Online: Trending Now

Unique biweekly insights and news review
from Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA

AI is Already Advancing Higher Education

The potential for Generative AI (GenAI) to further advance, enhance, and expand higher education in the future is enormous. Meanwhile, few realize how AI already is improving what we do today in a myriad of ways.

Let me begin by noting that I have used GenAI tools to assist in ideation and the search for the best examples in writing this edition of “Online: Trending Now.” As always, I strive to embed sources in all cases where readers may want to dig deeper into my assertions. GenAI has assisted me in identifying such resources.

In nearly all aspects of the operation of colleges and universities GenAI is playing an increasing role. From student learning to faculty efficiency to administrative insights, we see that role has become part of the standard operating practices. We are using the tools to advance our work in the most enlightened and efficient way. Here are some examples.

Faculty, staff and students are utilizing AI-powered Grammarly around the world. This popular, now AI-supported tool, is encouraged by many faculty and used by students worldwide. The company notes that among the AI supported features are compose, rewrite, personalize, reply, and ideate. Lindsay Babcock writes in a report earlier this year “Is Grammarly Worth It for College Students? (2024 Review)”:

Grammarly is worth it for college students because it helps them get better grades and enhances their writing skills. The free version improves one’s grammar and spelling and eliminates wordiness. The premium version makes writing clear, concise, consistent, and compelling. If you’re a student who’s on a shoestring budget, don’t worry! I’ll show you how much you can benefit from using the free version.

Babcock goes on to report that Grammarly says more than 250 universities, including, for example, Iowa State University, Chapman University and Indiana Wesleyan University, are providing the premium Grammarly version to all students and staff.

Many readers are familiar with Khanmigo, the AI tutoring tool that was developed by the Khan Academy with funding from OpenAI and is available to students for $4/month. While the tool is most often associated with elementary and secondary school use, the tutor supports learning in advanced math, computer science, the humanities and many other disciplines. This GenAI app is an ever-patient, personalized tutor that guides students through solving problems and achieving learning objectives. This approach to personalized learning goes beyond what a faculty member might be able to provide to personally support each and every student in a large class. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics reports that GenAI apps from a range of providers offer individualized assistance with explanations and tutoring that can personalize and promote effective learning under the appropriate guidance of faculty members.

A number of popular GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Llama, Claude, and a host of others provide GenAI functions for project conception, graphics, general research, identification of source materials, citations and associated information for both faculty and students. These tools are used at all levels of the research and report-writing processes. Faculty and students can utilize these tools to coordinate their research activities, review literature, identify research gaps, uncover previously unidentified linkages and generate better research hypotheses.

The nature of searching the Web itself is changing. For decades, Google Search dominated the field with a number of other search engines such as Bing and DuckDuckGo. Sites customized their layout and design to optimize the positioning of their results in Google Search using Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With the advent of GenAI tools that search the Web, more users in higher education have begun using such tools as Perplexity iAsk.ai and CleeAI that tend to provide links first to more useful informational rather than product sales sites that have traditionally been given a paid priority in search engine rankings. As a result, university Web development offices, university relations offices and related units are increasingly utilizing Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) principles and practices to elevate their sites for those searching using GenAI tools. In addition, they can utilize graphics, short video and image generators from text prompts.

As reported last month in this column, “AI in a Lingering Age of Loneliness Among Students,” many colleges and universities are offering GenAI apps for students to utilize as a front-line response to students who are unable or unwilling to seek in-person help. These can provide support most particularly to distant online students who cannot easily access campus-based resources.

AI is playing an important role in student recruitment and admissions decisions at many universities. Brennan Bernard writes in Forbes that admissions and records offices have been using AI tools to perform their jobs more efficiently and accurately for several years:

This year, that mystery is more nuanced than ever—some are wondering if humans or machines are deciding their fate. Ultimately, it is not a question of if artificial intelligence will be used by admission offices. The truth is that enrollment managers were employing AI in their work long before the ChatGPT boom last fall. The question is rather one of how much and in what ways this technology will be used.

Of increasing importance are the predictive analytic tools that enable faculty and staff to identify students who may be struggling or are at high risk of dropping out of classes based on data generated by prior students. For example, “poison pair” designations of classes, when taken the same semester result in lower grades for students than when taken in different terms. These analytics can inform academic advising and alert faculty members to potential difficulties prior to their surfacing on grade sheets.

