Teaching in the Age of AI: Exploring Faculty Perceptions and Practices

As artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly integrated in higher education,understanding faculty perspectives is essential in supporting a successful integration. Faculty playan important role in determining how, and to what extent, emerging technologies are implementedin the classroom. This qualitative study explored faculty perspectives of AI adoption in teachingat a large public research university in the Southeastern United States. Semi-structured interviewswere conducted with 22 full-time faculty members from a college of education. Thematic analysisrevealed seven key themes: (1) embracing innovation and preparing students for the future, (2)balancing comfort with caution, (3) efficiency of academic work, (4) ethics and quality of AIoutputs, (5) institutional support and clear guidelines, (6) overreliance and the changing role offaculty, and (7) faculty as lifelong learners. While many faculty recognized AI’s potential tostreamline tasks and enhance instruction, they also expressed concerns about academic integrity,overreliance, and ethical implications. Faculty demonstrated openness to learning, emphasizingthe need for clear policies, training, and resources. Engaging faculty in the conversations ofintegrating AI in higher education is critical to shaping the responsible and effective use of AI inhigher education.