Each year at Jisc we run a leadership survey, which is sent to leaders in HE and FE, with responses from vice-chancellors and principals, technology and library strategic leaders and more. The latest was completed in the Spring of this year.
The survey asks several questions about the perception of Jisc, our services and the challenges our members face. This is the second year we have included AI in detail.
This year we received responses from 594 people from 250 FE and 138 HE , giving us a great overview. This post focuses on the results around AI comparing the past two years.
About the questions
For the challenges question, AI was included in the list of challenges that responders were presented with and asked to select their five most pressing in the next 12 months.
With our AI questions, we wanted to understand where institutions were with some of the key areas of our maturity model, and how they were using AI. The three questions we asked around this covered:
- What AI activities you have undertaken, with options from our AI readiness checklist.
- Whether you felt prepared on some key AI issues.
- How AI was being used in organisations.
We get multiple responses per organisation, so we took a ‘most optimistic answer’ approach for each answer, on the basis that if someone from the organisation knew an activity was happening it probably was.
The results
We asked the question, ‘What do you think will have the greatest impact on further education, higher education and research over the next three years?’ and AI was the most frequently mentioned area by both FE and HE.
Challenges
Respondents were given the option to select up to five top challenges from a list of common challenges, including topics such as cyber security, AI, staff retention, escalating costs etc. The results for AI were as follows
Further Education results
AI remains the foremost challenge for the second consecutive year, with 71% (up from 58% in 2024) ranking it as their top issue, surpassing cybersecurity, which is at 60% and was tied for the top spot in 2024.
Higher Education results
AI is the second most cited challenge again this year at 51% (up from 47% in 2024). Financial sustainability is the top challenge at 66%.
Core Activities
For the first AI-specific question, we wanted to see which set of key activities organisations had done. These were taken from our ‘Principles to Practice’ checklist, and cover initial actions around working groups, guidance and staff development.
The first question asked: “With regards to Artificial Intelligence (AI), has your organisation done any of the following?”
Further Education
The data shows broad improvement, with 10–18% more FE colleges reporting completed actions compared to last year. However, there’s a noticeable drop-off between planning and completion, particularly in producing guidance and staff development.
| Working Group | Policies | Student Guidance | Staff Guidance | Staff Development | ||
| 2025 | Yes | 63% | 65% | 49% | 51% | 44% |
| Planning | 25% | 24% | 40% | 39% | 42% | |
| 2024 | Yes | 53% | 53% | 32% | 33% | 32% |
| Planning | 29% | 33% | 49% | 50% | 46% |
Higher Education Results
The figures continue to show that universities are well prepared, having completed the core activities and are planning staff development.
Overall, staff development is the area that needs continued support. We continue to run our programme of AI literacy training webinars and will be launching new resources in Summer 2025.
How Prepared?
We then asked: “Is your organisation sufficiently prepared on the following issues related to AI?”. This was to help us prioritise our activities.
Results
In Further Education, preparedness improved most in Data Protection and Intellectual Property Rights, both up 7% from 2024. In Higher Education, Safety saw the highest gain increasing by 15% on 2024.
Despite these improvements, the overall prepared for AI-related issues remains low, with Further Education increasing by 5% and Higher Education by 4%.
We will continue to balance support across all areas.
Using AI
The final set of questions were to get a feel for where AI was being used in organisations. We know the areas we picked as options are very much open to interpretations, and the data wouldn’t be readily available, so the answer would be very much based on people’s view across the organisation. We still think it is useful though to get a broad picture. We asked: “Are you using AI for the following in your organisation?”
Further Education results
The figures show the changes in adoption rates since 2024 are:
- Teaching and Learning Preparation: Up 18%
- Teaching and Learning Delivery: Up 17%
- Planning Activities: Up 14%
This is not unsurprising given the success of tools such as Teachermatic and the ongoing shared practice happening across the FE community.
Higher Education results
The figures show the changes in adoption rates since 2024 are:
- Teaching and Learning Preparation: Up 15%
- Delivery: Up 17%
- Reporting and Data Use: Up 17%
Suggesting a trend towards leveraging AI for more efficient data analysis and administrative tasks.
Conclusion
The 2025 leadership survey reveals a growing focus on AI across both further and higher education. Adoption is steadily rising, particularly in areas like teaching and learning, though preparedness is lagging in key areas.
The survey also highlights a persistent need across both sectors for more support, especially in staff development. It’s clear that while tools and technology are advancing, the full potential of AI can only be unlocked if the staff are well-trained and confident in using these new technologies responsibly.
Overall, it’s an exciting time for AI in education, the journey has just begun, and we will continue to support by providing a wide range of practical advice, guidance and training to ensure that all the potential benefits of AI can be fully realised.
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Find out more by visiting our Artificial Intelligence page to view publications and resources, join us for events and discover what AI has to offer through our range of interactive online demos.
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Get in touch with the team directly at AI@jisc.ac.uk