3 Areas Where AI Will Impact Higher Ed Most in 2025
What should colleges and universities expect from the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence in the coming year? Here's what the experts told us.
In an open call last month, we asked higher education and ed tech industry leaders for their predictions on developments in artificial intelligence for 2025. Their responses suggested three key areas where AI would have the most impact in higher education: teaching and learning; AI literacy and career readiness; and operations and decision-making. Here's what they told us.
AI in Teaching and Learning
"In 2025, I predict we'll see a rise in state and federal legislation around the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms. But even with the best intentions, legislators may end up inadvertently putting up barriers for tools that are actually helping students learn. It's going to be incredibly important for institutions and policymakers to truly understand the difference between generative AI tools — which may compromise the learning process or lack the proper technological safety systems to be appropriate for student use — and learning tools that incorporate safe and tested algorithms to support authentic teaching and learning workflows."
— Kelsey Behringer, CEO, Packback
"In 2025, we'll see institutions shift from AI as an adversary to an ally, unlocking the biggest transformation for pedagogy and student learning. There are several essential steps that institutions can take to get there:
- "Establish clear and consistent policies. Create policies that guide both educators and students in their use of AI. These guidelines should clarify what constitutes responsible AI use and the expectations surrounding it.
- "Develop AI literacy programs. Educate stakeholders — both faculty and students — on responsible AI use. Institutions can implement programs that focus on AI literacy, ensuring that everyone understands both the opportunities and risks associated with these technologies.
- "Utilize AI detectors judiciously. While AI detection tools can offer insights, they should be integrated into a broader framework of academic integrity. Institutions must acknowledge the limitations of these tools and avoid using them in isolation.
- "Foster open conversations. Encouraging dialogue between faculty and students about AI use is crucial. Process-tracking tools detailing the origin of content — whether human-typed, AI-generated, or edited — can serve as valuable conversation starters."
— Jenny Maxwell, head of education, Grammarly
"AI ed tech is going to get a lot messier before it gets better. There are going to be raging debates about whether it is worth it and if we're getting any real value from it. Eventually things will settle and these tools will be institutionalized into education, but the extent to which these tools transform education will not be resolved next year."
— Bethany Gross, research director, WGU Labs
"Artificial Intelligence will encapsulate many other emerging technologies over the past 10 years. This will be driven by the trillions of dollars invested by AI start-ups and tech giants. This will result in more affordable and intuitive breakthroughs for faculty and students. The faculty's AI adoption rate will accelerate the demand for ed tech vendors to adjust their deliverables and pricing models.
"The ed tech companies that master the changing campus environments and bring operations and academics together will be the runaway winners. Agile, mobile app ed tech companies can quickly align strategic partnerships to flip the ed tech scripts currently in play across higher education. Higher education is well positioned to glean and apply changes quicker than ever with AI.
"In summary, AI will usher in a tipping point of change for students, faculty, and campus efficiencies. The years of ed tech advancements have helped higher ed reach this tipping point."
— Michael Mathews, VP for innovation and technology, Oral Roberts University
"2025 will be the year for AI to be more infused in education initiatives and platforms. AI-powered solutions have reached a tipping point from being a nice-to-have to a must-have in order to deliver compelling and competitive education experiences. When we look at the education sector, the use cases are clear. From creating content like quizzes, to matching students with education courses that meet their needs, to grading huge volumes of work, enhancing coaching and guidance for students, and even collecting, analyzing and acting on feedback from learners, there is so much value to reap from AI. Looking ahead, there could be additional applications in education for multimodal AI models, which are capable of processing and analyzing complex documents including images, tables, charts, and audio."
— Rachael Mohammed, corporate social responsibility digital offerings leader, IBM
"In 2025, my hope is that AI will transform the quality of online learning, particularly in asynchronous courses, by enhancing meaningful interactions and freeing up time for faculty and staff to dedicate more time to directly supporting students. Asynchronous learning often presents unique challenges for students, who may struggle to stay engaged and feel connected. AI can step in to provide real-time feedback on assignments, personalized learning pathways, and automated nudges to keep students on track. These capabilities can ensure that students feel supported and seen, even when learning on their own schedules. By taking on time-consuming tasks like formative assessments, answering routine questions, or monitoring progress, AI will allow faculty and staff to focus on deeper, more personalized connections with students, ensuring that asynchronous courses deliver the kind of support and engagement that leads to meaningful learning outcomes. The future play for AI is to support just-in-time learning opportunities as well as scheduled courses to connect and expand the learning experience to meet the ways students want and need to learn. By complementing human effort, it can empower educators to focus on what matters most — fostering connections and delivering the kind of high-quality learning experiences that truly make a difference in students' lives.
