In the News: Jena Zangs on AI Chatbots in Higher Education
AI chatbots are moving fast across campuses. Jena Zangs, chief data and analytics officer at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, says they can help administrators work better and faster-if leaders set clear rules and keep people in the loop.
Her message is simple: use the tools, but protect data, respect privacy, and keep critical thinking front and center. That balance is exactly why she was named to EdTech Magazine's "influencers to watch in 2026."
Why this matters for campus leaders
Chatbots can clear inboxes, summarize long documents, and surface policy details in seconds. The risk: over-relying on generic internet output and losing your team's original thinking.
"Each one of us brings a different perspective and voice to the table, and I think that's where AI can be intimidating," Zangs says. The real task for leaders: set boundaries that keep creativity, safety, and accountability intact.
Practical guardrails: a simple checklist
- Define approved use cases (student services triage, policy Q&A, first-draft emails). Ban high-stakes or ambiguous tasks.
- Set data rules: no PII or sensitive records in public models. Use enterprise tools with logging and admin controls.
- Create an AI governance policy covering ownership, versioning, retention, and audit trails.
- Keep a human in the loop for review, edits, and final decisions-especially on anything public or policy-related.
- Run pilots with small teams, measure outcomes, then scale based on clear KPIs.
- Train staff on prompts, bias checks, and citation practices. Provide templates and examples.
- Establish a privacy and security review for any new AI vendor or integration.
- Stand up an incident path: how to report bad outputs, policy breaches, or data issues-and how you'll respond fast.
Where chatbots help right now
- 24/7 answers from knowledge bases for advising and student services.
- Drafting campus-wide communications, meeting briefs, and summaries.
- Policy lookup and plain-language summaries for staff and faculty.
- Grant scaffolding: outline, rubric alignment, and formatting support.
- Workflow automation for routine forms, FAQs, and ticket triage.
Keep humans in charge
AI should speed up the grunt work, not replace judgment. Leaders set the tone: cite sources, verify facts, and require review on anything that affects students or public trust. Protect your institution's voice-don't let generic text bury your team's ideas.
Recognition and resources
Zangs shared these insights in conversation with University Business, reflecting a growing push for responsible, strategic AI adoption across higher ed. If you're guiding policy or building training tracks for your teams, explore role-based options at Complete AI Training.
Bottom line: Use chatbots to save time. Protect data. Keep people accountable. That's how colleges get real value without losing their voice.
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