Navigating the New Frontier: Introducing Generative AI to College Staff and Leadership

November 5, 2024

By Tracy Huebner, Director of Special Projects and Initiatives at WestEd’s Center for Economic Mobility

Through this ongoing series, WestEd aims to demystify generative AI and explore its potential applications across education systems. This first blog focuses on AI’s ability to reshape operational efficiencies and student support within community colleges and universities. 

As an education advocate with more than 2 decades of experience spanning research, technical assistance, and hands-on teaching, I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative power of technology-enabled education. Today, we stand at the cusp of a technological renaissance with generative AI poised to redefine the community college and university landscape. 

What Is Generative AI?

Generative AI, or GenAI, creates new content by “learning” from existing data. This innovative technology can generate text, images, and more, going beyond mere data analysis to produce novel and insightful outputs. For instance, it can write creative literature, devise intricate art pieces, personalize educational materials, simulate virtual environments for training, and even generate code to aid in software development. Additionally, GenAI can craft realistic dialogue for virtual assistants, synthesize music that resonates with human emotions, and create data visualizations that reveal patterns invisible to the naked eye, all of which are transforming how we interact with the digital world. 

Generative AI in Community Colleges

In community colleges, GenAI shows promise for streamlining operations and enhancing student services, ultimately leading to a more robust bridge between education and the workforce. Imagine a community college where administrative tasks are handled with unprecedented speed and accuracy, freeing up staff to focus on student engagement. GenAI can make this a reality. For instance, by sifting through financial aid data, it could proactively notify counselors about students who qualify for unclaimed aid, ensuring equitable access to educational resources.

At its core, GenAI truly is a learner, much like our students. It absorbs information from data and uses machine learning to improve its predictive and generative abilities. This means it can adapt to new educational challenges and devise innovative solutions, reflecting the diverse needs of community colleges. 

To help achieve this vision, working and learning together is crucial. Staff from WestEd’s Center for Economic Mobility are actively engaging with the Chancellor’s Office for California’s Community Colleges AI Council, bringing their expertise to the table to foster awareness, understanding, and the implementation of GenAI practices. This partnership aims to improve operational efficiencies and the quality of the learner experience across the state’s 116 community colleges. 

Enhancing Operational Efficiencies 

Let’s look at other real-world examples where GenAI can transform administrative processes. In admissions, AI tools can analyze historical enrollment data to predict future trends, aiding in the strategic planning of class sizes and faculty allocation. Colleges like Georgia State University have employed predictive analytics to improve student retention, a practice that can be extended through GenAI for insights and interventions that are more nuanced and have the potential to revolutionize student services.

During the 2020–21 academic year, researchers Katharine Meyer and Lindsay Page conducted a pioneering study at Perimeter College—a community college affiliated with Georgia State University—that involved roughly 11,000 students. This randomized controlled trial explored the impact of personalized text messages on student success. Students received timely, emoji-enriched texts on their phones, which served as friendly nudges for important academic deadlines, guidance on settling balances or navigating financial aid applications, and pointers to various campus resources. Additionally, a responsive chatbot was at the students’ service, answering inquiries about campus facilities, financial support, and a plethora of other concerns, all based on a comprehensive database of frequently asked questions. This digital assistant exemplified the practical benefits of AI in enhancing student communication and support. 

What’s Next?

As we progress through this blog series, we will provide real use case examples that delve deeper into how GenAI can enhance learner supports and empower staff and leadership, fortifying the educational pathway to the workforce. Join us on this exploratory journey as we unveil the capabilities of GenAI to transform colleges into more dynamic, responsive, and student-centered institutions, ready to navigate the challenges of the 21st-century economy. If you have your own examples to share, please reach out to me to add to this dynamic, growing AI community!