As Hamilton’s Aaron Burr sang, “everyone wants to be in the room where it happens” and creating AI policies is no different. In this week’s issue, we look at practical advice from EDUCAUSE on how to ensure everyone is involved in creating AI policies that will impact them. After that, we discuss how hospitality can aid enrollment strategies before closing with some insights from the recent NASFA conference.

After reading today’s issue, share how your campus helps students feel at home in the comments!

Creating Gen AI Policy

From In the Room Where It Happens: Generative AI Policy Creation in Higher Education | EDUCAUSE Review

To develop a robust policy for generative artificial intelligence use in higher education, institutional leaders must first create “a room” where diverse perspectives are welcome and included in the process.

Our Thoughts

Another thoughtful, practical article from EDUCAUSE and regular readers know how much I appreciate these. This one demonstrates how institutions can approach the development of a generative AI policy in a way that truly reflects the values of shared governance and inclusive leadership. As campuses grapple with the transformative implications of AI across teaching, research, and administrative operations, the risk of creating narrow or reactive policies is high.

With AI technology evolving rapidly, it’s easy to feel pressure to draft policies quickly to keep up without the slow process of getting input from a wide range of stakeholders impacted by this technology. To help prevent this, this piece urges institutions to ensure the policymaking space is intentionally constructed to reflect diverse expertise, lived experience, and institutional roles. It offers practical advice for navigating real-world dynamics, such as power hierarchies, departmental silos, and logistical constraints, that often hinder the development of effective, forward-thinking policy in higher education.

As noted in the 2025 EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study, fewer than 40 percent of institutions have an AI use policy. For any professional tasked with drafting policy, leading institutional transformation, or even just trying to influence the direction of AI work at their institution, this article is an invaluable resource. Creating policies is more than simply reducing risk. It’s also an opportunity to strengthen campus trust and cultivate a sense of shared responsibility for higher education’s future.

Helping Students Feel at Home

From How Hospitality Can Be Your College’s Secret Weapon | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Angel B. Pérez, the chief executive officer of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, discusses how a culture of hospitality can be a powerful admissions tool.

Our Thoughts

As institutions face enrollment challenges and are inundated with technological innovations promising to solve them, this article by Angel Pérez was incredibly refreshing. Pérez focuses on the importance of human connection during the enrollment process, reminding us that the emotional experience we offer can be just as impactful as our academic offerings. He reframes hospitality not as a nicety but instead views it as a strategic imperative that can determine whether a student feels they belong, and therefore whether they stay.

He advocates for intentional training, auditing, and structural changes that embed hospitality into every layer of the student’s experience. This is not about coddling students or superficial gestures; it’s about creating a culture where students, particularly those from marginalized or first-generation backgrounds, feel seen, valued, and supported.

In a landscape where metrics and operational efficiency often take precedence, Pérez offers a counterbalance: a values-driven, people-first approach that resonates with the emerging experience economy. It’s a call for institutions to rethink what truly makes them distinctive and sustainable, and how they can create a sense of belonging that helps students see campus not just as a stop on the way, but as a home.

International Students

From Colleges Across the U.S. Fear Chill on Enrollments of Foreign Students | The Chronicle of Higher Education

At the recent NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference, the recent suspension of all new student visa appointments was heavily discussed.

Our Thoughts

While many may not realize it, international student enrollment plays a crucial role in the enrollment management strategies for most institutions and that enrollment is now under threat. In a single week, the sector experienced a cascade of disruptive announcements, from a suspension of new visa appointments to threats of decertification for institutions like Harvard, signaling a broader strategy to exert political pressure through the student visa system.

In addition to providing policy updates and context, this article also highlights the emotional toll this uncertainty is taking on institutions. International educators are navigating unprecedented volatility, and the anxiety described by professionals at the NAFSA conference reflects how much of this pressure now feels existential.

Beyond relying on international enrollment to balance budgets and sustain graduate programs, these policy shifts also erode the global perception of U.S. higher education as open, stable, and collaborative. For decades, U.S. higher education has been the envy of the world, and international students are estimated to contribute $44 billion to the U.S. economy beyond the tuition they pay. I can only hope these recent developments are a blip, not the beginning of our decline in global higher education standing.