Hi all!
It’s the second last Focus Friday before a summer break.
Joining me this afternoon is David Hornsby, Vice-Provost (Academic and Global Learning) at Carleton University, for a conversation on Carleton’s newly released institutional AI Framework and what it actually takes to move from “we should probably do something about AI” to a university-wide governance approach.
We’ll spend some time talking about:
- how the framework was developed and who needed to be involved
- why Carleton chose a guiding-principles approach
- what implementation looks like across different institutional functions
- how universities communicate and operationalize AI governance in practice;
- and what accountability, oversight, and institutional alignment actually look like in an AI context
As always, Focus Friday is meant to be highly conversational and discussion-driven, so bring your questions, experiences, perspectives, and coffee!
Focus Friday is 12:30-1:30pm Eastern and you can register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/UbLzgtkZSYmvCnCIRTZldA
Looking Back
Two weeks ago, our Focus Friday conversation turned to one of the most persistent tensions in higher education: institutions often feel overwhelmed by data, yet still struggle to translate that information into meaningful institutional action. Joined by Pat Lougheed, Co-Founder of Plaid Analytics, the discussion explored common misconceptions around dashboards, data literacy, institutional research, AI, and evidence-based decision-making in colleges and universities.
One of the strongest themes throughout the session was that most institutional data problems are not actually technical problems but are organizational, cultural, and governance problems. Pat challenged the common phrase “data rich, insight poor,” arguing that many institutions already have the insights they need, but struggle to act on them because of competing priorities, limited capacity, institutional complexity, and the realities of decision-making within higher education. The conversation repeatedly returned to the idea that dashboards and analytics tools cannot “solve” institutional strategy or governance; data can inform decisions, but it cannot replace institutional judgment, compromise, or leadership.
Another major takeaway was the importance of context. Participants discussed how data is never fully objective: every dataset reflects decisions about what was collected, how it was categorized, and what questions institutions were trying to answer in the first place. Rather than assuming that “more data” automatically leads to better decisions, the conversation emphasized the importance of asking better questions, integrating multiple perspectives, and understanding the limitations of institutional datasets.
The group also spent significant time discussing institutional research (IR) offices and the growing pressure placed on them. Pat argued that while IR units can become bottlenecks, this is largely a function of under-resourcing and unrealistic institutional expectations rather than poor performance. Participants reflected on the increasing need for distributed data capacity across institutions, with stronger collaboration between IR, IT, business units, and institutional leadership.
AI and data governance emerged as another key thread throughout the discussion. While there is growing excitement about using AI tools for analytics and institutional planning, Pat cautioned that many institutions are not yet prepared to connect AI systems directly to institutional data. Without strong data governance, shared definitions, and clear institutional understanding of what data means, AI risks simply producing “wrong answers faster.”
Finally, the conversation reinforced that while data can support difficult institutional conversations around enrolment, budgeting, deferred maintenance, and student success, it cannot determine institutional priorities on its own. Universities and colleges will still need to navigate those questions through governance, values, culture, and collective decision-making.
As always, you can catch the full conversation on our YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@HigherEdStrategy/videos
Looking Ahead
The next Focus Friday will be the last before a summer break! We’ll be hosting a community chat. No guest, no set topic, just a space to chat about what’s on your mind as you prepare for another academic year. You can register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/cKgROD9mSQqR0GfvsWxmQg
