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The advent of the internet presented higher education with a range of challenges and opportunities, presenting new capabilities that weren’t even conceivable before.
It offered easy access to resources (books, research papers, journals, and more) making learning faster and more convenient. Moreover, research has become more collaborative. Today, researchers can share data and publish work in digital journals, reaching a broader audience.
Not only that, but the internet also supports lifelong learning, with adult learners benefiting from accessible online courses, webinars, and self-paced programs to enhance their skills whenever they choose.
University students today are tech-savvy, use AI throughout their daily lives—and are keen to optimize their learning.
This has given rise to AI-driven platforms like virtual tutors, adaptive learning systems, and plagiarism detection tools, making them essential resources.
AI’s potential in the higher education landscape goes beyond routine applications. Faculty members can use AI to drive efficiency in teaching and depth in research.
To address the requirements of a digital-first, tech-savvy generation, faculty members must embrace and incorporate AI into their teaching and research activities and emphasize tools that transform classroom engagement, expand research approaches, and provide powerful learning experiences.
This article discusses how thoughtful AI adoption helps educators address the shifting demands of modern higher education effectively. Dive in to:
Explore how AI can help you build new capabilities at your university.
Discover the need for efficient change management.
Learn more about the tools needed to harness the power of AI.
AI Across Operations, Learner Success, and Research
As universities use more technology, AI is becoming a key tool in improving how things run, helping students succeed, and boosting research. Moreover, modern tools help make education more efficient, better for students, and easier to manage.
Ensuring Excellent Administration
AI is enhancing operational efficiency within faculties by reshaping the talent experience, optimizing administrative workflows, and offering deeper financial insights.
Faculty members can use AI to simplify initial job application screenings, streamline onboarding, and manage skills inventories and training programs.
In addition, automation of document processing in areas like expense reporting and administrative tasks reduces inefficiencies, allowing universities to prioritize strategic initiatives.
Furthermore, AI supports financial operations by ensuring policy compliance, producing accurate reports, and improving budgeting and forecasting, leading to more informed decision-making and optimal resource allocation.
Helping Students Thrive
AI is making education more personalized, inclusive, and affordable.
It helps with admissions, creating customized learning plans for each student, and offering virtual tutors. AI-powered career guidance tools help students plan their futures.
In addition, it supports diversity by translating materials, recruiting diverse students, and providing tools like sign language and Augmentative and Alternative Communication systems. AI can also make your campus more accessible with features like campus maps.
On the financial side, it automates tasks like Free Application for Federal Student Aid renewal, matches students with scholarships, and helps personalize loan repayment, making higher education more affordable for everyone.
Transforming Research
AI is changing research by identifying opportunities, spotting emerging trends, and providing new insights that open up valuable research paths.
It speeds up the grant process by cutting down on time spent on literature reviews and simplifying the creation of grant proposals, boosting the quality and quantity of research.
AI also supports research administration by helping with quick policy reviews, offering virtual assistant help to grant administrators, and automating form filling, all of which reduce administrative work and improve efficiency in research.
Managing Change to Ensure Smooth AI Implementation
Deloitte believes that effective change management is key as AI reshapes higher education.
Institutions should create a culture that sees AI as a tool to enhance, not replace, existing roles, helping to ease concerns and resistance from staff and faculty.
Moreover, faculty leaders must keep employees informed and engaged, offering training and support to close skills gaps.
Another challenge is ensuring transparency, open communication, and a strategic approach to integrating AI. By addressing this imperative, you can maintain morale and ensure the technology complements rather than disrupts current functions.
Deloitte recommends embracing a “behavior-first change” strategy that can greatly enhance an institution’s change management efforts.
It draws from neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, and anthropology to help you understand how people behave. With this information, leaders can navigate the complexities of change more effectively, ensuring that their strategies are both conceptually solid and practically successful in promoting the adoption of new AI tools.
Tackle Complex and Mundane Tasks with Modern Tools
As the education sector continues to face challenges in sourcing talent, especially with the shortage of candidates and sector disruptions, the importance of an Education Applicant Tracking System becomes essential.
These tools provide an efficient, user-friendly solution to streamline the recruitment process and move beyond mundane tasks.
Eploy
Eploy‘s Applicant Tracking System is designed to help educational institutions attract and recruit high-quality candidates.
These systems also integrate with leading recruitment platforms, enabling seamless multi-posting across job boards like Education Web Jobs, The Educator, and other top services in education recruitment technology. Eploy ensures a captivating and efficient experience for both candidates and hiring teams, making the recruitment process smoother and more engaging.
ABBYY FlexiCapture
This tool that helps businesses automate how they handle documents. ABBYY FlexiCapture uses smart technologies like AI and machine learning to quickly extract and process data from documents, making tasks faster and more efficient.
Universities can speed up processes like onboarding, reduce manual work, save money, and get better insight into their workflows. It supports various document types and languages, and works with different systems to fit the needs of any organization.
Element451
Staff productivity and student engagement are enhanced by creating a smarter, more connected campus. Element451’s AI Assistants for Students guide them through campus life and education. Bolt Discovery changes how students find information on the website, making it easier to access everything from tasks and events to course details and support. This 24/7 personalized AI platform ensures a smooth academic journey, eliminating confusion and missed opportunities.
Moreover, financial Aid Automation is transforming how schools manage financial support, making the process more efficient and personalized.
Finaid and ScholarSnapp simplify important tasks, enhancing the student experience.
Finaid automates FAFSA renewal notifications, helping students stay on track with deadlines and connect with scholarships that align with their needs and goals.
ScholarSnapp makes scholarship applications more efficient by enabling students to reuse their information across multiple platforms. Both tools also offer personalized loan repayment options, guiding students toward manageable plans, reducing administrative tasks, and improving access to financial aid.
To Sum Up
AI in higher education offers new opportunities to change how schools work, help students, and advance research.
AI can make administrative tasks easier, improve the student experience, and transform research and financial aid management. To get the most out of AI, schools need to adopt good change management strategies, support staff, and be transparent.
New tools help universities overcome challenges and create a better learning environment to support the success of students and faculty.
The future of higher education is powered by AI, opening up endless possibilities for innovation.
