Category: Nuventive Blog

Key Takeaways: Nuventive’s fourth webinar in our 10-part AI series explores how independent college presidents are approaching artificial intelligence adoption and implementation within higher education.

Webinar Details: Banding Together: How Independent College Presidents are Addressing AI

View the replay now
Date Recorded: December 13, 2023
Featured Speakers: Dr. Ajay Nair, President, Arcadia University; and Dr. Marjorie Hass, President, the Council of Independent Colleges. Moderated by Dr. Melissa Hortman, Education Strategist, Microsoft Education.

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Each week, we distill key takeaways and share short clips from our conversations with presidents, provosts, and leaders in institutional research, assessment, and technology—turning big ideas into practical steps for improvement. This week, we look at: Banding Together: How Independent College Presidents are Addressing AI.

As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, higher education is moving steadily into strategic implementation. In a conversation between Dr. Nair and Dr. Hass, the two leaders reflected on how independent colleges can guide responsible, human-centered use of AI.

The AI conversation has shifted from curiosity to purposeful integration. As Dr. Hass noted, “We’re past the awareness phase of AI, and we’re in that strategic phase.”

Drawing parallels to past technological advancements—the printing press, television, and the internet—she reminded listeners that history has taught us technology neither saves nor destroys humanity but reshapes it. The task now is to learn from those transformations and apply that wisdom to AI.

Dr. Nair spoke with optimism about the possibilities. “AI has enormous potential and challenges, like anything that’s evolving,” he said. With the right strategy, higher education can leverage AI to enhance student engagement, improve pedagogy, and streamline institutional operations.

He continued, “AI is extending our ability to solve complex problems. So, it has to have a role in higher education. That’s our mission; it could potentially be the leading difference maker for higher ed to deliver honest, promised advanced knowledge.”

Hear it from Dr. Nair HERE (1 minute 23 second watch)

While independent colleges may not lead AI research directly, their shared role in shaping its intentional adoption is significant.

Highlighting the importance of collaboration, Dr. Hass explained, “We’re not massive research institutions, but we can innovate in AI … our ability to do that collectively is where the action’s at.”

Dr. Hass emphasized that adopting AI shouldn’t be intimidating—it should be exploratory. “You have to create an atmosphere of experimentation and play,” she explained.

By allowing faculty to learn together, institutions can foster creativity and reduce fear around new tools. “Approaching it in that way could be an exciting thing for institutions—to set aside time where we play together with this new technology.”

But play must be balanced with caution to avoid unintended consequences. Clear boundaries— especially between private and public data—are essential.

As institutions introduce AI into academic and administrative spaces, governance and ethics remain top of mind. Dr. Nair outlined the challenges: “Privacy, data governance, intellectual property, security—all of these priorities we have to examine now from the lens of AI.”

He also called for alignment across disciplines: “We have to have a shared understanding … of what outcomes we want for our students in the classroom and outside the classroom, related to AI.”

For both leaders, collaboration is the foundation of responsible innovation. Policies should protect, but not stifle, creativity.

There’s a natural fear that AI could make humans obsolete. Dr. Hass addressed it directly: “No one is going to be excited to work for a future in which they are obsolete. But people are excited to work for a future in which they can spend more time doing the things they love and care about.”

The key, she said, is to ensure AI serves as an enabler of human meaning. “How do we decide what is the most meaningful work we do, and then use the AI technology to make us able to do that better.”

As independent colleges navigate this evolving landscape, community remains their greatest strength. “We often find that the best way we can serve our members is through the creation of networks … to create shared communities of practice,” Hass said.

Both leaders agree that, at the end of the day, it all comes back to students. “They are going to be the beneficiaries of what we’re doing,” said Hass. “You’re not just going to have the tool in front of you as AI, but you’re going be using that tool for good. And that gives me so much hope for the future of education.”