— Dr. Deborah Adair, chief executive officer, Quality Matters
"In 2025, AI will shift from concept to classroom staple and reshape education in a practical way. Faculty will use AI for personalized learning paths tailored to each student's progress, making education feel like a 'choose-your-own-adventure' experience. AI will also create immersive content, like virtual field trips, and streamline tasks like grading and feedback, allowing teachers to focus more on students. By analyzing student performance, AI will help identify learning gaps and suggest targeted support. As AI becomes more user-friendly, educators will be trained to seamlessly incorporate it into daily teaching, making 2025 a breakthrough year for meaningful AI adoption in classrooms."
— Chris Hess, director of AI product management, higher education, Pearson
"Gen AI and AI writing detection tools will evolve, adding advanced capabilities to match each other's detectability flex. End users are reaching higher levels of familiarity and maturity with AI functionality, resulting in a shift in how they are leveraged.
"Savvy users will take a bookend approach, focusing on early-stage ideation, organization, and expansion of original ideas as well as late-stage refinement of ideas and writing. Coupling the use of gen AI with agentic AI applications will help to overcome current limitations, introducing multi-source analysis and adaptation capabilities to the writing process.
"Use of detection tools will improve as well, with a focus on preserving the teaching and learning process. In early stages, detection tools and indicator reports will create opportunities to focus teaching on addressing knowledge gaps and areas lacking original thought or foundation. Later stage detection will offer opportunities to strengthen the dialogue between educators and students, providing transparency that will reduce student risk and increase engagement."
— Eric Wang, VP of AI, Turnitin
"Generative AI has produced, and will continue to produce, many new tools for education. Some of these will have transformative potential, particularly in content creation and curation. There are effective courseware tools in the market now, and have been for some time, but AI can expand the reach of courseware in areas where it has previously been too expensive to build. As part of that growth, we expect to see more highly personalized content that actively engages students and greatly aids faculty efforts in course design.
"However, to create tools that truly support learning, it's essential that AI applications are grounded in learning science to ensure the technology isn't a fleeting trend but a lasting asset to students. To this point, I predict we will see a closer analysis and emphasis on how AI is impacting academic outcomes."
— Michael Hale, chief learning officer, VitalSource
"2025 promises exciting developments in educational technology. One of the most significant trends will be the increased integration of artificial intelligence to personalize learning. AI will enable real-time data analysis to tailor content to individual students' needs, enhancing engagement and outcomes.
"Augmented reality and virtual reality continue to advance, offering immersive, hands-on experiences in science, engineering, and medical education. These experiences allow students to explore complex concepts in new and interactive ways.
"Hybrid and remote learning ('hyflex') pedagogical models continue to evolve, supported by enhanced wireless collaboration tools and AV-equipped classrooms that mimic in-person interactions. These advancements not only improve accessibility but also create more inclusive learning environments for diverse student populations.
"As educational technology advances, the focus remains on fostering deeper engagement and enhancing the learning experience for all students.
— Craig Park, FSMPS, associate AIA, director of digital experience design, Clark & Enersen
"There's no question: Today's student body is more focused than ever on instant-gratification experiences, and higher education is no exception. As more and more students transition to skills-based learning and adopt new consumption models, such as bite-sized TikTok-style formats, higher ed institutions must meet students wherever they are in their education journey in a way that engages them.
"In 2025 and over the coming years, course content surfaced through emerging experiential learning platforms will augment and complement traditional learning methods. These platforms will validate content mastery and skill development replacing outdated, traditional higher education formats. Experiential learning platforms will incorporate gamification, and institutions will increase student engagement by catering to each student's individual learning preferences (for example, integrating rewards, challenges, and interactive storytelling into one educational experience).
"AI will be critical in this transformation, providing new tools for student success, with optimized skill development and performance tracking that enables students to build critical thinking skills, all while learning from analytics and actionable insights.
