New framework helps leaders make the right decisions on AI adoption

In a world where technology is advancing rapidly offering new opportunities for teaching and learning, funding is limited and safeguarding issues pose a risk to both students and staff, AI is moving too fast and taking up too much space for any one leader to tackle alone.

Our leading AI in colleges and universities strategic framework has been developed collaboratively with members to support further and higher education leaders as they make impactful strategic decisions to enhance the secure and ethical adoption of AI at their institution.

The framework focuses on three key pillars spanning teaching and professional services, and, in universities, research.

The key pillars are:

• Skills, knowledge and culture
• Technology
• Governance

Beneath each pillar sits a set of AI considerations that guides leaders as they seek to set boundaries, commit resource and establish accountability.

These considerations include:

• How ambitious to be
• The risk appetite
• Whether AI is a funded priority
• Who is the owner
• Institutional positions on academic standards

The environment surrounding AI is uneven, with fluctuations in public sentiment, a clearer focus on climate impact and repercussions for the economy and employment all playing their part in our perceptions of AI. The framework is intended to offer stable, long-term guidance that holds over time to help leaders make the right decisions for the sustainable success of their institution.

This doesn't mean that all decisions around AI adoption should fall to leaders. An important element of the framework is establishing a distinction between AI decisions that should be a leadership priority and those that can be delegated to operational teams.

Michael Webb, our director of AI, said:

“The adoption of AI in education cannot be left to chance. The institutions seeing the most success are those with clear support and direction from their leadership teams.

“FE and HE leaders don’t need to be AI experts, but they do need to be able to recognise where important decisions must be made (and where they can be delegated) in order to steer effective AI adoption within their institution.

“AI agents are becoming more common, changing how AI is used across institutions. At the same time, pricing is moving away from the flat licence fees we’ve become used to and towards usage-based token charging. Together, these mark the start of another major change in AI adoption.

“As we move into this next phase, college and university leaders need to make decisions that will hold up as the technology, costs and expectations around AI continue to change. Our framework helps them do just that.”

By using the leading AI in colleges and universities strategic framework in conjunction with our AI maturity model and the implementing AI in colleges and universities guide for operational teams, universities and colleges can benefit from a whole institution approach to AI adoption.