As independent colleges navigate this evolving landscape, community remains their greatest strength. “We often find that the best way we can serve our members is through the creation of networks … to create shared communities of practice,” Hass said

Both leaders agree that, at the end of the day, it all comes back to students. “They are going to be the beneficiaries of what we’re doing,” said Hass. “You’re not just going to have the tool in front of you as AI, but you’re going be using that tool for good. And that gives me so much hope for the future of education.”As independent colleges navigate this evolving landscape, community remains their greatest strength. “We often find that the best way we can serve our members is through the creation of networks … to create shared communities of practice,” Hass said.Both leaders agree that, at the end of the day, it all comes back to students. “They are going to be the beneficiaries of what we’re doing,” said Hass. “You’re not just going to have the tool in front of you as AI, but you’re going be using that tool for good. And that gives me so much hope for the future of education.”

Check back next week for key takeaways from our fifth webinar in this series:

AI and the Future of Work: How Community College Presidents are Addressing AI

Dr. Avis Proctor, President, Harper College; and Dr. Vincent Rodriguez, President, Coastline College. Moderated by Dr. Andrew Jones, Strategic Advisor to Nuventive.

Recorded: January 30, 2024

View the replay HERE

Interested in learning more about the Nuventive Improvement Platform?

Key takeaways: Nuventive’s third webinar in our 10-part AI series explores the role of policy and guardrails in higher education artificial intelligence adoption and implementation.

Webinar Details: From Congress to Campus: Discussions on the Impact of AI on Higher Education

Watch the full replay HERE. 
Date Recorded: December 5, 2023
Featured Speakers: Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President, Dakota State University; and Dr. Michael J. Jabbour, Chief Innovation Officer, Microsoft Education. Moderated by Dr. Jim Moran, Advisor to Nuventive, former Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dakota State University

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Each week, we’ll distill key takeaways and share short clips from our conversations with presidents, provosts, and leaders in institutional research, assessment, and technology—turning big ideas into practical steps for improvement. This week, we look at: From Congress to Campus: Discussions on the Impact of AI in Higher Education.

AI is shaping higher education today. Nuventive’s third webinar in our 10-part AI series: From Congress to Campus, Dakota State University President Dr. José-Marie Griffiths and Microsoft Education’s Dr. Michael Jabbour joined moderator Dr. Jim Moran to discuss how AI is influencing leadership, policy, students, and the future of learning.

Dr. Griffiths explained that AI is powerful but often misunderstood. Her recommendation to university presidents and their trustees is to lean into the complexity of AI.

“AI is not a single technology or a single entity. It has a lot of rapidly evolving components and then a range of enabling technologies. I like to call it a kaleidoscope. Everybody thinks it’s magic, but it’s got lots of pieces to it. And really, it’s just light and mirrors in the end.”

For presidents and trustees, she emphasized three essentials:

• AI is already present — it must be included in institutional planning.
• It holds enormous potential, but implementation must be responsible and deliberate.
• Risks and opportunities need equal consideration.

Dr. Jabbour highlighted why generative AI can feel so human like:

“The ability to interact through chat has made it somewhat ubiquitous, and now prevalent particularly with students in terms of how they are accelerating their work. It’s just as important to understand that this is a tool, it’s not human. We shouldn’t anthropomorphize it as it starts to look, sound, and feel more human because it’s learning from us.”

Universities have an opportunity to:

• Guide students in appropriate use of AI tools.
• Frame AI as a learning aid, not a replacement.
• Ensure policies evolve alongside student adoption.

Watch Dr. Jabbour’s take HERE (40-second watch)

Dr. Griffiths applauded proactive adoption she has seen in Washington, highlighting efforts taken by policymakers to implement AI in an intentional way, rather than rushing into legislation:

“I hope that in the end we’ll see what we call a light touch on regulation and guardrails, because we hope that we won’t have too much regulation and start stifling innovation.”

Potential areas of impact for higher ed:

• Accreditation standards that reflect AI use in teaching and operations.
• Federal funding requirements tied to responsible AI adoption.
• Student privacy protections aligned with FERPA and other regulations.

Dr. Jabbour discussed how universities should plan to support AI implementation, emphasizing the imperative to allocate resources such as time, money, people, and products into AI:

“My sense here is that you’re going to have a lot of evolution as it relates to demand. And we want to ensure that universities are prepared to respond to that demand.”

Dr. Griffiths added:

• AI will touch both the academic mission and administrative operations.
• Efficiency gains due to AI could free resources for teaching and research.

