AI Adoption in Higher Education
AI adoption is rising fast, but unevenly. Universities face growing pressure to integrate AI across teaching, research, and operations. Yet most lack the structured programs, governance frameworks, and faculty readiness to do so responsibly at scale. Northeastern University's Executive Education offers a proven, institution-wide AI adoption model tested across hundreds of higher education professionals and designed specifically to close that gap.
66 %
of institutions are now using AI, up from 49% in 2024 –Ellucian, 2026
80%
of faculty say there is no clarity on how AI should be applied in teaching – Digital Education Council, 2025
Program overview
AI Adoption in Higher Education moves participants from foundational AI literacy through hands-on prompting practice, discipline-specific applications, and governance frameworks tailored to the higher education context. Each module builds on the last, spanning academic affairs, student services, research, and administration, so that fluency develops not in silos but across the full institution. Participants leave with practical tools they can apply immediately, a peer network of colleagues navigating the same challenges, and the capacity to train others, extending the program's impact well beyond the cohort itself. The capstone brings it all together in a portfolio showcase and train-the-trainer session, ensuring that what participants learn translates into lasting institutional change rather than individual skill alone.
Session topic areas include (but are not limited to):
- AI Foundations: AI literacy, responsible use & ethics
- Prompting Fundamentals: Frameworks, workflows & hands-on practice
- AI Applications in Higher Ed: Discipline-specific use cases: academic & administrative
- AI Tools Workshop: Curriculum design, policy, governance & automation
- Capstone Showcase: Portfolio presentation & train-the-trainer
Beyond the curriculum
Alongside the program, Northeastern's Executive Education works with each partner institution to develop AI policy, establish governance structures, and build communities of practice across departments, the cultural scaffolding that allows new capabilities to take root and persist long after the program ends.
Participant profile
This program is designed for faculty, academic administrators, and institutional leaders who are responsible for shaping how their university integrates AI across teaching, operations, research, or policy. Ideal participants are ready to move beyond awareness and take an active role in building the infrastructure, culture, and capability their institution needs to adopt AI at scale.
Outcomes
Learners will leave the program able to:
- Develop foundational AI literacy and the judgment to apply it responsibly across institutional roles.
- Build practical prompting and workflow skills directly applicable to teaching, research, and administration.
- Design AI governance frameworks and policies suited to the higher education environment.
- Create a cross-functional community of practice capable of sustaining adoption beyond the program.
- Deliver a capstone implementation plan ready to be activated within the participant's own institution.
Why choose us
- Cluster cohort model designed to foster peer-to-peer learning, enabling individual and company-level growth
- World-class faculty with experience in academia AND business
- Tangible learning artifact to promote next day applicability and maximize ROI
- Active and applied learning techniques to create an impactful experience
- Practitioner perspectives to enhance program context and network building
- University-issued digital badge to verify and promote skill-building
Request more information
Whether you're ready to enroll or just exploring, fill out this short questionnaire to join our contact list and receive timelines, updates, and more information.