A product expert shares perspective on where we’re headed in an age of AI.
GUEST COLUMN | by Chris Hagan
FEDOR LUNIN
Lately, nearly every conversation or news article around higher ed centers on AI and how it’s ruining, saving, revolutionizing or redefining the academic landscape. While much of the debate understandably focuses on academic integrity challenges, there’s a bigger picture emerging — one that’s gaining momentum across campuses. More and more, higher ed administrators, staff and faculty are expressing optimism about AI’s potential to transform the way institutions operate.
‘More and more, higher ed administrators, staff and faculty are expressing optimism about AI’s potential to transform the way institutions operate.’
Beyond academics and in the classroom lies the opportunity to leverage AI for what it does best — streamlining logistics, enhancing support systems and freeing up human resources for more meaningful work. When used skillfully, AI enables institutions to work smarter, become more competitive and efficient and provide better experiences.
Balancing Innovation & Security
Higher ed sits on massive internal data sets — perfect fodder for generative models. And while institutions grapple with ethical and moral AI questions from an academic standpoint, these same questions simply don’t apply to administrative tasks. The real challenge is ensuring equity, preventing bias and securing student trust.
That’s why edtech providers — including institutions — are embracing and implementing safeguards, like transparent AI usage and governance policies that promote ethical development, clarify how AI decisions are made, require regular bias audits, define appropriate use cases, and establish strong data governance protocols for AI training and implementation. In real-world applications, students must know when they’re interacting with AI, human oversight must guide content and recommendations, and systems must include algorithmic bias testing and FERPA-compliant privacy tools.
These policies and standards remain critical for building sustainable AI systems that support, rather than undermine, student and administrative success by avoiding reinforcement of existing biases. As one university leader memorably put it, “We don’t want to automate our biases and call it innovation.”
Cheat Codes for Campus Life
Students need to know how to apply for scholarships, navigate financial aid or register for classes. That’s not conventional learning like one would do as a philosophy major, for example — it’s logistics — and AI excels at logistics.
Rather than students flooding help desk inboxes with questions (or worse — institutions flooding student inboxes with messages), a generative AI assistant answers instantly, with personalized answers, 24/7. Smart notifications, personalized pathways and even content generation features all contribute to a more intuitive experience. Staff can then focus on high-value advising and enable students to discover information with far less friction.
Administratively, generative AI frees institutions from meeting purgatory by allowing a bot to serve as the frontline, enabling staff to perform work more meaningful to the institution. At the same time, students receive a more consumer-like experience, making them more likely to trust and value institutions willing to adopt this technology.
And institutions are starting to move beyond just chatbots. From personalized task flows to agentic models focused on student advising, AI isn’t just reacting to student needs — it’s starting to anticipate them.
From Fear to Power
There’s a fascinating duality in the market: forward-thinking schools eagerly embrace AI’s promise for personalization and analytics, while others raise valid concerns about data misuse, “black box” algorithms and reinforcing inequity. But this isn’t a war between technophiles and Luddites.
The trick is recognizing these aren’t opposing views but rather two sides of the same “we care about students” coin. Both perspectives prioritize student success — they just differ on how to protect it.
The best way forward? Help institutions establish robust AI governance policies — including transparency requirements, bias audits and clear use case boundaries — so they feel empowered rather than overwhelmed and paralyzed by fear. The goal should be helping institutions develop their own AI governance — teaching them how to fish, if you will.
Because when used appropriately, AI delivers personalization at scale, enabling tailored learning pathways and proactive support for every student. It’s like giving each student a dedicated success coach without hiring thousands of new staff.
It falls upon administrations to seize the smorgasbord of possibilities generative AI presents, or risk falling behind competing schools with cutting-edge IT teams. Institutions that embrace this vision will emerge stronger, more responsive and more trusted by the students they serve.
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Chris Hagan is CTO at Pathify, one of the fastest-growing higher education platforms for helping institutions build better digital campuses. Connect with Chris on LinkedIn.
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