Dr. Griffiths described her own approach:

“I realized I could no longer keep up with everything myself. I had to develop a network of people that would keep up with different parts of the technological environment.”

Her strategy includes:

• Appointing a CIO for operations and a CTO for forward-looking innovation.
• Building networks to track rapid changes.
• Setting aside time each day to learn and stay up to date with AI advancements.

Dr. Jabbour reinforced this, explaining the rapid pace of AI advancement:

“The longer term is becoming shorter term, and the shorter term is becoming almost immediate. We’re going to see some interesting trends coming soon.”

Dr. Moran asked how human connection can be preserved in an AI-focused environment.

Dr. Jabbour emphasized:

“We have to not only keep humans in the loop but also have a human-centered approach to how we use AI, how we design AI, and how we roll AI out.”

He added:

“It is each of our own responsibility to use this tool responsibly. It is also equally our responsibility to ensure that we are constantly focused in on the humanity, our own humanity, and how we can ensure that comes out of the work we do, how we use the tools, and I think most importantly, how we bring the next generation up.”

• Some have suggested an “FDA-like” model for AI oversight.
• Dr. Griffiths noted the FDA already regulates AI in medical devices, dating back to 1995 — showing that oversight and innovation can coexist.

Both speakers agreed the rate of innovation is accelerating. For universities, this means preparing for rapid change and cultivating agility in both strategy and operations.

• AI is multifaceted: leaders must understand it as a collection of evolving technologies.
• Students are embracing AI: institutions should provide clarity and guidance.
• Resources matter: time, people, and funding must be allocated to AI strategy.
• The human element is central: technology must enhance, not replace, human connection.

Banding Together: How Independent College Presidents are Addressing AI – Dr. Ajay Nair, President, Arcadia University; Dr. Marjorie Hass, President, the Council on Independent Colleges; moderated by Dr. Melissa Hortman, Education Strategist, Microsoft Education – Recorded December 13, 2023.  View the replay now.

Interested in learning more about the Nuventive Improvement Platform?

Nuventive’s AI recap continues with a look at the second webinar in our 10-part series, exploring artificial intelligence in higher education through an accreditor’s lens.

Webinar Details: An Accreditor’s View of AI in Higher Education

Watch the full replay HERE. 
Date Recorded: December 16, 2023
Featured Speakers: Dr. David Raney, CEO, Nuventive; Dr. Belle Wheelan, President, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)

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Each week, we’ll distill key takeaways and share short clips from our conversations with presidents, provosts, and leaders in institutional research, assessment, and technology—turning big ideas into practical steps for improvement. This week, we look at An Accreditor’s View of AI in Higher Education.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer an abstract concept on the horizon—it is reshaping higher education. From classrooms to accreditation offices, institutions are navigating its promises, pitfalls, and implications for governance.

The central question is not if AI will impact higher education, but how institutions will adapt.

As Dr. Belle Wheelan, President, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) emphasized:

“AI is not going away. Our role is to figure out how to make it work for us, not against us.”

Accreditation standards remain unchanged, but the ways institutions demonstrate compliance and effectiveness may evolve. Dr. David Raney, CEO, Nuventive framed it this way:

“At Nuventive, we ask whether AI makes things better for individuals, groups, and institutions. If it doesn’t improve outcomes, it’s just noise.”

This webinar explored AI through the lens of accreditation and continuous improvement—placing the human element at the center of the discussion.

• Students are using AI to write papers.
• Admissions offices are exploring AI to support application reviews.
• Presidents’ offices are considering AI for planning and decision-making.
• Faculty are experimenting with AI in instruction and research

• Are institutional reports written with integrity if AI is used?
• Are faculty trained to recognize and guide AI use in classrooms?
• Are plagiarism and misuse policies up to date?
• Are students being taught to ask better questions of AI tools?

View the video clip HERE. (1 minutes 56 seconds)

• Instructional enhancement: Supporting research, personalized learning, and instructional design.
• Operational efficiency: Turning large datasets into actionable insights for planning and accreditation.
• Student engagement: Helping students learn how to evaluate sources, select better algorithms, and personalize pathways.

