Understanding the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education

If you work in higher education, you’ve certainly come across the widespread discussion of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the challenges and opportunities it presents for the sector. With the launch of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, questions about how these technologies will impact academic integrity and assessment have been persistent.  

However, it is not just academic life that AI is transforming. The use of AI in higher education settings is also having an impact on the way that professional service leaders and practitioners are driving enhancement for students. 

In this article, we explore two key areas that professional service teams are using AI in higher education to increase efficiency and data-driven strategic planning. While many institutions are at the beginning of their AI journey, this article will explore examples of institutions who are pioneering new approaches across the sector, with the aim of inspiring future interventions and innovations. 

Automatic Impact: Robots to the Rescue? 

One of the major benefits of AI is that it can decrease workload and increase efficiency. With the use of AI automation, higher education institutions (HEIs) are finding new ways to complete time-consuming and laborious administrative work and, instead, prioritise analysis and strategic planning. 

In simple terms, automation is where technology is used to perform tasks that would normally be undertaken by humans, so as to reduce workload. AI is a type of automation technology, as are other forms of advanced technology such as machine learning and robotic process automation.

Real Automation for HE Marketers 

Automation is being integrated into professional services in higher education on a number of different levels. For example, HE marketers have been harnessing automation for impact. This is an area in which the use of AI in higher education can be truly transformative, with marketing leaders ensuring that automation is part of wider digital transformation within their institutions.  

The most obvious example of how AI is being used by marketers within the HE sector is through the integration of Customer Relationship Management technologies. This allows marketers to manage interactions with prospects and streamline their processes. 

For further guidance on this, this interview between marketing leaders from Newcastle University and the University of East Anglia explores some of the opportunities and benefits automation offers HE marketers, what the use of AI looks like in practice. 

Supporting the Student Experience 

However, it’s not just marketing teams in higher education that are exploring the use of AI in service delivery. Staffordshire University has developed an automated digital assistant that supports students’ academic and emotional wellbeing. Bringing together many aspects of the student experience, this tool allows users to navigate their timetable, contact members of staff, request important documents, engage with their students’ union (SU) and extracurricular activities, and much more. The app even offers students mental health check-ins, demonstrating how the use of AI in higher education, and automation in particular, can be used to support student success and wellbeing. And, as the software is the go-to resource for students to ask questions, it unburdens professional service staff from dealing with thousands of enquiries, freeing them to focus on how they can deliver more impact in their roles. 

Similarly, AI may also be able to support in the realm of teaching and learning. Educators at the University of Syndey are trialling Cogniti, a new generative AI platform that allows teachers to feed in resources so that the content it produces is relevant and accurate. This new tool means that students aren’t required to pay for the software or create an account, reducing unequal access to the technology and thereby helping to support excellence and fairness in the learning experience. 

Reducing the Burden 

So, while some may fear that automation is replacing the need for human labour, the use of AI in higher education is indicating that the opposite is true. By eliminating manual processes and providing actionable data, AI can be used to decrease administrative burden and allow service leader to focus on ‘the big picture’. This extends into the realm of student experience, teaching and learning: researchers at the University of Surrey, for example, are utilising KEATH.ai to streamline educational assessments.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Data-Driven Decisions 

The use of AI in higher education has the power to provide insight that can inform strategic planning. This ensures that the decisions made by professional service leaders are supported by data for greater impact. 

AI can support this because it has the ability to analyse large sets of data from a variety of sources, such as student transcripts, course evaluations and enrolment trends. This creates immense opportunity for practitioners across different departments to plan and deliver based on trends and forecasting.

Student Engagement 

One way in which the use of AI is being rolled out in higher education to make data driven decisions is through the provision of student engagement data. Many universities already access this insight from their learning systems or virtual learning environments (VLEs). 

Importantly, this kind of use of AI has to capacity to identify students who might be at risk of dropping out or experiencing mental health issues. At Georgia State University in the US, professionals are using predictive analytics to track their undergraduates, identify at-risk behaviours and trigger alerts to advisers, who then intervene and offer students support. While this is a relatively new initiative, it’s hoped that this intervention can support students to remain engaged in their education and create a pastoral student experience that is equally supportive, thereby helping to support student success, progression and retention. 

Similarly, in the UK context, Jisc reports the use of tools such as Re-Up and Signal Vine to identify at-risk students and ensure they have access to open communication with universities. In addition to this, they also note the use of further technologies such as Ida and n-Powered to show how students can ask questions about student services and receive prompt answers.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 

It’s not just through engagement data that professionals in higher education are using AI’s capacity for insight. At King’s College London, researchers are trialling how AI can be used to gathered students’ opinions on how to close the degree awarding gap. AI’s capacity to glean data using language processing source meant that researchers could spend less time collecting and organising data, and more time analysing it – and developing responsive policies. The use of AI in this scenario also removed some of the power imbalances that can occur in student-staff interactions, encouraging more honest opinions and increased engagement from students. 

However, the researchers from this project are keen to point out some of the limitations that AI has when it comes to EDI policy. In order for it to be inclusive, AI technology must be trained using diverse and representative data, to ensure it does not discriminate on characteristics such as race and gender.

Predicting the Future 

Finally, predictive analytics is an advanced form of AI that is being used by higher education professionals across the sector. From HE marketers using insight to understand their audience, to staff monitoring academic performance to flag students who are at risk of failing, the technology is starting to become widely used across a number of services. 

Intelligent forecasting can also be implemented to tackle some of the challenges the sector is facing right now, such as the student accommodation crisis. An insightful example comes from Bournemouth University, where staff have developed a unique analysis model that allows them to predict what demand for student housing will look like in the future. As a result, the university has been able to plan accordingly and offer a support package to students who were unable to secure long-term accommodation before the beginning of the academic year. 

So, not only does the use of AI in higher education save valuable time for professional service teams, but it also guides them to make decisions that are informed by data and evaluation. This enables services to ensure effective resourcing and that their interventions and initiatives are having impact.

Data Democratisation 

With AI may also come the opportunity to democratise access and use of data across universities. The University of Law has been exploring this possibility, to see how using generative AI tools can help to cultivate a data-friendly culture, provide tools and training for staff and empower staff to use data as a self-service resourced to make informed decisions.

When all staff have access to valuable data and are empowered to use it, it can lead to enhanced strategic planning that is backed up by facts. As a result, professional service teams can work towards enhancing the student experience.

Future Uses of AI for Professional Service Teams in HE 

Here at HE Professional, we are always exploring the latest ideas and evidence on driving enhancement in front-line delivery for students to support professionals in their roles. With the advent of new AI technologies, HE professionals can expect their roles to change. While there may be challenges, as this article has explored, the use of AI in higher education offers a variety of opportunities that will allow professionals to deliver greater impact. Ensuring the sector is at the forefront of digital transformation is key to providing an excellent student experience.

If your institution is at the beginning of its AI journey and you aren’t sure where to start, Jisc have a plethora of resources handy. Check out their blog article on first steps towards effective use of AI in HE and their maturity model for AI in tertiary education.

To explore in detail what a whole university approach to generative AI may look like, join us for A Whole University Approach to AI on 21 March 2024. This interactive virtual conference will examine the next steps in designing clear expectations and guidelines, and constructing an institution-wide view on equity, ethics and usage of AI.

Find out how you can attend this event and many more as part of a HE Professional membership.

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