AI in Higher Ed report 2025

If students can use AI to cheat on assignments, we must reimagine the assignments. 

The Chronicle of Higher Education released a special report recently, “Adapting to AI,”  about the impact AI is having and will have on institutions of higher learning.You can get a copy here if you’d like to read the whole thing. Much like with the fashion industry 2025 AI report, I read it and compiled this summary.

The report reveals that most colleges are still in the early stages of adapting to AI. A majority of administrators report feeling unprepared for AI-related changes; skepticism and resistance are high among faculty. However, some departments and institutions are taking initiative—developing guidelines, forming cross-functional committees, and piloting AI literacy programs.

Spotlight features address topics like how staff and non-academic administrative departments are using it, advice on developing guidelines for different campus populations, and a now-outdated section on securing government grants for R&D. 

The report offers some general advice to faculty across the board, particularly those teaching in creative fields:

• Engage with the Tools: Experiment with generative AI to understand its capabilities and limitations. I can say from firsthand experience that this is enormously important—in working with it, I quickly discovered its shortcomings and vulnerabilities. 

• Foster Critical Literacy: Help students develop the skills to use AI responsibly and ethically [1]. This includes understanding how AI works, recognizing its biases, and evaluating its outputs critically. I would argue that this also includes educating students about its obscene ecological impacts and the lack of consent intrinsic to its training data. 

• Advocate for Thoughtful Policy: If your institution lacks clear guidelines on AI use, consider advocating for policies that protect academic freedom & integrity while promoting ethical standards. And proactively craft course-specific AI policy for your syllabi. 

• Collaborate Across Disciplines: Theater educators bring a unique perspective to conversations about creativity, authorship, and interpretation. Our voices are essential in shaping how AI is integrated into the arts and humanities, on our campuses and in the world. 

AI is a structural shift in how knowledge is produced, shared, and evaluated. As educators, we have a responsibility to engage with these technologies so we are informed about how our students may be using them, and perhaps not only to protect our disciplines but to enrich them. 

The arts have always been at the forefront of cultural transformation. This is another such moment. By approaching AI with curiosity, caution, and creativity, theater educators can help ensure that these technologies serve our students, our institutions, and the broader goals of education.


[1] Since this report is aimed at educators, I assume they are talking about Ethics in academic integrity here. I’m not sure generative AI can be used ethically when considered through the lens of consent in training data, or sustainability.

Ok, that’s the end of my report summary and it’s time for my Real Talk. 

I’ve been reading up on and experimenting with generative AI since the theatre season ended, because it was clear with the campus-wide rollout of Copilot across the university’s Microsoft Office suite of tools, our institution was going all-in for generative AI. 

No matter how I might feel about it, my students now would have access to it with its use facilitated and encouraged by the institution, so I felt I needed to develop an informed perspective on it and how students and peers might use it. 

Many colleagues within my own college and globally advocate a ban on AI in their courses & departments. I empathize with that impulse. Is it realistic, at a campus that has integrated AI access into our very email client? And this CoHE report has an extensive section about the fallibility of so-called “AI detectors.” 

If students can use AI to cheat on assignments, we must reimagine the assignments. 

I’ve decided to teach my students about what generative AI is, how it works and where at least some of the pitfalls are, and let them decide when, where, how, and if they want to use it. And if so, how to disclose & cite it.

For costume educators interested in reading more about how I’ve been experimenting with generative AI in our area of specialty, check out the posts with this blog’s “AI” tag.

Also, I’d love to read a think-piece by a dramaturg about theatre as the original analog diffusion model. Or attend a panel discussion on the topic.