Artificial Intelligence is Disrupting the Education Sector The education sector is on the brink of substantial change. Technologies such as artificial intelligence are challenging the traditional educational system, forcing educators to reconsider their roles and effectiveness. In the coming years, the adoption of AI in higher education is expected to rise as universities seek innovative ways to overcome challenges like student and faculty retention, satisfaction, and delivering quality learning for improved student outcomes.

Global Market Insights predicts that the AI education market could reach a value of $20 billion by 2027. Yet, despite its promising outlook, many universities are slow to identify relevant use cases for AI, and there remains uncertainty about how and whether AI should be implemented.

For our experts at EDUTO, AI is an obvious choice for enhancing the quality of education, offering opportunities for personalized learning, rapid student support, and revitalization of administrative processes.

Let’s take a closer look at example use cases of AI in higher education.

Reimagining the Student Experience

AI is a golden ticket for universities looking to reimagine the student education journey. The aftermath of the pandemic and the rise in online-only courses have led to volatility in student applications. Today, student experience is a top priority for universities, critical for attracting new and high-performing students in an increasingly competitive market. Additionally, it plays a significant role in retaining and engaging students throughout their educational lifecycle.

AI can enhance the student experience in several ways, including delivering personalized learning experiences, creating engaging learning environments, and providing 24/7 student support services.

1. Delivering Personalization in Learning

Generative AI has gained massive popularity, and its potential in higher education is undeniable. One of the key benefits is the ability to deliver personalized learning. By combining generative AI models with advanced data analytics, institutions can analyze student performance against various behavioral factors, such as teaching styles, speeds, class types, and specific learning environments. This enables a new level of customization, where learning materials, collateral, and study schedules can be tailored to each student’s unique characteristics, ultimately improving outcomes and performance.

Additionally, generative AI can create bespoke quizzes and tests for students based on their current level of understanding, helping identify strengths and weaknesses when preparing for assessments.

2. Creating Interactive Learning Environments

The education sector is continually scrutinizing the best methods for delivering teaching practices. A key focus today is making learning more engaging and interactive. Universities are experimenting with AI to create learning environments that go beyond traditional methods. For example, AI-powered gamification and immersive experiences are being tested to help students understand complex concepts and provide a visual element to learning. This new teaching method encourages students to take a more active role in their education while making lectures more exciting and engaging.

One challenge universities face is measuring student engagement, particularly in virtual classes. In traditional in-person settings, lecturers could assess students’ engagement through facial expressions and body language. AI can assist in identifying student engagement during virtual classes by using face detection to analyze micro-facial expressions and behaviors, providing data insights into the effectiveness of a class or interest in a topic.

3. Scaling Student Support Services

Providing instant, around-the-clock support is crucial for improving student satisfaction, especially during peak examination seasons. AI-powered chatbots offer an efficient and cost-effective method for providing tailored support on demand. According to The Journal, AI-powered chatbots can respond to a student’s request in as little as 2.7 seconds. For example, at EDUTO, we can create chatbots that provide 24/7 availability on university websites, leveraging billions of intelligent searches on the Internet and university data to find the most relevant answers to student queries.

Faculty staff can also benefit from AI-powered chatbots. Admission and customer service teams can save considerable time responding to parent and student queries, which is especially useful during high influx application periods.

4. Student Mental Health Services and Wellbeing

A more recent application of AI in higher education is providing intelligent well-being services to students. AI-powered chatbots can harness their Large Language Model (LLM) capability to converse with students, understand tones and cues from conversations, and use contextual understanding to guide them toward relevant help resources and guides. Although some may question whether it’s wise to hand over human-sensitive topics like well-being to robots, research shows that students today feel more comfortable discussing mental health-related issues with non-human entities than with human counterparts.

Read more: How to apply Artificial Intelligence - AI in Education?

AI for Driving Internal Efficiencies

AI in higher education not only offers new avenues for improving the student experience but also enables organizations to drive internal efficiency and productivity. Cumbersome processes such as student recruitment, enrollment, and document processing can be streamlined through AI, saving educators time and reducing workloads across administration teams.

Automating Administrative Tasks and Streamlining Recruitment

Every year, administration teams face the daunting task of managing tens of thousands of student applications. In the UK alone, there were 767,000 applications for universities in 2022, according to Statista. Instead of manually sifting through applications and personal statements, AI combined with automation technologies can expedite the process by analyzing applications and scoring them for shortlisting. This frees up time, drives efficiency in application processes, and increases staff satisfaction by reducing workloads. Some institutions are even exploring AI’s potential for managing finances and identifying cost-cutting opportunities.

Reforming Assessment and Examinations

A significant challenge for institutions is the delay in providing personalized and detailed feedback to students - a factor contributing to poor student satisfaction. The increasing student population exacerbates this issue, as lecturers struggle to balance teaching with creating lesson plans and marking assessments. Generative AI can reform the student assessment process by delivering real-time feedback on assessments and flagging areas of struggle for students to create tailored learning materials.

Driving Higher Education with EDUTO’s AI Solutions

There’s no doubt that AI adoption in higher education will skyrocket in the coming years. According to Social, 86% of educators state that technology, including AI, is vital for revitalizing the education system.

At EDUTO, we help institutions identify the right AI use cases and develop custom AI solutions to meet student expectations, drive operational efficiencies, and save costs in the long run.

Learn more about our Project: EDUTO Management System