Students And Faculty Just Revealed Higher Ed's Top AI Challenge

Students and faculty identified higher education’s top AI challenge as adoption moving faster than institutional support, according to two major surveys released close together. The findings combine Lumina Foundation–Gallup’s 2026 State of Higher Education study, nearly 4,000 U.S. students, and the Digital Education Council’s global survey, with 45,398 responses across 35 countries. Together, they show students are using AI without guidance, faculty are pulling back rather than providing structured direction, and perceptions diverge on whether curricula are keeping pace. In the DEC data, 43% of U.S. and Canadian students said they would not be disappointed by an institution-wide AI ban, compared with 15% in Latin America, while 76% of students globally reported never participating in AI literacy training. Faculty concern is high: 73% globally worry AI use is harming students’ skill development, and faculty intent to use AI in future teaching fell from 76% to 67% in the U.S. and Canada in one year. Despite 58% of U.S. and Canadian faculty feeling teaching won’t become outdated, only 19% of students felt their program is current for AI-related future skills, according to DEC, with Gallup adding more urgency via major-change considerations.