AI Resilience Report forPostsecondary Teachers, All Other

For "all other" postsecondary teachers — instructors who teach niche or interdisciplinary subjects — AI is mostly showing up as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement. The biggest survey of college AI use to date, conducted across the 23-campus California State University system, found that the vast majority of respondents (95 percent) have used at least one of the 21 AI tools listed in the survey, and over half (55 percent) of faculty are using AI to develop course materials, while 69 percent provide students with guidance for using it effectively and responsibly. Professors are leaning on tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Grammarly to draft lesson plans, build quizzes, give feedback on drafts, and explain tough concepts in plain language — work that lines up closely with what this career involves.

A nationwide AAC&U and Elon University survey ^[1] covered by Inside Higher Ed ^[2] found that most professors—86 percent—said that the impact of AI on teachers will be "significant and transformative or at least noticeable", but the core human work — mentoring students, leading discussions, and judging deep understanding — still belongs to people.

Adoption is moving fast in some places and slowly in others. Cheap, ready-made tools (a single $17 million CSU-OpenAI deal ^[2] covers 460,000 students) make AI far cheaper than hiring more staff, which pushes adoption forward. But several brakes exist.

According to a 2026 Inside Higher Ed/Hanover CTO survey ^[2], half of chief technology officers say the return on investment is either unclear or fell below their expectations. Faculty culture is cautious too: about 68 percent of faculty said their institutions have not prepared faculty to use AI in teaching, student mentorship and scholarship. Most of their recent graduates are underprepared, too.

The American Association of University Professors ^[3] is also pushing back, with a 2025 report finding (per coverage in Insight Into Academia ^[4]) that 71% of respondents said decisions about AI and educational technology were made solely by administrators, with little or no involvement from faculty, staff, or students. The Chronicle of Higher Education ^[5] likewise reports faculty feeling overwhelmed and conflicted. Finally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Monthly Labor Review ^[6] still projects steady demand for postsecondary teachers through 2034 — a hopeful sign that uniquely human skills like mentorship, ethics, and creative thinking remain irreplaceable.