"By integrating these technologies, higher education institutions can create more interactive, efficient, motivated, and inclusive experiences for students, faculty, and administrators alike, aligning with the evolving demands of the education landscape."
— Mike Wulff, chief product and technology officer, Ellucian
AI Literacy and Career Readiness
"Artificial intelligence will remain a driving force in the conversation about innovation in learning as we look to 2025. As this conversation evolves, one key aspect is meeting students where they are. Recent research highlights a clear gap between the pace at which students are adopting AI technology and how institutions are responding. This is where higher education holds incredible value: its ability to approach this rapid change with both purpose and intentionality. Looking ahead, learners will need not just technical proficiency but a deeper understanding of emerging best practices and the nuances of AI usage. This is a critical space where institutions, in partnership with technology leaders, can take the lead — championing the ethical, transparent, and forward-thinking use of AI to prepare students to thrive in an ever-changing landscape."
— Christi Ford, chief learning officer, D2L
"Instead of continuing to prohibit AI in student course work, in 2025 higher education faculty will increasingly encourage their students to use AI responsibly and strategically. AI integration into projects and performance assessments allows students to gain real-world experience with AI and experiment with the ethical use of AI tools. Even so, students must also be prepared to justify their use of AI or explain their decision to complete a task without it. This approach helps students understand how to responsibly use AI and how AI is utilized in the workplace, better preparing them to apply AI skills in their future careers."
— Peggy M. White, associate dean and director, information technology management, Western Governors University School of Technology
"In 2025, tools like ChatGPT, now equipped with real-time search capabilities, will become primary gateways to information, challenging the dominance of traditional search engines. This transformation will require students to develop a new kind of digital literacy — one focused on leveraging AI for efficient information discovery rather than relying on conventional search methods. There will also be a widening the gap between early adopters who embrace AI-driven learning tools and those who don't have access to these emerging technologies or face additional barriers to learning these new technologies. Without deliberate efforts to ensure equitable access, support, and training, long-standing educational inequities will deepen. To navigate this reality, ed tech providers and institutions must prioritize inclusive strategies that help every learner develop the critical AI literacy skills needed to thrive."
— Evelyn Galindo, senior editor, Carnegie Learning
"AI is having a significant impact on higher education institutions in two major ways: how universities and colleges are adopting and implementing AI tools, and how they are teaching students to develop the AI skills they'll need after graduation. In 2025, it will be imperative for higher education institutions to develop a clear AI strategy that explores both its effective use for faculty and administration, as well as how best to prepare students for an AI-infused future. Doing so will require thinking through things such as modernizing curriculum, integrating AI tools into existing infrastructure, providing professional development opportunities for upskilling, and using data and analytics to improve student success."
— Dr. Hernan Londono, U.S. higher education strategist, Lenovo
"In 2025, technology will continue to transform higher education, reshaping how institutions prepare learners for lifelong success. AI literacy will become as fundamental as basic digital skills, empowering students to engage critically and ethically with this technology. AI-powered tools will also personalize learning, streamline administrative tasks, and help educators focus on teaching while addressing diverse student needs at scale.
"With growing cyber threats, data privacy and cybersecurity will take priority. Institutions must bolster protections to safeguard sensitive information and maintain trust in a digital-first environment. Meanwhile, advancements in ed tech will emphasize accessibility and adaptability, ensuring education remains inclusive and aligned with workforce needs.
"Public-private partnerships will further bridge academia and industry, creating real-world learning opportunities through internships and project-based work. Together, these trends point to a future where education is more continuous, flexible, and connected to evolving career demands, preparing learners for a lifetime of growth and reinvention.
— Ryan Lufkin, VP, global academic strategy, Instructure
AI in Operations & Decision-Making
"In 2023, there was a lot of AI hype and less substance as vendors and institutions were developing strategies and policies to adapt to this new normal. During the past 12 months, there has been a much firmer grasp of the technology, its use cases, and its limitations.
"Looking ahead, foundational data engineering, data modeling, and data governance will prove more important than ever when it comes to being able to leverage AI in analytics. For AI tools to provide accurate results, the semantic layer must be more complete and robust than ever. Advancing the use of a semantic layer is the key to unlocking the potential of AI in analytics, and truly fulfilling the promise of data democratization to non-technical users across campus."
