New Publication: Governing generative AI in higher education
Sharing a publication I participated in about AI policy in education...
I recently participated in contributing to a newly open-access article: Governing generative AI in higher education: a global Delphi study on policy and practice in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. I use the term “contribute” here because it was a new and interesting process that I hadn’t participated in before. Led by Dr. Helen Crompton, the article focused on AI policy in K-12 and higher ed and used the Delphi method along with collective writing to create the article.
Like previous publications, I checked in with the authors to see if they wanted to share some thoughts about this piece to help readers learn a little bit more about the process.
What did it mean to you to contribute to this article?
Lenandlar Singh: I’d have to be selfish in acknowledging that the most satisfying thing for me contributing to this article was the opportunity to bring experiences from my local experiences. Working in a developing country’s context often means we are either far behind in terms of policy development and adoption and/or we adopt policies from other contexts as they are without much tailoring for our specific needs. Often, it is the case that policies are adopted from the developed world because implicitly or otherwise, they are taken to be the gold standard of what would or should work. So for me it was a great opportunity to say ‘here is what I think would be important for contexts like mine, and why’. In the end it was quite fulfilling to see little strands of my thinking and contributions weaved through the final document, or so I would like to believe.
Dave Parsons: Contributing to a Delphi + collaborative writing project was a great opportunity to see how others think about these policy issues and to critically evaluate my own assumptions and beliefs.
Mari Van Wyk: It was a wonderful experience to take part with experts and also have a voice.
Lance Eaton: To add to this, the Delphi+ was entirely new to me, so getting to be a part of and learn from a group exploring the policy and governance question from institutions world wide was exciting. I also found the process and guidance from Helen who led the project to be a master-class in guidance and patience (because some of us…ahem…me…might have been behind in providing input at least once).
What are you most excited regarding the insights of this article?
Mari Van Wyk: Policies are not guidelines, and guidelines are not policies; a hybrid approach might support innovation while safeguarding integrity, fairness, and continuous change.
Lance Eaton: I know others in my network have had this conversation, and its near-universality felt validating in this statement: “This near-unanimous agreement on a hybrid model, which combines both policies and guidelines, suggests that panelists see formal policies and flexible guidelines as complementary, each addressing distinct needs in governing use of GenAI.” I was also new to Helen’s SETI Framework, which I need to print out and have on hand now! Particulary for the challenge of generative AI (and now, agentic AI), I think the framework helps to move it not just beyond the classroom and into the institution but in recognition of the dynamic interaction with, across, and beyond higher ed in navigating this technology specifically for educational purposes.
Anything else that we should know about regarding your contribution?
Helen Crompton: I am very pleased to see this study published and especially grateful to have brought together such an outstanding international group of scholars and leaders in higher education, educational technology, and AI. Through perspectives spanning 22 countries and six continents, this collaboration helped build a globally informed framework for how higher education can thoughtfully and responsibly govern generative AI.
Post Contributors
Helen Crompton, Professor of Instructional Technology and Executive Director of the Research Institute for Digital Innovation in Learning
Dave Parsons, AcademyEX, Research Director
Lenandlar Singh, Reader / University of Guyana
Mari Van Wyk, University of Pretoria
The Update Space
Upcoming Sightings & Shenanigans
Keynote speaker at the Reimagining the Liberal Arts in the Age of AI Conference, July 21-23 at the University of Mary Washington.
EDUCAUSE Online Program: Teaching with AI. Virtual. Facilitating sessions: ongoing
Recent Recordings, Resources, & Writings:
Crompton, H., Burke, D., Nickel, C., Bozkurt, A., Miao, F., Sharples, M., Greene, J. A., Parsons, D., Gill-Simmen, L., Edmett, A., Pegrum, M., de Waard, I., Bonk, C. J., Garcia, M. B., Curry, J. H., Lindsey, L., Yang, M., Marshall, S., Bali, M., ... Yu, S. (2026). Governing generative AI in higher education: A global Delphi study on policy and practice. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 23, Article 21.
Davis, L., & Eaton, L. (May 2026). Expanding OER with GenAI. EDUCAUSE Review.
AI x Higher Ed Podcast with Anand Rao & Stefan Bauschard. Episode: Universities Must Adapt to AI—Here’s How They’re Doing It (May, 2026)
Damm, C., & Eaton, L. (2026, March). From prompt to practice: A framework for transparent GenAI use in higher education. EDUCAUSE Review.
Eaton, L., Nemeroff, A., & Sun, X. (2026). AI-assisted course design and development. In K. S. Ives, M. Cini, & R. Schroeder (Eds.), AI applications in online higher education administration: Strategies for maximizing returns and improving outcomes. Routledge.
Margin of Thought with Priten: Season 1, Episode 5: How Can We Center Pedagogy During the AI Tech Wave? (February 2026)
Online Learning in the Second Half with John Nash and Jason Johnston: EP 39 - The Higher Ed AI Solution: Good Pedagogy (January 2026)
The Peer Review Podcast with Sarah Bunin Benor and Mira Sucharov: Authentic Assessment: Co-Creating AI Policies with Students (December 2025)
David Bachman interviewed me on his Substack, Entropy Bonus (November 2025)
The AI Diatribe Podcast with Jason Low (November): Episode 17: Can Universities Keep Pace With AI?
The Opposite of Cheating Podcast with Dr. Tricia Bertram Gallant (October 2025): Season 2, Episode 31.
The Learning Stack Podcast with Thomas Thompson (August 2025). “(i)nnovations, AI, Pirates, and Access”.
Intentional Teaching Podcast with Derek Bruff (August 2025). Episode 73: Study Hall with Lance Eaton, Michelle D. Miller, and David Nelson.
Dissertation: Elbow Patches To Eye Patches: A Phenomenographic Study Of Scholarly Practices, Research Literature Access, And Academic Piracy
AI Syllabi Policy Repository: 200+ policies (always looking for more- submit your AI syllabus policy here)
Finally, if you are doing interesting things with AI in your higher ed classrooms, consider being interviewed for this Substack or even contributing. Complete this form, and I’ll get back to you soon!
We periodically host small-group workshops and leadership sessions for higher ed teams. You can learn more about our current offerings here.
AI+Edu=Simplified by Lance Eaton is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Cool to see the socio-ecological model adapted in this way! I support you printing it and having it on hand. 😆💚
Maybe you can take this a step further and map the promoting and inhibiting pressures on each layer, as well as describe specific behaviors that may need to start, stop or continue.