• Finance and reporting: Errors in budgets or compliance reports could create major issues.
• Data interpretation: Incorrect results from AI-driven analytics.
• Student well-being: Risk of isolation as students lean on technology rather than human interaction.

As Dr. Raney discussed, “AI can deepen our personal connection with technology, but we can’t let it replace the human relationships at the core of education.”

1. AI is embedded in higher education – from admissions to instruction to presidential strategy. “AI is here to stay. We can’t pretend it’s a passing fad.” – Dr. Wheelan
2. Accreditation standards remain constant – policies, outcomes, and integrity are the focus – whether AI is involved or not. “It’s not about creating new rules—it’s about applying the same ones consistently.” – Dr. Wheelan
3. Promise and caution must be balanced – AI can improve efficiency and learning, but financial misuse, poor governance, and student well-being risks are real.
4. Institutions should learn from one another – sharing successes and failures will accelerate adoption and confidence.
5. Human oversight remains central – accreditation and improvement must remain people-driven, with AI as a support tool, not a replacement.

“AI should help us improve, not decide for us.” – Dr. Raney

From Congress to Campus: Discussions on the Impact of AI on Higher Education – Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President, Dakota State University; and Dr. Michael J. Jabbour, Chief Innovation Officer, Microsoft Education.  Moderated by Dr. Jim Moran, Advisor to Nuventive.  Recorded December 5, 2023.  View the replay now.

Interested in learning more about the Nuventive Improvement Platform?

EDUCAUSE recently presented their annual 2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10: Restoring Trust. This publication outlines the priorities CIOs must address to restore trust in higher education.

2025 EDUCAUSE Top 10: Restoring Trust

Read the EDUCAUSE publication HERE. 

Introductory excerpt from EDUCAUSE

“Higher education has a trust problem. In the past ten years, the share of Americans who are confident in higher education has dropped from 57 percent to 36 percent.

Colleges and universities need to show that they understand and care about students, faculty, staff, and community members, AND they need to work efficiently and effectively.”

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This post demonstrates how the Nuventive Improvement Platform can be a valuable asset for CIOs as they address these imperatives:

At its core, the Nuventive Improvement Platform empowers institutions to use data to deliver improvement, creating a culture of data-informed improvement. We also support leaders’ ability to effectively tell their improvement stories with credible evidence.

Aligning planning across academic and administrative units breaks down information and business process silos, which in turn leads to better outcomes, better communication, and better visibility. Nuventive brings all relevant information into the Information Panel regardless of where it originated, in context of the problem being solved. In the assessment office, many institutions are still using spreadsheet-based reporting processes, which Nuventive completely transforms.

Customers use Nuventive to manage student success generally, including both academic and non-academic areas. Nuventive is used extensively to improve learning outcomes from the course level up through the entire institutional strategy. The Nuventive Improvement Platform can connect student success initiatives to any other strategic improvement initiatives at the institution, providing unprecedented visibility, supported by a wide array of student success data. By enabling institutions to manage improvement from the course level on up, Nuventive empowers them to see what’s working and what isn’t, so they can make high-impact changes.

While Nuventive isn’t directly involved here, we support this by being SOC 2 Type II compliant and supporting user-based access to information held in Nuventive.

Success starts with culture, not technology. Leaders should make sure faculty, staff, and students feel included rather than having AI initiatives “done to them.” Consensus is built through dialogue and trust. 

As with any other improvement initiative, Nuventive can manage digital strategy projects to capture progress and effective practices. Additionally, a strength of Nuventive’s is capturing institutional memory, capturing the “what we did and why” information that leaders need as they step into new roles.

Nuventive supports building institutional capacity to adapt to changing conditions, speeding up the path to decisions by gathering contextual information for consideration. Nuventive users can identify whether something is improving or not, as well as what actions/strategies led to the improvement.  They can also see what is working, at scale, across aligned strategic initiatives. By sharing effective practices throughout the institution, leaders can facilitate creating a culture of adaptive learning and agility.

As noted above, Nuventive streamlines inefficient processes and increases decision-making agility. Nuventive gives visibility into both the information ecosystem and the business-process ecosystem in a way that allows users to identify what is and isn’t working and what strategies are associated with success.

