McMaster reports map how generative AI is shaping campus today and what may come next

Use of generative AI is expanding across McMaster University, with students, faculty and staff already adapting their learning and work in real time, often without consistent expectations or shared guidance.

That’s a key finding from Perceptions of Generative AI at McMaster, one of two recent university reports examining AI’s impact.

“Right now, too much of the responsibility sits with individuals to interpret and navigate AI use on their own,” said Matheus Grasselli, deputy provost and co-chair of McMaster’s AI Advisory Committee. “What these findings show is the need for more alignment, clearer expectations and a more coordinated approach that supports students, instructors and staff.”

A second report, Making Sense of Transition, looks ahead, using foresight work led by senior university leaders to explore how AI could shape higher education, and McMaster, in the future.

Both reports point to opportunities and concerns, including the potential for more intentional course design, new approaches to assessment and increased efficiency, as well as risks related to inconsistency, uncertainty about appropriate use, academic integrity and uneven access to tools and support.

A campus-wide snapshot of AI use

The Perceptions of Generative AI at McMaster report draws on 295 survey responses from across the university, capturing perspectives from students, faculty and staff.

Students described using AI to support learning processes such as brainstorming, summarizing and clarifying concepts. At the same time, many said they are confused by the different expectations between courses.

Faculty raised questions about how to design assessments that remain meaningful given that AI is readily available to students, and how to communicate expectations clearly.

Staff pointed to both efficiency gains and emerging pressures as AI begins to shape administrative workflows.

Across all groups, a consistent theme is the absence of widely understood norms that they are aware of. Participants reported spending time interpreting expectations, making independent judgment calls and, in some cases, duplicating efforts that could be better coordinated.

“AI isn’t just a tool, it’s prompting us to examine long-standing practices and make more deliberate choices about what should change,” says Stephanie Verkoeyen, special advisor to the provost on generative AI. “It creates an opening to think more intentionally about how we support teaching, learning and day-to-day work across the university.”

One of the report’s central insights is a shift away from focusing only on whether AI should be permitted, toward how learning and work should be redesigned in response to its presence.

Examples already emerging across McMaster include assessments that emphasize process and reflection, assignments that require students to engage critically with AI-generated content, and clearer communication about how and when AI can be used.

Exploring possible futures

The Making Sense of Transition report extends the conversation by examining what AI could mean for higher education, and McMaster, over time.

Developed through a foresight workshop involving approximately 40 senior university leaders, the report maps a range of possible scenarios to help inform future decision-making.

“Traditional strategic planning looks at where we want to go,” says Shane Saunderson, who led the workshop and is an assistant professor of information systems. “Futures thinking helps us understand the range of futures we may have to be ready for.”

Members of McMaster’s Strategic Planning Team, responsible for developing the university’s next strategic plan, also took part in the workshop, bringing these perspectives directly into their work. The plan, which will consider the implications of generative AI over the next five years, is expected to be presented to the Board of Governors for approval in June 2026.

“The question isn’t just what AI can do,” Saunderson added. “It’s how we choose to respond to it and what those choices mean for the kind of learning environment we create.”

Beyond individual decision-making

Together, the reports acknowledge that generative AI is a major disruptor, now and in the future. To Grasselli, who is also a member of a Council of Ontario Universities’ Task Force on AI, this calls for more reflection on how learning is designed, how work is organized and how decisions are made across the entire university sector.

He encourages members of the McMaster community interested in staying up to date on AI in higher education, and on what is underway at McMaster, to sign up for the monthly online briefing, AI Digest. Those who sign up will receive the link before each session and the recording afterward.