Institutionalising AI In Higher Education: A Case Study At A South African University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29284/ijasis.12.1s.2026.471-482Keywords:
Institutionalisation, Artificial Intelligence, Higher Education, Integration, Legitimacy Theory, Educational Innovation.Abstract
This study examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a traditional South African university, focusing on the strategies used to incorporate AI into its teaching and learning environment. It aims to identify how AI adoption gains legitimacy within established academic structures. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the research analyses documents such as institutional policies and strategic plans from the past three years across various faculties. Guided by Legitimacy Theory, the study explores how AI becomes accepted in educational practices, aiming to identify key success factors and challenges in its institutionalization. The findings will contribute to the broader discussion on educational innovation and provide insights for navigating change in higher education, offering guidance for similar efforts worldwide. The study examines the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a traditional South African university, focusing on the strategies used to incorporate AI into its teaching and learning environment. It aims to identify how AI adoption gains legitimacy within established academic structures. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the research analyses documents such as institutional policies and strategic plans from the past three years across various faculties. Guided by Legitimacy Theory, the study explores how AI becomes accepted in educational practices, aiming to identify key success factors and challenges in its institutionalization. The findings will contribute to the broader discussion on educational innovation and provide insights for navigating change in higher education, offering guidance for similar efforts worldwide.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
