As the workforce and AI continue to evolve, higher education institutions face the challenge of evolving their own practices to prepare students with the knowledge, judgement, and practical experience needed to succeed. This month’s stories share where graduate experience and skills are lagging, how programs can address those skill gaps, the role of universities and faculty as knowledge and learning is more widely accessible, and what to consider in the absence of structured research on AI’s impact on learning.
Experience gap leaves many grads on the sidelines
Community College Daily
A new Cengage survey highlights the importance of work experience in helping graduates secure entry-level employment. Among employed graduates who completed internships, 81% said the experience helped them obtain their jobs. Among those graduates, nearly one-third cited a lack of work experience as the primary reason. Additionally, 53% decided not to apply for an entry-level job because they felt underqualified with 56% of graduates wanting colleges to provide more internships, co-ops, and paid work opportunities. The findings suggest that graduates may face employment challenges even when they hold academic credentials, particularly when they lack opportunities to demonstrate professional experience.
What does it all mean?
Academic programs may need to provide more opportunities for students to gain and demonstrate practical experience before graduation. For online learners, applied coursework and accessible work-based experiences could help connect academic preparation with employment expectations.
- For faculty: Consider authentic projects, employer-informed assignments, and other applied activities that allow students to practice and demonstrate professional skills.
- For leaders: Examine opportunities to expand employer relationships to ensure students leave their institutions with career-ready skills and experience.
Keep in mind: Developing skills and demonstrating workplace experience are related but distinct challenges. Applied coursework may help students demonstrate their abilities, but it does not replace the value of direct professional experience.
Career readiness cannot wait until graduation, and it doesn’t have to
Inside Higher Ed
Career readiness should develop throughout a student’s education rather than become a priority near graduation. Drawing on an industry-engagement initiative at the University of Michigan, the article argues that students need repeated opportunities to apply knowledge, address authentic problems, receive professional feedback, and demonstrate their capabilities. As technology reshapes professional expectations, the author emphasizes preparing graduates to exercise judgment and continue learning throughout their careers while establishing sustained relationships with the professional community.
What does it all mean?
Career preparation can be integrated into the learning experience through intentional connections between coursework and professional practice. For online programs, this creates opportunities to make career-relevant learning visible throughout the curriculum.
- For faculty: Incorporate authentic assignments, applied projects, and opportunities for students to explain and demonstrate how their knowledge translates into professional practice.
- For leaders: Support curriculum development and faculty partnerships that connect academic learning with workplace expectations throughout a program.
Keep in mind: Career readiness involves more than preparing students for their first job. Students also need opportunities to develop confidence and the judgment required for continued professional growth.
How universities are affected by AI moving knowledge outside their walls
Brookings
As AI makes explanations and information more accessible outside universities, institutions face questions about what distinguishes higher education from other sources of learning. The article explores several institutional responses happening today, including competency-based credentials, AI-supported instruction, alternative assessment approaches, and education centered on human relationships. It argues that universities may find lasting value in developing students’ judgment, ethical responsibility, intellectual engagement, and professional connections rather than focusing primarily on delivering information.
What does it all mean?
As access to knowledge becomes less dependent on institutions, online education may need to place greater emphasis on changing how learning is formed by helping students evaluate information, apply ideas, and engage meaningfully with faculty and peers.
- For faculty: Build online learning experiences that encourage intellectual debate, ethical reasoning, collaboration, and the application of knowledge to complex situations.
- For leaders: Consider how program design, faculty engagement, and professional development can strengthen the human elements of education alongside AI-supported learning.
Keep in mind: Greater access to information does not replace the value of thoughtful instruction, human relationships, and opportunities to develop sound judgment.
The Agentic Professor: Exploring GenAI-supported futures in higher education
Educause
The article explores a possible future in which AI agents provide personalized instructional support throughout a student’s educational journey. These systems could eventually help learners navigate coursework, receive feedback, and build knowledge across disciplines and academic terms. Although these capabilities remain uncertain, the authors use this concept to examine how sustained AI-supported instruction could reshape teaching, assessment, and the role of faculty in higher education.
What does it all mean?
Agentic AI-supported learning could change how faculty provide guidance and engage with students. Preparing for these possibilities involves considering which instructional responsibilities technology might support and which require continued human involvement.
- For faculty: Explore how AI-supported instruction could complement feedback and individualized learning while preserving mentorship, academic judgment, and meaningful student engagement.
- For leaders: Create opportunities for faculty to examine emerging AI capabilities and participate in discussions about instructional quality, assessment, governance, and changing academic roles.
Keep in mind: The Agentic Professor is a proposed future model, not an established instructional solution. Its potential should be considered alongside questions about effectiveness and the human relationships central to education.
The “nonexistent” research on AI’s benefits for education
Inside Higher Ed
As colleges expand their use of generative AI, independent research on its effects on learning remains limited. While some studies suggest potential benefits, others raise concerns about students relying on AI at the expense of developing critical thinking skills. Rapid changes in AI technology, and a focus on tool over features, also make traditional research difficult to conduct and apply. Researchers suggest that institutions evaluate specific AI-supported learning practices rather than assume individual tools will improve outcomes.
What does it all mean?
AI adoption is moving faster than gathering the evidence needed to guide effective teaching practices. Faculty and institutions may need to test AI applications in their own learning environments while remaining attentive to how these tools affect student understanding.
- For faculty: Evaluate AI-supported activities against specific learning objectives and use student work and feedback to assess whether they support meaningful learning.
- For leaders: Provide faculty development opportunities focused on evaluating AI use, sharing evidence from classroom practice, and making informed instructional decisions.
Keep in mind: Promising AI capabilities are not the same as demonstrated learning benefits. Adoption should be guided by educational purpose and ongoing evaluation with a critical eye on where claims originated.
