key AI champions in higher education, with 97% having used AI themselves in the past few months (vs. 79% of other leaders). 76% of VPs identify as “AI-forward” or “AI evangelists” (vs. 58% of Directors/Deans).

“We need to be thinking about and planning for both how AI will affect our classroom experience, how it may impact our employees, and how we can incorporate it into the curriculum,” says one VP at a small private liberal arts college. “It will require a mindset shift from some to think of AI as inevitable and something we need to embrace, rather than something we need to avoid.”

The role of vice presidents in the higher ed administrative offices is a perfect analogy to the enthusiasm-investment gap. VPs sit between the most strategic members of the university (presidents, provosts, governing boards) and the end-users that ultimately deliver the financial results that the university needs to survive. In their position, they are both acutely aware of the potential of transformative tech like AI and also less equipped to deploy significant capital to invest in it.

Bridging the gap and leading the way

How can institutions turn AI excitement into tangible progress? In interviews with higher ed leadership, I’m hearing similar themes:

1. Rewrite Your Strategic Plan: Integrate AI into every relevant section of your institutional strategy — especially in plans to improve operational efficiency. Presidents and governing boards should regularly consult with their vice presidents and other team members who are in the weeds to better understand where processes can be improved with AI.

2. Reallocate Budget: With budgets at all-time lows, leadership, particularly at small and mid-size institutions, must be prepared to make scrappy choices in favor of the future. Look for outdated systems, consultants, and processes that AI could replace and redirect those funds.

3. Engage Stakeholders Proactively: Despite IT being the earliest adopters, AI isn’t just an IT initiative. Get your board, faculty, and staff on board early. Address job replacement fears head-on with a clear vision of AI augmentation, not replacement. Allow team members to get excited about AI — bring them into conversations with vendors and consider investing in additional learning and education for your staff.

4. Maintain Momentum: Don’t let initial excitement fizzle out in favor of inertia and day-to-day drudgery. Make AI adoption a consistent priority at all levels of your organization, and stick to your strategic plans to realize the return on your investments.

As said by a VP at a small liberal arts college: “Institutions need to embrace AI and become authorities on using it to drive innovation and educate the public on how to use it ethically and responsibly. We have an opportunity to lead as a sector on this technology and recapture some of the public’s trust.”

The enthusiasm is there. The potential is clear. Now it’s time to close the investment gap and turn AI’s promise into higher education’s reality.