Advance HE and the Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP) have launched a practical guide to help governance professionals across UK further and higher education navigate the rise of artificial intelligence.
A new guide on Using AI to support governance effectiveness has been published by Advance HE, in partnership with the Association of Higher Education Professionals. The guide includes insights from 84 higher education practitioners who have shared experiences, doubts and lessons learned from using, and managing staff use of, artificial intelligence.
An early survey of the group found most members were nervous but curious about the technology, while a small minority were already experimenting seriously. That range of views, the report says, is what convinced its authors that shared practical principles were needed, regardless of a professional’s confidence, experience or the tools they use.
The guide arrives as the sector adjusts to the new Committee of University Chairs Higher Education Code of Governance, which places fresh emphasis on effectiveness, adaptability and demonstrable impact, and fits alongside Advance HE’s Big Conversation on the future of HE governance.
The guide focuses on what individual governance professionals can do day to day, reframing seven core AI governance principles through a ‘practitioner-focused lens’. Dan Tinkler, Consultant, Governance and Strategic Transformation at Advance HE and one of the report’s supporting authors, said:
“This guide reflects what we heard directly from governance professionals: that confidence with AI is built through small, practical steps, not grand strategies. Our aim is to help colleagues ask better questions of AI and of themselves, so governance stays rooted in judgement, not just process.
“I would like to pay particular thanks to Rhona Morris (Edge Hill University) for leading this piece of work and Kath Wass (University of Bradford and AHEP) for being part of the team steering this project with us.”
The report is accompanied by an AI Code of Practice, intended as a personal charter for governance professionals to adopt in their own work as the technology continues to evolve.
