ALT A woman with brown hair wearing a denim jacket over a yellow top is smiling at her phone. To her left, the phrases "Reminder, Sign up for job alerts on Inside Higher Ed Careers. Advance your career."

ALT Students walk across Cornell University’s campus. McGraw Tower, a clock tower, is in the background.

ALT Sen. Bill Cassidy; Judson Horras, president and chief executive officer of the North American Interfraternity Conference; and Curtis Valentine, founding president of the Male Educator Network & Policy Institute, speak at the Symposium on Young American Men.

ALT A hooded figure with a hidden face stands in front of a background of digital code

ALT Afternoon sun shines on the California State University at San Marcos campus signage.

ALT A stock photo of a woman sitting on a couch, talking to therapist. Both people are color blocked in orange with the background in black and white.

ALT The University of Texas at Austin campus on a cloudy day.

ALT Photo of a hand holding a pen over an open notebook.

ALT A photo of UNC Chapel Hill’s campus.

ALT A closed fist with $20 bills held on one side and a pencil on the other.

ALT A close-up of the hands of an African American male journalist with his pen poised over a notebook, while holding a smartphone and microphone.

ALT A photo illustration collage of speech bubbles, the U.S. Capitol building, a professor gesturing in front of a whiteboard, a stack of 100-dollar bills, and a cell phone displaying an AI chat bot. In white text the kicker Governance, the headline From AI Use to Funding Cuts: How Provosts Are Navigating 2026, and the dek Inside Higher Ed’s annual CAO survey reveals a fractured landscape, where academic leaders rely on personal AI tools amid broader technological and political disruption. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | dkfielding, g-stockstudio and OlekStock/iStock/Getty Images | Thai Liang Lim/E+/Getty Images

ALT Title: AI Deployment Description: Provosts (all) say how their institution is currently using AI, by survey year: A bar chart showing the percentage of Provosts who use an AI feature in 2025 verses 2026. Virtual chat assistants and chatbots at 52% Research and data analysis at 42% Administrative processes (e.g., scheduling, resource allocation) 39% Learning management systems (LMS) 34% Predictive analytics to predict student performance and trends 28% Admissions processes 26% Student advising and support 23% Institutional planning and decision-making 22% Student engagement 21% Grading and assessment 20% Cybersecurity 14% Fundraising 11% Personalized learning pathways 8% None: The institution does not currently utilize AI 7% Other 6%

ALT A text block reads: Over all, provosts’ attitudes toward the technology remain mixed. Nearly half of provosts—48 percent—rate AI’s impact on higher ed as neither positive nor negative. About 28 percent say its impact has been positive, and 17 percent say it’s been negative.

ALT Title: Outside Influencer Chart description: Provosts (all and by Public or Private/nonprofit sector) who say the following groups have more to much more influence on academic decision-making at their institution now, compared with two years ago: Overall, Federal Policy and Employers/Industry had the largest impact, with public institutions ranking it higher.

ALT An orange sticky note with the words "Editor's Note" in bold white text.

ALT A photo of a polling place on Election Day.

ALT The graphic for The Key Ep 214: Voices of Student Success: When Nontraditional Students Become the Norm. On the left, a key with a brain for the key head. On the right, headshots for Joshua Bay, host, and Bryon Ashton, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Trellis and Head of Trellis Strategies.

ALT Graphic promoting the College Board ad webinar, "Closing the Trust Gap: Aligning Marketing and Enrollment Strategies Around What Students Actually Value," scheduled for October 1 at 2pm EST, with a yellow "Register" button.

ALT A gleaming glass and steel building on the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

ALT A low angle photo of flowers in front of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln campus gateway.

ALT President Barack Obama stands beside ASU president Michael Crow.

ALT Gagan Biyani gesticulating with his hands as he speaks with headset on