Policy, decision rights, task forces and a roadmap built with your campus, not handed to it. Higher Ed Change helps colleges and universities move from scattered AI rules to one governed, measurable plan.
By Eric Goodman, Ph.D., former chief academic officer · Updated October 2026
Most campuses are managing AI rather than leading it. Each department writes its own rules, task forces collect opinions without evidence, and decisions have no clear owner. The result is uneven practice for students and real data risk.
Good governance fixes that by deciding who approves AI uses, who reviews tools, how risk is assessed, and how progress is reported to the cabinet and board.
Campus-wide principles on use, data privacy, integrity and disclosure, with room for course-level decisions.
Who approves AI uses, who reviews tools, and who reports to the cabinet and board.
Task forces with clear ownership, fed by evidence from every stakeholder group.
Priority workflows and the first 90 days of action, with measures you can report.
At minimum: approved and prohibited uses, data privacy and which tools may handle student data, academic integrity expectations, disclosure rules for AI-assisted work, procurement review for AI tools, training expectations by role, and a schedule for reviewing the policy.
It is the structure that decides who approves AI uses, who reviews AI tools, how risks are assessed, and how decisions are reported to the cabinet and board. It turns a policy into decisions people actually make, with owners and timelines.
The AI Operating Model Sprint takes 30 to 45 days and is fixed in scope. It delivers leadership alignment, a governance model, priority workflows and a 90-day roadmap.
Yes. AI governance that bypasses shared governance rarely survives. Higher Ed Change builds faculty input in from the start, so the plan has support from both the board and the faculty senate.
In a 60-minute Executive Briefing, you’ll get a clear picture of where your institution stands on AI and a written summary to share with your cabinet.