Will Higher Ed’s AI Moonshots Break Through?
This is a recap of a session entitled Revolution or Rerun: Will Higher Ed’s AI Moonshots Break Through? from the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit, including insights from WGU’s Dr. Courtney Hills McBeth.
Are we witnessing a revolutionary breakthrough in higher ed with generative AI or is it just another fleeting innovation? How are institutions using AI responsibly to elevate and reimagine the learning experience and provide real outcomes to more students?
A recent panel discussion at ASU+GSV, hosted by Western Governors University, explored these pressing questions.
The panel included Dr. Courtney Hills McBeth, WGU’s chief academic officer and provost, Dr. Muhsinah Morris, director of metaverse programs at Morehouse College, and Dr. Sheri Ranis from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Together, they unpacked the promise, challenges, and future of AI-powered educational transformation.
The Resilience and Evolution of Higher Education
Phil Hill, publisher of the On EdTech Newsletter and moderator of the panel, framed the discussion by highlighting a paradox in higher education: it is remarkably resilient yet constantly poised for disruption.
“There’s always the next thing that’s going to change everything,” said Hill, referencing previous waves like massive open online courses (MOOCs) that promised to “bend the cost curve” but ultimately fell short of revolutionizing education.
Unlike MOOCs, which largely replicated traditional lectures online, generative AI offers a fundamentally different experience. “What AI creates is much more engaging: authentic simulation, case-based scenarios,” said Hills McBeth. “It’s a new and more engaging way to learn.”
This shift from passive content consumption to active, personalized learning experiences marks a pivotal moment for education.
Generative AI: Already Embedded in Student Expectations
One of the most striking points made during the discussion was how deeply AI has already permeated the educational landscape, especially from a student’s perspective. Ranis shared an example where a chatbot-powered platform called My Texas Future doubled its user base after introducing direct admissions features powered by AI.
“Everyone assumes use, everyone is looking for use, but they’re looking for a particular kind of use,” she explained. The demand is for personalized, fast, and streamlined access to guidance and administrative processes.
Hill echoed this sentiment by contrasting the scale of AI adoption with the earlier hype around MOOCs.
“Students more broadly, they’re already using AI,” he said. “We’re talking millions of people. It’s already part of the atmosphere and the expectations.” This normalization presents both an opportunity and a challenge for institutions to meet students “where they are” technologically and culturally.
Personalization, Equity, and Ethical Use of AI
Dr. Muhsinah Morris, a biomolecular chemist and professor, underscored the importance of cultural relevance and ethical AI use in education. Her team is pioneering AI teaching assistants and virtual reality classrooms that provide 24/7 personalized support and empower students to use AI responsibly.
“We are using AI teaching assistants to empower learners and faculty members,” she said. “We are testing them out, doing a lot of professional development with pre-service and in-service educators trying to see just how to create and craft the right type of environment for our students to learn.”
Morris also highlighted the critical need to address biases inherent in AI models, emphasizing the concept of, “...garbage in, garbage out, making sure that our students know what inputs they need to put in, how these models are trained, and understanding the biases that are in them.” This approach is about fostering digital literacy and ensuring students are approaching AI usage with a “humanity-first lens.”
Faculty Engagement: The Key to Successful AI Integration
Adoption of AI tools in higher education hinges heavily on faculty buy-in. Hills McBeth shared a powerful example from WGU’s initiatives where faculty are actively involved in shaping AI models to improve student outcomes.
“Our faculty are actually shaping and training the models, which increases their propensity for implementation,” she said. This engagement has led to real-time personalized interventions that boost course completion and student persistence.
Similarly, Morris noted how Morehouse faculty embraced AI teaching assistants that allow them to upload their own resources, creating tailored “textbook assistants” that explain complex material in accessible ways and multiple languages. This customization empowers educators while enhancing student learning.
Panelists agreed that AI literacy should be discipline-agnostic and institution-wide. This broad approach contrasts with the siloed, computer science-centric view often associated with AI.
“It has to be a tool that everyone is using in their discipline to leverage productivity and provide personalized support,” Morris stated.
Disruptive Innovation vs. Polishing the Status Quo
A recurring theme was the tension between incremental improvements and a bold reimagining of education through AI. Hills McBeth expressed frustration with many EdTech companies focusing on “polishing the current rock,” meaning they optimize existing educational structures without fundamentally changing them.
Instead, WGU’s AI moonshot aims to “fundamentally and dramatically rethink the learning experience and the cost curve,” targeting an affordable, employer-validated education model that costs about as much as an annual gym membership.
This moonshot approach calls for a whiteboard mentality where leaders and educators question everything and innovate beyond current constraints.
“We need to think beyond our current bounds and go forward,” Hills McBeth urged, emphasizing the need for solutions that expand access and guarantee outcomes for all students.
A New Tech-First Generation Becoming Educators
The panelists also discussed how generational shifts influence AI adoption. Morris observed that, while today’s students grew up surrounded by digital tools, this doesn’t automatically translate to digital literacy or ethical use of technology. Many students want guidance on how to use AI responsibly in academic contexts rather than “going rogue.”
Hill pointed out that as a tech-first generation becomes educators themselves, their baseline expectation will be active AI use rather than literacy training. This shift in instructor demographics will accelerate AI integration in teaching practices.
“There’s a changing of the guards,” Morris remarked, describing how former students are returning as adjunct instructors, bringing with them new perspectives on technology-enhanced learning.
The Promise and Complexity of AI in Higher Ed
The conversation concluded with cautious optimism. The panelists acknowledged that AI is not a panacea but a powerful tool that, if thoughtfully implemented, can revolutionize teaching, learning, and workforce readiness. The human element—faculty leadership, ethical frameworks, and student support—remains central to realizing AI’s potential.
“Every student deserves access, equity, and returns,” said Hills McBeth, emphasizing that institutions need to do everything possible to not limit the number of seats.
She said the challenge for higher education is to move beyond pilot projects and hype cycles, embracing AI as a catalyst for equitable access, personalized learning and sustainable innovation.
Clearly, the question is no longer if AI will disrupt higher education but how it will break through to unlock new possibilities for students, educators and society. Higher education institutions must not only understand and harness AI to provide a richer learning experience but also educate students to be discerning when using it.