— Darren Catalano, CEO, HelioCampus
"In 2025, artificial intelligence will continue to capture the attention of educational institution faculty, staff and students. Many organizations are only beginning to comprehend the need for high-performance computing power and the infrastructure required to leverage the many benefits of AI in the educational space. As we venture into a future where AI exists and purchasing departments expand their budgets to accommodate that required technology, I believe education IT teams will likely be expected to assume additional responsibility without increasing headcount. As AI adoption grows and use cases continue to develop, the benefits could be transformative in the education space — but that won't come without challenges for those IT teams."
— Mike Gonzalez, sales manager, Expansion Americas & APAC, Paessler GmbH
"In 2025, the AI bot boom will give way to 'decision intelligence' emerging as higher education's true transformative force. By harmonizing AI, simulation, and optimization, DI will enable more and more institutions to shift from reactive student support to a symphony of proactive and precise strategies that will significantly increase positive student outcomes."
— Joe Dery, VP & dean of data analytics, computer science, and software engineering, Western Governors University School of Technology
"To thrive in today's complex landscape, colleges and universities must make the most of their existing data. But siloed systems have historically hindered data use for predictive analytics and insights. And they don't always serve the fast-paced needs of administrators working to support students in the moment.
"AI could make 2025 the year institutions — including those without massive IT teams or large endowments — unlock the value of their data to enhance both institutional improvements and student success.
"Unified data, either pulled into one easy-to-use dashboard or consolidated and analyzed in a data lake, can empower administrators and support students from admissions to graduation. Cloud-based data cores will enable seamless integration across CRM, LMS, SIS, and departmental systems, providing a holistic view of student experiences. As a result, students will benefit from a more personalized and efficient experience, and will need to provide their information only once, with consistent support across departments."
— Cecilia Marshall, director of external partnerships, Partnership for Education Advancement
"As we hit the accelerator in 2024 and drive into 2025, post-secondary education will begin to better understand how artificial intelligence can serve as a partner in transforming teaching and learning through optimizing data for designing personalized education experiences, enhancing accessibility, and enabling practical learning opportunities for all students. AI has already proven that it can evolve into a powerful tool for analyzing holistic data, integrating diverse information technology sources to uncover insights about student performance, well-being, and engagement. AI together with subject-matter experts have the opportunity to create more adaptive and inclusive learning environments while driving data-informed innovations to improve outcomes."
— Suzanne Carbonaro, vice president of Postsecondary Education and Workforce Programs, 1EdTech
"As AI becomes more integrated into universities, institutions are moving beyond experimental, gimmicky applications to embrace practical uses that enhance operational efficiency while saving time and resources. The exploratory phase of understanding AI's potential is ending, and in the coming year, higher education will prioritize leveraging AI for routine tasks and high-impact implementations that directly benefit students and administrators."
— Chase Williams, CEO, Pathify
"In 2025, the ability to effectively leverage enterprise-level analytics and AI through in-house resources will further deepen the divide between institutions that thrive versus those which do not. Colleges and universities are being called to task for the trove of data they steward but fail to act on. On the one hand, many are unable to effectively leverage their data for decision-making, whether for technical or — as is often the case — cultural reasons. On the other hand, many institutions are outsourcing strategically aligned enterprise-level analytics and AI initiatives, resulting in homogenization and decision-making that lacks alignment with their unique strengths.
"Institutions that will thrive in 2025 will leverage enterprise-level analytics and AI in ways which are iterative, which are financially sustainable, and which do not over rely on outsourcing strategically aligned analyses. Those which fail to do so will struggle. The gap between 'haves' and 'have-nots' will grow even wider."
— Zach Sherwin, director of enterprise analytics, Berry College
"2025 will bring continued chaos to college admissions thanks to AI. We're inching closer to an admissions season where AI pulls double duty, writing essays and reading them. Picture this: incoming freshman classes shaped largely by AI, with applicants submitting polished, AI-assisted essays only to have them evaluated by equally discerning algorithms. The process may become a dizzying dance of algorithms assessing algorithms, leaving applicants and counselors alike scratching their heads over who — or what — is really behind admissions decisions.
"As this tech-driven process gains speed, colleges may become even less transparent, plunging applicants into a guessing game and adding layers of complexity. If higher ed doesn't catch up fast, we risk a future where access and fairness hinge on who best wields AI."
— Emily Pacheco, assistant director of undergraduate admission, Loyola University Chicago