AI in Higher Education
by Ralph Aldredge, PhD, PE
AI-Ready Teachers Need Auditable Evidence, Not Just Polished Plans
About this podcast
AI in Higher Education explores current developments in artificial intelligence and their implications for colleges and universities. Episodes examine how AI can enhance teaching and learning, support student success, improve the delivery of student services, and increase institutional effectiveness and efficiency. The podcast also considers emerging challenges and questions surrounding the responsible use of AI in higher education, drawing on recent developments, research, and examples from institutions and organizations.
Created by Ralph Aldredge, PhD, PE, Executive Associate Dean in the College of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Davis.
AI in Higher Education is an independent educational project and is not an official publication or statement of the University of California, Davis.
The podcast uses a human-directed, AI-assisted production process. Artificial intelligence assists with research, script development, and narration, while source selection, editorial direction, and published content are reviewed and curated by Ralph Aldredge.
This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes. Although sources and content are reviewed before publication, information may be incomplete, contain errors, or become outdated as developments evolve. Listeners should consult original sources and exercise independent judgment before relying on the information presented.
© 2026 Ralph Aldredge. All rights reserved.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 26 episodes
- AI-Ready Teachers Need Auditable Evidence, Not Just Polished Plans · 9 min · Episode 26A polished AI-assisted lesson plan may reveal little about whether a future teacher understands learners, can justify instructional choices, or can teach effectively. A new…
- Faster Math Practice, Weaker Retention? Making AI Use Deliberate in Higher Ed · 9 min · Episode 25A large-scale mathematics preprint raises a practical question for higher education: can faster completion on problems susceptible to AI assistance coexist with weaker unaided…
- Higher-Ed AI Adoption: Faculty Pilots, Course Tutors, and Evidence of Learning · 8 min · Episode 24Universities are moving beyond unrestricted chatbot access toward more structured approaches to AI. This episode examines Wake Forest’s faculty-led AI initiative, UC San Diego’s…
- Beyond the Chatbot: Five Higher-Ed AI Developments That Change the Questions · 9 min · Episode 23This episode curates five developments previously covered by AI in Higher Education. The cases include student-built, course-grounded chatbots at IIM Bangalore; a randomized…
- From Enterprise AI Access to Purpose-Built Tutors in Higher Education · 9 min · Episode 22Universities are shifting from open-ended chatbot access toward more structured AI environments. The episode explores Cornell’s multi-provider access pilot, including privacy…
- How Undergraduate AI Majors Are Taking Shape Across U.S. Higher Education · 10 min · Episode 21A national mapping study identified more than 350 undergraduate AI programs and related credentials across more than 560 U.S. four-year institutions. The episode explores why “AI…
- Funding AI in Higher Education: Grants, Shared Services, and Sustainability · 9 min · Episode 20Higher education AI funding is arriving through large philanthropic initiatives, federal student-success grants, state-backed collaborations, and institutional operating budgets…
- Preparing Students for AI-Enabled Work: Skills, Evidence, and Employer Partnerships · 9 min · Episode 19Research from Ithaka S+R and *Frontiers in Education* points to an alignment gap between employer expectations and how instructors teach AI-related capabilities. Employers…
- Institution-Controlled AI for Advising, Writing, Learning, and Assessment · 9 min · Episode 18DePaul’s BluePrint connects academic choices with career planning, while Georgia State’s writing-feedback pilot illustrates both the potential of after-hours support and the…
- From AI Access to Deliberate Practice in Higher Education · 8 min · Episode 17Arden University’s partnership with Google Cloud and Baruch College’s AI Leadership Initiative illustrate two different approaches to building institution-wide AI capacity, from…
- AI Avatars for Practice and Reflection Across Teacher, Nursing, Counseling, and Medical Education · 8 min · Episode 16AI avatars are moving from demonstrations toward structured rehearsal of professional conversations and clinical skills. The episode explores examples from Monash University, the…
- AI Feedback, Reflection, and Grade Validity in Higher Education · 11 min · Episode 15This episode examines evidence on how AI may support engagement, computational thinking, and critical reflection while also complicating the interpretation of higher grades. It…
- Designing Evidence-Based AI Pilots for Higher-Education Learning · 8 min · Episode 14This episode examines how universities are moving from broad AI enthusiasm toward bounded pilots, instructor oversight, and evidence-based implementation. It considers AI’s…
- Practical AI in Higher Education: Faculty Development, Course Design, and Student Services · 9 min · Episode 13Universities are developing shared resources, faculty workshops, course-design tools, and discipline-specific guidance to help educators integrate AI without treating it as a…
- Beyond the Chatbot: Five Reality Checks for AI in Higher Education · 8 min · Episode 12This special gateway episode of AI in Higher Education revisits five developments from the series that challenge simple assumptions about AI in higher education. It asks what…
- AI in Higher Education: Evidence, Faculty Pilots, and Campus AI Readiness · 8 min · Episode 11A randomized university trial found that students given access to a course-integrated generative AI tutor had lower final grades and LMS participation, with larger estimated…
- How Higher Education Is Testing AI for Teaching, Literacy, and Student Support · 9 min · Episode 10This episode examines a shift from broad AI experimentation toward focused applications in higher education. Examples include Stanford’s course-level AI pilots, Purdue’s…
- Bounded AI Pilots in Higher Education: Feedback, Tutoring, Canvas, and Student Success · 9 min · Episode 9This episode examines how higher-education institutions are moving from broad AI announcements toward bounded, evaluated implementations. Topics include New Jersey’s statewide AI…
- Higher Education AI: From Faculty Playbooks to Active Learning at Scale · 9 min · Episode 8This episode examines how higher-education institutions are moving from broad AI principles toward focused implementation. Topics include Georgia Tech’s faculty-authored AI…
- How Universities Are Testing AI: Pilots, Student Partnerships, Skills, and Safeguards · 8 min · Episode 7This episode examines how universities are moving from broad AI mandates toward structured experimentation. We look at faculty-led pilots at Michigan and Cornell, Georgetown’s…