GenAI is facilitating, creating synergies, providing insights, and enhancing the quality of higher education across the curriculum, within the administration, and among faculty and students. Deeptanshu Tiwari, COO of MRCCedtech, describes ways in which AI is used to enhance the university experience:

…. administrators are increasingly turning to innovative solutions, and one such powerful tool is predictive analytics powered by artificial intelligence (AI). With machine learning algorithms, predictive analytics can identify early warning signs of academic struggles or disengagement by analyzing student data, behavior patterns, and historical trends, thus enabling educators to proactively intervene by providing students with targeted support that ultimately improves their outcomes.

How is your university planning and preparing for the advancement of these powerful tools? Are you prepared to take a leadership role in identifying and testing additional tools that may be beneficial as they emerge? How are you ensuring that timely, coordinated decisions are made based on sound knowledge and experience so that you can best serve the mission of your institution and remain competitive with your competition?

 

This article was originally published in Inside Higher Ed’s Transforming Teaching & Learning blog.

A man (Ray Schroeder) is dressed in a suit with a blue tie and wearing glasses.

Ray Schroeder is Professor Emeritus, Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) and Senior Fellow at UPCEA. Each year, Ray publishes and presents nationally on emerging topics in online and technology-enhanced learning. Ray’s social media publications daily reach more than 12,000 professionals. He is the inaugural recipient of the A. Frank Mayadas Online Leadership Award, recipient of the University of Illinois Distinguished Service Award, the United States Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame Award, and the American Journal of Distance Education/University of Wisconsin Wedemeyer Excellence in Distance Education Award 2016.

Other UPCEA Updates + Blogs

Collaborating for the Future: Employer Partnerships and Credential Innovation

UPCEA members are often the advocates and aggregators for credential innovation on their campuses, as those flexible learning opportunities are often noncredit or certificate-centric, and usually online, avenues pioneered by our online and professional community. To help institutions better advocate for the resources needed for a successful, holistic micro-credentialing strategy, UPCEA engaged in a grant-funded…

Read More

2024 UPCEA MEMS Award Recipients Announced

40 Recipients Chosen For Three Award Categories WASHINGTON, D.C., September 27, 2024 — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2024 Excellence in Enrollment Management Award, the Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Success Award, and the Excellence in Marketing Award.  All three awards…

Read More

Reporting Deadline on GE and FVT Pushed to 2025 | Policy Matters (September 2024)

Major Updates Reporting Deadline on GE and FVT Pushed to 2025 The Department of Education (ED) has announced a further delay in the reporting deadline for Gainful Employment (GE) and Financial Value Transparency (FVT) until early 2025. Initially extended to October 1, 2024, the deadline has now been pushed to January 15, 2025. This follows…

Read More

Jobs of the Future…and the Present: What Will Happen in Accounting?

The accounting profession is undergoing transformation as technology rapidly reshapes the field. The job outlook for accountants over the next decade remains generally positive but varies based on the profession’s ability to adapt to these advancements. While automation may reduce some traditional roles, there will continue to be strong demand for accountants with advanced skills…

Read More

New Resource – Digital Accessibility Requirements For Online Learning | Policy Matters (August 2024)

Major Updates Digital Accessibility Requirements For Online Learning | UPCEA Primers + Insights – NEW How Disability Anti-Discrimination Laws Impact Online Courses and Programs Across UPCEA’s membership and higher education more broadly, every individual plays an important role in fostering inclusive environments. Digital accessibility is not just a regulatory requirement but a cornerstone of inclusive…

Read More

How higher-ed is accelerating the growth of credential innovation (eCampus News)

“A new higher-ed playbook aims to accelerate the development and delivery of non-credit, short-term credentials that are effectively directed at the workplace. Building Capacity, Expanding Pathways: Accelerating the Growth of Credential Innovation in Higher Education, from online and professional education association UPCEA and supported by a grant from Walmart, features lessons learned and promising practices…

Read More

Whether you need benchmarking studies, or market research for a new program, UPCEA Consulting is the right choice.

We know you. We know the challenges you face and we have the solutions you need. We speak your language and have been serving leaders like you for more than 100 years. UPCEA consultants are current or former continuing and online higher education professionals who are experts in the industry—put our expertise to work for you.


UPCEA is dedicated to advancing quality online learning at the institutional level. UPCEA is uniquely focused on excellence at the highest levels – leadership, administration, strategy – applying a macro lens to the online teaching and learning enterprise. Its engaged members include the stewards of online learning at most of the leading universities in the nation.

We offers a variety of custom research options through a variable pricing model.


Click here to learn more.

The Nation's Top Universities Choose UPCEA Consulting

Informed decisions. Ideas that work. The data you need. Trusted by the top universities in the nation.