Introduction to the Special Issue: Higher Education in an AI-Transformed World

Authors

  • Patsy Moskal University of Central Florida
  • Anthony Picciano Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v30i2.6132

Keywords:

artificial intelligence, Generative AI, higher education, digital learning, educational technology

Abstract

This introduction to the special issue examines the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI (GenAI), and its transformative implications for higher education. The authors trace AI’s evolution from a specialized field to a globally impactful technology accelerated by the release of tools such as ChatGPT. They define key concepts including general AI, agentic AI, and GenAI, and discuss their growing adoption across education, industry, and government. The introduction frames critical pedagogical, ethical, and institutional questions surrounding AI integration in higher education and provides an overview of the articles included in the special issue, which explore topics such as faculty and student perceptions, instructional design, curriculum development, doctoral education, enrollment management, and metacognition. The piece positions AI as a disruptive yet generative force that is reshaping teaching, learning, and institutional strategy.

Author Biography

Patsy Moskal, University of Central Florida

Patsy D. Moskal is the Director of Digital Learning Impact Evaluation for the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Since 1996, she has served as the liaison for faculty research of distributed learning and teaching effectiveness at UCF. Patsy specializes in statistics, graphics, program evaluation, and applied data analysis. She has extensive experience in research methods including survey development, interviewing, and conducting focus groups and frequently serves as an evaluation consultant to school districts, and industry and government organizations. She has also served as a co-principal investigator on grants including the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Gates-Foundation-funded Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC). She frequently serves as a reviewer for conferences and journals and also for Department of Education and National Science Foundation SBIR/STTR proposals. Patsy has co-authored numerous articles and chapters on blended and online learning and frequently presents on these topics. In 2011 she was named a Sloan-C Fellow “In recognition of her groundbreaking work in the assessment of the impact and efficacy of online and blended learning. Patsy's most recent book, with co-authors, Dziuban, Picciano and Graham, Conducting research in online and blended learning environments: New pedagogical frontiers was published in 2015.

References

Suleyman, M. (2023). The coming wave: Technology, power and the 21st century’s greatest dilemma. New York: Crown Publishing Co.

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Published

2026-06-01

How to Cite

Moskal, P., & Picciano, A. (2026). Introduction to the Special Issue: Higher Education in an AI-Transformed World. Online Learning, 30(2), v-ix. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v30i2.6132

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 2 (2026): Online Learning

Section

Higher Education in an AI-Transformed World

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Patsy Moskal; Anthony Picciano

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