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Students and faculty continue to grapple with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). Recent surveys show that students are thinking about AI’s broader influence on postsecondary education, including how it may shape their decisions to enroll in college and which fields of study to pursue. Meanwhile, faculty members are primarily focused on generative AI (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, and its impact on their teaching, their students’ learning, and higher education as a whole. This month’s Public Insight examines how students and faculty view AI’s role in higher education.

In April, released new findings from their 2026 State of Higher Education Study, featuring student stances on AI. Fielded in October 2025, this study surveyed 3,801 respondents: 1,433 students pursuing an associate degree and 2,368 pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

The Lumina-Gallup survey finds that 42 percent of bachelor’s degree students say that AI has made them rethink their major, including 13 percent who have thought about it a great deal and 29 percent who considered it a fair amount. This percentage is even higher among associate degree students: 56 percent report having given at least a fair amount of thought into changing their field of study due to AI.

Sixteen percent of all enrolled college students have changed their major because of AI’s emergence. When broken down by degree type, associate degree students are slightly more likely than bachelor’s degree students to change programs (19 percent vs. 13 percent). Men are also more likely than women to change their major because of AI, with 21 percent of men reporting that they changed their fields of study compared to just 12 percent of women.

Top reasons to enroll in higher education for bachelor’s degree and associate degree students include to obtain knowledge or skills (67 percent and 55 percent), pursue a more fulfilling career (64 percent and 55 percent), and get a higher-paying job (62 percent and 54 percent). In comparison, a smaller percentage of bachelor’s degree and associate degree respondents want to prepare themselves for AI (14 percent and 13 percent) and are concerned about the impact of AI on the job market (12 percent for both groups).

Released earlier this year, , in partnership with Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center, surveyed 1,057 faculty members in November 2025, revealing what they think of GenAI. When asked if recent graduates are prepared to use AI in the world of work, 63 percent believe that graduates are “not very” or “not at all prepared.” Additionally, 62 percent think graduates do not have a good understanding or use of GenAI tools.

Faculty’s perception of students’ AI unpreparedness seems to correlate with how they view their institutions’ preparedness. Fifty-nine percent of faculty members reported that they believe their institutions are not well prepared to use GenAI tools to effectively guide students for the future, and 68 percent said their schools are “not very prepared” or “not at all prepared” to support faculty in using it for teaching or mentoring their students.

While faculty are increasingly engaging with GenAI, their priorities are more centered on student use. Nine in ten faculty say the use of GenAI diminishes students’ critical thinking, including 66 percent who believe it largely weakens their skillset. Faculty also report growing academic integrity challenges since GenAI tools have become popularized: 78 percent have observed an increase of cheating on their campuses, and 73 percent have directly dealt with cases involving student AI misuse. Nearly all faculty members (95 percent) expect students to become overly reliant on such tools as its integration in higher education expands.

These survey findings reflect a broader uncertainty and uneven preparedness among students and faculty. Although AI’s long-term impact remains uncertain, it will continue to be a pressing issue for students and faculty, especially as they navigate how to best adapt it in the classroom, as well as respond to the growing impact it has had on the workforce.