This post is inspired by and based on the insights shared during a recent fireside chat webinar, “Building the Future Ready Community College,” which featured higher education leaders *Jim Catanzaro, Greg Haile, and Clyne Namuo discussing the strategic integration of Agentic AI. The conversation highlighted a critical challenge: the dizzying speed of AI innovation, which often outpaces the ability of college leaders to formulate a strategic response. Gray Decision Intelligence was proud to host this critical conversation about AI adoption for community colleges.
The rapid, “breakneck speed” adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) since the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 has left many community college leaders facing a paradox. On the one hand, there is a fear that AI will “undermine the academic enterprise.” On the other hand, many see the “potential for transformative support” on a scale never before imagined.
But how do you navigate this revolutionary technology when the day-to-day operations of an institution continue? For leaders, many of whom admit they’re average or less skilled in integrating AI, finding the time to develop a thoughtful strategy can be a significant challenge.
Fortunately, an essential roadmap now exists. The Achieving the Dream (ATD) task force, chaired by former Broward College president Greg Haile, developed a crucial framework to guide institutions. Dubbed “Creating the AI-Enabled Community College, a roadmap for using generative AI to accelerate student success,” this framework breaks down AI adoption into eight strategic action areas.
Here is a closer look at the eight pillars that community college leaders should focus on to future-proof their institutions:
Demonstrating Strategic Leadership
AI adoption must be driven from the top. Strategic leadership at the board, presidential, and leadership team levels must be conscious of leveraging AI for purposes that would hopefully penetrate all areas of an institution. This is about finding the room to pause and leverage Agentic AI tools to achieve for your community college what could never be done by even the most dedicated faculty and staff.
Establishing Ethical AI Governance
The speed of AI adoption has been unprecedented, but leaders must ensure they establish strong ethical frameworks to uphold. This pillar focuses on being aware of the dangers and ensuring AI is deployed responsibly. The goal discussed by the panel is to prevent low-income students from “falling behind at a greater rate” due to unequal access, ensuring that “we’re bringing everyone along.” This also includes a critical focus on the safety and security of data and privacy, such as FERPA compliance.
Develop Assessments to Measure AI User Impact
Given the novelty of this technology, it’s vital to measure its impact from the outset. This involves establishing baseline criteria and data points that we can use over time to assess outcomes and impact.
Building Staff Capacities
Not everyone is at the same level when it comes to using these tools. This pillar requires leaders to dedicate resources to training and professional development, ensuring that faculty, staff, and administrative leaders are at a minimum on par with students. Leaders must create and resource spaces for experimentation to ensure that this technology is not only deployed responsibly, but also that its effects are maximized.
Supporting Professional Learning and Faculty Engagement
Professional learning practices need to incorporate AI tools. The goal is to move past the fear of displacement and recognize that AI can become a trusted partner for faculty members. AI can accelerate work and allow for the personalization of instruction, which is often impossible with large class sizes. This frees up capacity for the human talent to make a greater difference, which they all seek to do.
Redesigning the Curriculum
This is a time when skills will atrophy faster than they ever have. Leaders must be thoughtful about creating a flexible curriculum that keeps pace with rapidly changing AI skill sets. College curricula must be adaptable to prepare talent for jobs that demand AI competency.
Leveraging AI for Workforce Alignment
AI is impacting every field. Community colleges have a responsibility to be closely tied to workforce needs, ensuring their students are not left behind. Employers worldwide are making AI competence the number one demand for new hires. Institutions must teach students how to become users, creators, and stewards of agentic AI systems to be fully AI prepared.
Investing in Student Success Through AI
This final pillar involves strategically leveraging AI for student outcomes and operational efficiencies. Agentic AI has the power to act as digital collaborators across nearly every dimension of an educator’s work. It can act as a course companion and a career companion for students. By implementing proactive tools like early alert systems, institutions can sniff out learning and retention challenges and personalize learning to achieve “truly equitable outcomes”.
By focusing on these eight pillars, community college leaders can ensure they don’t miss the opportunity to further student, community, and institutional success.
*Dr. Jim Catanzaro
Executive Director, Higher Education Research and Development Institute, South
Dr. Clyne G. H. Namuo
President, Joliet Junior College
Gregory Haile, J.D.
Senior Fellow, Harvard University M-R Center for Business and Government; Chairman, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Partner, Strategos Group
Watch the full Building the Future-Ready Community College webinar and hear how national leaders are shaping the roadmap for AI adoption in higher education.
