New data reveals rising educator confidence in AI but calls for clearer institutional guidance
D2L, a global leader in learning innovation, releases findings at EDUCAUSE 2025 from its latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education survey administered online using Prodege’s Pollfish platform. The survey results highlight changes in how U.S. higher education professionals perceive and use AI, as well as growing concerns about its impact on teaching and learning practices.
The AI in Education survey, polling 500 U.S. respondents in the higher education profession, reveals that while nearly three-quarters (74%) want a clear, defined AI policy, fewer than half (46%) report that their institutions have provided explicit guidelines on AI usage.
Key Findings According to D2L’s 2025 AI in Education Survey
Educator Confidence and Adoption Are on the Rise:
- 64% of educators report having access to paid AI tools, and 63% of them say their use has increased this academic year.
- 37% report feeling at least somewhat more confident using AI than they were last year.
LMS Integration Boosts Efficiency:
- Educators using AI-enabled learning management system (LMS) tools may be more likely to report time savings compared to those not using such features (85% vs 51%), suggesting a positive association between integrated AI support and instructional efficiency.
Time-Savings Experience Is Mixed:
- 30% of educators surveyed still don’t use AI. Among those who do, 52% report some time savings, while 40% report none, and 8% claim that AI actually adds time to their workweek.
Regional Variations in AI Guidance:
- Only 29% of educators have received updated AI guidance this academic year. However, educators in the South (38%) and Northeast (30%) are more than twice as likely as those in the Midwest (15%) to report receiving institutional guidance.
Academic Integrity and Assessment Redesign:
- Concerns over student overreliance on AI are high (46%), and 60% of educators say they have redesigned assessments to maintain academic integrity—especially among Gen Z and Millennial educators.
“Our survey shows that educators are optimistic about AI’s potential but need better support, clearer policies, and more effective tools,” said Dr. Cristi Ford, Chief Learning Officer at D2L. “Learning platforms can be crucial in driving both confidence and practical adoption, but academic leadership will need to address concerns and ethical considerations to help provide comprehensive guidance.”
D2L customers are harnessing the power of AI to help transform teaching and learning:
“At Southeastern, we’ve been able to unlock incredible value through the use of Lumi directly inside of the Brightspace platform,” said Justin Rose, Associate Vice President for Information Management and Digital Learning at Southeastern University. “We can be confident that our instructional designers and our faculty subject matter experts and others involved in that process are using a shared centralized tool that has been fine-tuned with higher education pedagogical requirements in mind.”
Survey methodology
The latest AI In Education survey was conducted online between October 7 and 12, 2025, by Prodege’s Pollfish platform. It captured responses from 500 working professionals across U.S. higher education. Educators outside postsecondary institutions were excluded to ensure data relevance.
