- Students embrace AI for coursework, but worry about careers
- Strengthening CEO-board relationships
- Getting stopped-out students back to college
- Community college advancement teams stretched thin
Students embrace AI for coursework, but worry about careers
Artificial intelligence has become a routine part of college coursework, even as many students worry about how the technology could affect their future careers, according to a new survey from HelloCollege, a college-planning and admissions company.
The survey found that 82% of students use AI for coursework, with 70% using it sometimes and 12% using it all the time. Usage was nearly as high among community and city college students, at 81%, compared with 83% at public universities and 84% at private universities.
But students are less certain about AI’s effect on life after college. Two-thirds (66%) said AI has made them more concerned about their future careers, while half said the technology has changed how they view the usefulness of a college degree. More than one-third (37%) said they are shifting their career plans because of AI.
AI also is influencing what some students choose to study. Eighteen percent said the technology has changed the major they are considering. Among those students, 42% said they are moving toward majors they consider more resistant to AI, while 23% are choosing majors that would allow them to work more directly with the technology.
Students identified computer science as the major most vulnerable to AI, cited by 69% of respondents, followed by math and business/economics.
Despite their concerns, students using AI for college coursework largely believe they are still learning the skills they need. Among those students, 83% said they feel they are learning what they need for future success.
HelloCollege surveyed 1,011 college students ages 18 to 24 in July. Fourteen percent of respondents attended community or city colleges.
Strengthening CEO-board relationships
A recent brief from the Wheelhouse Center for Community College Leadership and Research at the University of California, Davis, offers 10 recommendations for developing healthier, more effective relationships between college CEOs and trustees.
Among the suggestions: CEOs should research a board before accepting a position, clearly establish expectations and responsibilities, cultivate relationships with individual trustees, build trust through timely and accurate communication, and address trustee micromanagement and overreach.
The authors also emphasize board training, trustee onboarding, CEO-board chair unity and ongoing professional development.
Clear lines between governance and management are particularly important, the brief says. Trustees exercise authority collectively as a board and focus primarily on policy and oversight, while the CEO is responsible for the institution’s day-to-day operations. Blurring those responsibilities can undermine both leadership and governance.
The issue comes amid relatively short CEO tenures in California. In 2025, 25% of the state’s 140 community college CEOs had been in their positions for two years or less, while 42% had been in their jobs for three years or less.
The brief emphasizes trust as a key thread. CEOs should keep trustees informed, follow up promptly on questions and avoid allowing board members to learn about significant college issues first through the media. The authors describe that approach as the “no surprises” rule.
The brief also encourages boards to invest in their CEOs through professional coaching, leadership development and opportunities to connect with peers. Strong CEO-board relationships can improve institutional outcomes, extend CEO tenure and provide greater organizational stability, the paper says.
Getting stopped-out students back to college
A handful of Florida community colleges saw a 64% increase in reenrollment among students offered tuition waivers, dedicated advising and targeted outreach, according to new research from MDRC.
Early findings from the Re-Enrollment and Completion Team (REACT) initiative found that 24% of students offered the program reenrolled, compared with 15% of students in a control group. The 9-percentage-point difference represents a 64% increase in reenrollment.
The study includes 4,226 students at four Florida community colleges: Florida SouthWestern State College, Hillsborough College, Northwest Florida State College and Palm Beach State College. To qualify, students had to be within 15 credits of earning an associate degree, among other criteria.
Nationally, more than 40 million Americans are college stop-outs, with many of them only a few courses away from earning an associate degree.
REACT looks to address several barriers that can prevent stop-outs from returning. MDRC observed that students participating in the initiative:
- Receive eight to 10 contacts per enrollment cycle through mail, phone, email and text.
- Work with a designated advisor.
- Receive waivers covering tuition and institutional fees for up to 15 credits needed to finish their degree.
The early results also suggest the approach may help students persist and graduate. Among the first cohort of 2,855 students, 13% of REACT students were enrolled in the second semester after random assignment, compared with 8% of the control group.
Degree attainment also increased. Five percent of REACT students in the first cohort earned an associate degree in the first semester after random assignment, compared with 3% of students in the control group.
The colleges will continue implementing REACT through spring 2027. Researchers plan to track academic outcomes and examine the program’s costs and cost-effectiveness. A key question is whether colleges can find sustainable funding for the tuition waivers if the model is expanded.
Community college advancement teams stretched thin
Community college advancement offices are taking on more fundraising, alumni outreach and employer engagement even as many operate with limited staff and resources, according to a recent EAB survey.
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of advancement leaders said their teams are understaffed or severely understaffed, while 69% reported having five or fewer full-time advancement employees. The findings are based on a June 2026 survey of 93 leaders at two-year colleges.
The workload, meanwhile, is growing. Over the past three years, 75% of respondents reported an increase in employer partnerships, 74% cited increased digital outreach engagement and 70% reported growth in community and foundation partnerships. Yet 65% said staffing had remained stagnant or decreased, and 59% said the same about their budgets.
Administrative work is adding to the strain. Nearly eight in 10 teams said they spend at least one-quarter of their time on manual or administrative tasks, and 66% said it takes three weeks or longer to launch a targeted outreach campaign.
EAB also found significant gaps in colleges’ ability to maintain relationships with former students. Only 16% of respondents reported having current contact information for at least half of their alumni. Nearly half (48%) said limitations in systems, data or capacity prevent them from successfully contacting their alumni base.
Technology has not necessarily eliminated those problems. Although 78% of advancement teams use a customer relationship management system, 71% continue to rely on spreadsheets.
Artificial intelligence is also becoming part of advancement work. Sixty-five percent of respondents said their teams currently use AI, though adoption varied sharply by staff size. Just 35% of teams with two or fewer full-time employees use AI, compared with 80% of teams with six or more employees.
