Spotlight
Good afternoon all,
In today’s newsletter, we share articles touching on how marketing and communications offices can leverage Gen AI tools, and how these tools can be used to bridge equity gaps and better support student success.
If you missed it in last week’s newsletter, HESA recently launched its AI Advisory Services. If your institution is struggling to develop its response to this new technology, or is simply in search of an extra hand, we might be able to help. Reach out to our team to discuss ways in which we could support your efforts.
Next Roundtable Meeting
Date: Tuesday, January 30th, 2024
Time: 12h00-1h00PM ET
Join us next Tuesday, January 30th, from 12:00PM to 1:00PM ET, for our first AI Roundtable meeting of the year. To kick off the new year, this session will focus on analyzing how post-secondary institutions, a little over one year after the release of ChatGPT, are reacting to this ever-evolving technology. Participants will be asked to fill a short survey upon registration, and the meeting will focus on unraveling the results and discussing the key trends and challenges that emerge. This session will be facilitated by Simon Bates, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning, at the University of British-Columbia. Register now (it’s free!) to save your spot!
If you missed last year’s AI Roundtables, you can watch the recordings here.
News & Research
Moffett, M. Work Shift. January 24th, 2024.
Now that ASU has launched a partnership with OpenAI, the following question arises: “Can community colleges and other open access institutions afford to give students the same access to generative AI tools enjoyed by those attending selective and better-financed institutions?”. “Because of the current high costs of AI, open access institutions might miss their chance to shape the pedagogy around it. Institutions that have a commitment to serving a broader range of students are particularly important in this conversation. It’s not something that should just involve the elite institutions. It should really involve the institutions that are serving the majority of students in the U.S.”
Gardner, L. The Chronicle of Higher Education. January 22nd, 2024.
While GenAI is starting to take up more and more place in classrooms, it’s also starting to gain traction in marketing and communications offices. Mainly, GenAI can be used to save up some time for more strategic work. “To date, college marketing and branding pros are exploring GenAI in three main areas: idea generation and brainstorming, content generation, and working with images.” GenAI can help generate new ideas, proofread text, adapt messaging to various audiences, and more. However, some fear that GenAI will be used “mostly to create more output and feed into that high-output, publicity-only model rather than better strategies”. There are also issues with GenAI tools surrounding biases and discrimination, or the generation of copyright-protected images.
Tripathi, A. Fast Company. January 24th, 2024.
In this article, the author shares how GenAI tools and data have the potential to make education more equitable for all students “by creating personalizing learning experiences, providing academic support, and equipping students with the necessary skills for success”. The author shares examples of how AI and data could be leveraged to promote affordability and accessibility of higher education, such as: simplifying the application process; facilitating smoother credit transfers between colleges; reducing administrative costs; creating affordable online courses and programs; offering accelerated three-year bachelor’s degree programs; predictive early alert systems; gen AI chatbots; and adaptive systems for suggesting courses.
Ortega-Araiza, J. New Canadian Media. January 23rd, 2024.
Memorial University student Collins Chukwuma developed an app called ScanSolve that allows students to “get help with an assignment simply by snapping a photo of any problem or question they are struggling with”. The app “not only provides the answer, but also guides the user through a detailed explanation so that they can understand the rationale behind the correct response and hone their problem-solving skills”. As an international student, Chukwuma had initially developed the app to get extra support with his own studies. The app has now more than 300,000 users in the U.S.
Liong, K. Times Higher Education. January 24th, 2024.
In this article, an assistant professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology shares how she had to ‘become a student once again’ with GenAI to truly be able to adapt to, and learn from the new technology. She shares that this transformation has enhanced the dynamic with students in three ways: 1) By acknowledging our own fallibility, we build trust; 2) In sharing our wildest ideas, we encourage students to do the same; and 3) With a more open rapport, we can guide students to greater clarity of their own strengths.
More Information
Want more? Consult HESA’s Observatory on AI Policies in Canadian Post-Secondary Education.
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