This is yet another example of an improvement process that can me managed in Nuventive.

Likewise, this is an improvement process that can be managed in Nuventive to track and demonstrate increased effectiveness.

Interested in learning more about Nuventive?

Want more information about the Nuventive Improvement Platform?

Nuventive’s recap of “The Human Factor of AI in Higher Education,” a 10-part webinar series, starts with a review of takeaways from our first event.

Webinar Details: AI’s Impact on Higher Education Improvement: Exploring the Human Element

Watch the full replay HERE. 
Date Recorded: October 17, 2023 
Featured Speakers: Dr. David Raney: CEO, Nuventive;  Rob Curtin: Director, Data and AI, Edtech Ecosystem, Microsoft; Moderated by Dr. Brent Ruben: Senior Advisor, Nuventive; Distinguished Professor of Communication; Founder/Senior Fellow, Center for Organizational Leadership, Rutgers University 

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Each week, we’ll distill key takeaways and share short clips from our conversations with presidents, provosts, and leaders in institutional research, assessment, and technology—turning big ideas into practical steps for improvement. We begin with “AI’s Impact on Higher Education Improvement: Exploring the Human Element.”  

AI has burst into higher education with a mix of excitement, hesitation, and opportunities. Institutions are working to find AI applications that have actual impact and go beyond flashy demonstrations. Many early conversations have centered on instruction, assessment, plagiarism, and academic integrity. Administrative uses of AI are growing. 

Rob Curtin, Director, Data and AI, Edtech Ecosystem, Microsoft, described AI as a skills imperative rather than just a threat to academic integrity. 

Focus areas include: 

Safety and Security. AI is being deployed to detect and defend against cyber threats, a critical issue since higher education is one of the most frequently attacked industries. 

Personalization and Experience. Tools like Microsoft Copilot are designed to save time, improve efficiency, and create better outcomes for both faculty and students. 

Community and Access. AI has the potential to re-engage adult learners, bring back students who have stopped out, and open doors for entirely new audiences. 

Self-Actualization. AI can support discovery, research, and personalized learning pathways that align with each learner’s goals. 

The bottom line is clear:

AI succeeds only when it is tied to the institutional mission. Deployments fail when AI is adopted “for AI’s sake” without governance or a clear purpose. 

View the video clip HERE. (1 minute) 

Dr. David Raney, CEO, Nuventive, looked at AI through the lens of human impact: does it make things better for individuals, groups, and institutions? 

Dr. Raney emphasized three human factors: 

1. AI increasingly feels “human,” and it will deepen our personal connections with technology. 
2. People want to be understood, and this can create powerful emotional ties with AI.
3. It is critical to keep AI grounded in outcomes and improvement rather than letting fear or hype drive decisions. 

View the video clip HERE. (2 minutes 44 seconds)

It’s essential for institutions to learn from one another. Sharing both successes and opportunities for growth across campuses, states, and associations helps everyone move faster with intention. 

The call to action is to experiment, document what works, and spread those lessons in ways that build value and confidence across the community. 

Success starts with culture, not technology. Leaders should make sure faculty, staff, and students feel included rather than having AI initiatives “done to them.” Consensus is built through dialogue and trust. 

Two strategies emerged: 

Walk, Then Run. Start with small, purposeful pilots that have measurable outcomes, and scale once there’s proof of value. 

Run Wild in Parallel. Encourage exploration and innovation while maintaining guardrails to ensure projects stay aligned with the mission. 

The human factor must remain central. AI should always support improvement, inclusion, and equity, not replace human decision-making. Governance, transparency, and policy guardrails are critical to align innovation with the institutional mission. AI is transformative, but it will only deliver long-term value if it is used ethically and intentionally. 

Check back next Wednesday for a look back at our second webinar in the series, “An Accreditor’s View of AI in Higher Education” featuring Dr. Belle Wheelan, President, SACSCOC, Ret.; interviewed by Dr. David Raney, CEO, Nuventive. Recorded December 16, 2023.  View the replay now. 

Interested in learning more about the Nuventive Improvement Platform?