Eighty-eight percent of students globally now use AI in their learning, but only 29 percent believe their instructors are prepared to guide them, according to the Digital Education Council's AI in Higher Education Global Survey 2026. The survey, drawing on 45,398 responses from 35 countries, also finds that faculty intent to adopt AI in teaching has fallen nine percentage points in the US and Canada over the past year, the lowest of any region.
The findings reveal a widening gap between AI adoption and institutional readiness. While 77 percent of faculty use AI in their teaching-up 16 points from 2025-57 percent of students say their assessments come with inadequate AI guidance, and only 31 percent of faculty agree their institution involves them meaningfully in shaping AI policy.
Instructor readiness lags behind student adoption
Faculty training efforts are widespread: 64 percent of instructors have participated in AI literacy training. Yet the impact falls short. Fewer than three in ten students see the results in their classrooms. "AI has moved into the mainstream of student and faculty life faster than institutions have been able to respond to it. Adoption is now widespread, but coherent practice is not," Alessandro Di Lullo, Chief Executive Officer, and Daniel A. Bielik, President of the Digital Education Council, write in the report.
Students gain time and lose confidence
On the positive side, 61 percent of students say AI frees them to focus more on thinking through ideas, and 31 percent are attempting more challenging work than before. But the survey also captures early signs of dependence: 22 percent find it harder to work without AI, and 19 percent say they retain less because they rely on it. Two-thirds of students (66 percent) worry AI could make learning too shallow and discourage critical thinking, a concern that rises to 81 percent in the US and Canada.
Trust between peers is eroding as well. Globally, 60 percent of students worry classmates might misuse AI for unfair advantage. In the US and Canada, that figure climbs to 73 percent.
US and Canada faculty pull back
Faculty intent to use AI in teaching stands at 92 percent in APAC, 89 percent in EMEA, and 94 percent in Latin America. In the US and Canada, it has fallen from 76 percent to 67 percent in a year. The sentiment gap is wide: 55 percent of US and Canadian faculty say AI poses a serious risk to human intellectual development, versus 29 percent in APAC. And 43 percent of students in the US and Canada would support an institution-wide ban on AI.
"Students are not asking for less rigour; they are asking for clarity. Faculty want to adapt and need the institutional direction to do so. The institutions that act deliberately now will define the narrative rather than be defined by it," Di Lullo and Bielik write.
Assessments out of sync with the AI workplace
Only 28 percent of students feel most or many of their assessments reflect the skills they expect to need in an AI-enabled workplace. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) are not allowed, encouraged, or required to use AI in any assessment, rising to 38 percent in the US and Canada. Student doubts about degree relevance are growing: 37 percent express serious doubts about whether their program is relevant for AI and the future. Faculty are less worried, with 43 percent globally not concerned about outdated content, a figure that climbs to 58 percent in the US and Canada. The DEC's 2025 AI in the Workplace Report found that 80 percent of employers say higher education is not keeping up with industry change.
Why this matters for education professionals
The survey makes clear that students are adopting AI regardless of institutional guidance, and they are looking for clarity on how to use it ethically and effectively. Faculty need structured support and policy direction. For institutions, the gaps in assessment design and instructor training are urgent. Resources such as the AI Learning Path for Teachers offer practical help for educators building AI literacy, while broader strategies and case studies are available on AI for Education. The coming year will test whether higher education can align its practices with the speed of AI adoption in its own classrooms.
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