I vividly recall my own struggles as a student grappling with the reading and writing demands of my four-year college. At times, I felt overwhelmed and discouraged, questioning whether I belonged in higher education.
Fortunately, a supportive faculty member stepped in, guiding and nurturing me while encouraging me to utilize the learning resource center. He helped customize and personalize my learning journey. In the process, my confidence grew, my understanding of the materials deepened, and my writing abilities improved significantly.
Without this level of support, I wouldn’t now be serving in my third CEO role in the community college system.
Providing every student with this level of personalized support in a resource-constrained environment is an immense challenge. But the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) can change this. I envision a future where AI isn’t just a buzzword but an integral part of our institutions: empowering every student to reach their full potential, just as I was empowered years ago.
Guiding principles
Across the U.S., many colleges are exploring AI’s potential to improve the lives of their students. We believe every institution can benefit from AI, though the approach may differ due to unique challenges. The first step is to ensure AI aligns with your core mission and values. A key part of this is establishing principles to guide your efforts.
The California Community Colleges (CCC) system, for example, has adopted a set of human-centered principles that can be used throughout the phases of AI integration to emphasize ethical considerations.
Phase 1: Quick wins with high impact
Let’s start with initiatives that demonstrate the immediate value of AI and generate enthusiasm for further exploration:
- AI-powered chatbots: Institutions like Georgia State University have shown that AI chatbots can significantly improve student engagement and satisfaction, leading to higher retention rates. These chatbots offer 24/7 student support, addressing mental health concerns, academic advising and general inquiries, allowing human advisors to focus on more complex cases.
- AI-generated content: Personalized study guides and practice quizzes with automatic grading and feedback can enhance learning and free up faculty time. Studies have shown that personalized learning can increase student performance by up to 10%.
- Early warning systems: Piloting an AI-based system in a specific department can help identify and support at-risk students proactively, potentially improving retention rates. Imagine being able to reach out to a student who’s struggling before they even realize they need help.
Phase 2: Scaling up and deeper integration
Once we’ve established a foundation and built confidence in AI’s capabilities, it’s time to scale up and explore deeper integration:
- Adaptive learning: We can expand AI-assisted curriculum development to create adaptive learning modules that cater to individual needs, personalizing the learning experience and improving outcomes. Institutions like Arizona State University have seen remarkable success with adaptive learning, improving pass rates by up to 15%.
- Financial aid optimization: Implementing AI-powered solutions can streamline processes, detect fraud and predict student needs, ensuring efficient resource allocation and student support. This can lead to significant cost savings and free up valuable staff time for more complex and personalized student support. Community colleges in California are partnering with educational technology companies to develop solutions for financial aid optimization and fraud detection.
- Data-driven decision-making: Developing AI-driven tools that analyze enrollment trends, forecast course demand and inform strategic planning will enable data-backed decisions for institutional growth. Imagine having interactive dashboards that visualize data for real-time monitoring and decision-making, allowing us to be more agile and responsive to our students’ needs.
Building foundations, ongoing evaluation and empowerment
AI is a journey of continuous improvement that requires us to consider not only scalable infrastructure but also measures like feedback loops, data analysis and equitability. We must be willing to adapt our strategies along the way and remain mindful of the ethical considerations surrounding AI. Transparency and accountability in AI development are essential for building trust with all stakeholders. Institutions must develop transparent policies on data collection, usage and sharing, giving students control over their data and ensuring strict adherence to privacy regulations.
Addressing concerns and building trust
While the potential of AI is immense, it’s important to acknowledge concerns about job displacement and data privacy. By proactively addressing these issues through transparent communication, ethical guidelines and robust security measures, we can build trust with our community and ensure responsible AI adoption.
It’s crucial to remember that AI is not intended to replace human expertise but rather to augment it. AI can free up educators and administrators to focus on higher-order tasks that require creativity, critical thinking and empathy — the very qualities that make us human.
A call to action for leaders
The time to embrace AI in higher education has come. By investing in AI infrastructure, developing a strategic roadmap and fostering a culture of innovation, institutions can position themselves at the forefront of educational transformation.
We urge our fellow leaders to take bold steps toward AI adoption. Let’s form cross-functional teams to explore AI opportunities, share best practices and learn from each other. Let’s create a future where AI helps us fulfill our mission of providing accessible, high-quality education that changes lives.
The future of community college education is being shaped right now. AI isn’t just an option anymore; it’s a necessity for institutions that want to remain relevant and impactful. We can’t afford to wait for the future to arrive; let’s create it. Together, we can harness the power of AI to transform community colleges into beacons of innovation, equity and student success.
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Lee D. Lambert, J.D., is chancellor of Foothill-De Anza Community College District, located in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley.
Reetika Dhawan is chief executive officer of the Entrepreneurial College and vice president of workforce and healthcare at Arizona Western College in Yuma.
