While AI has become a “buzz word” and universities around the globe loudly celebrate AI-fuelled upgrades to their courses, there appears to be a significant dissonance between claims that students’ AI learning needs are being addressed and students’ lack of satisfaction with how AI is being integrated into teaching and learning processes.
Earlier this week, the Digital Education Council (DEC) shared the results of its AI in Higher Education Global Survey, and I would like to take this opportunity to urge all AI ambassadors in the Australian higher education sector to take a close look at it. The survey appears to be the largest study of AI in universities to date. According to DEC, 45,398 responses were collected, including more than 27,000 from students and over 18,000 from faculty. The responses were gathered from students and staff worldwide, so the findings are by no means a reflection of AI adoption in particular universities or countries – rather, they represent global trends.
The DEC survey outcomes reveal that:
• Almost half of respondents have not experienced any integration of AI into the courses they are engaged in
• While many educators are now vocal about their AI initiatives, less than 30% of students believe their instructors have sufficient AI skills
Overall, the survey reveals a significant gap between the perceived level of AI adoption and the reality. We talk about AI, pass resolutions, and produce memos on AI adoption, but the impact of these global efforts has so far been rather mediocre. I do not want to go through the entire set of survey findings (do read the full report), but overall it is alarming how consistently the higher education sector is underperforming when it comes to working and studying with AI.
One concrete example of this is that 72% of students surveyed indicated that their assessments do not appear to reflect the skills required to succeed in AI-enabled workplaces. Therefore, no matter how strongly we continue to celebrate our AI progress, there is clearly still significant room for improvement.
Photo credit: AI in Higher Education Global Survey 2026 https://www.digitaleducationcouncil.com/resource-library-items/ai-in-higher-education-global-survey-2026
