University president Peter J. Mohler sat down with The Crimson White for his first one-on-one interview with the newspaper during his presidency.
Q: The technology fee this year seems to have been raised for students at the University. Is that a result of the AI initiatives or is it something else? Is that going to continue? Are students going to continue to see an increase in their technology fees?
A: A big goal for the University is that we’re leaders in technology. Whether that is making sure that we have, that you, the students, have access to the best software. So for example, when we think about artificial intelligence, we need to make sure that not only do we have a single source of software, but as you know, there’s a whole bunch of different ways that you can prompt in AI, and students need to be able to have the ability to go back and forth. I would like data science and artificial intelligence to be a general part of your background as students here, so you’re fluent when you leave. That means having access to the tools to make sure that when you leave The University of Alabama, that you’re competing with students from anywhere in the country. And so, as we think about the fees that are associated with it, it’s important that we get in line with other universities on this, so we do have access. But always, the second goal for me as a president is to make sure that we are of great value and that we’re not doing this on the backs of students that are having two jobs or having two capitals. That’s important for me.
Q: Are other universities in the SEC also seeing these fees increase at least a little bit because of the AI expansion?
A: We’re seeing that most universities across the country have engaged in the world of data science or artificial intelligence. As we think about bringing in new ways to innovate or research, a lot of places are investing significantly in these emerging technologies, and we want to make sure that we are not only of great value, but that you, as students, have access to the best technologies that are out there.
Q: I know that AI is definitely going to be something that we’re going to see in all fields. But for students that aren’t going into directly a technology-based field, or maybe something that has to deal with leadership or data science, what are these new policies going to bring specifically to them?
A: I would argue that—and this is by talking with mayors, talking with CEOs, talking with, you know, the future employers of our students, that the technologies we’re bringing, whether it’s data science or artificial intelligence or thinking about areas of leadership, that those are the qualities and the technologies and the disciplines that all of our disciplines are looking at. I want to make sure that when you’re a student, whether you’re paying a technology fee or you’re looking at the type of faculty that you have, that you’re going to graduate with things like internships, you’re going to graduate with AI fluency, and you’re going to graduate with leadership skills that are going in that same direction.
Q: What kind of partnerships is the University prioritizing and are those partnerships going to directly affect students coming into this job market in this economy?
A: We want to be a place that is not only the most beautiful campus, but you shouldn’t go to a school just because it has a beautiful campus. You want to make sure that whether you’re going to graduate school or you want to start your career, it’s my responsibility as a president that I put you in the best position to do that. During my first year, I met a lot of students that were in their senior year and they hadn’t figured out exactly what they wanted to do. I want to make it so that when you’re a freshman and or sophomore, you begin to start having experiential learning, which is to develop sort of the area of career that you want to look at, but then also have the ability that you, as a student, can do an internship, that you can do service, you can be a volunteer, and get to understand what it’s like. We are seeing the data that’s out there that we can get to you after today, is when you have the internship and you have that experiential learning, not only is it easier to get a job, but you make more in that first job. And so the more you make when you’re starting off, the more you continue to make as you see experiential growth.
Q: To what extent is AI going to be implemented in the average classroom?
A: The good news is that we are already beginning to see AI across a number of our college programs. It’s in areas where you don’t even think of it as AI. Whether that’s how we’re using data better, how we’re thinking about learning with new technology and different software. A big piece, though, is to make sure that we are in control of the ethics around how we’re using this at our university. And so we’ve adopted a number of policies and guidelines to make sure that when we test, when we learn, that those are clearly spelled out. So, again, I see it as part of every classroom. I see it. You may not realize you’re doing it, but you’re going to see it. And in fact, we’ve already rolled out some of these initiatives to not only help our students become fluent in this, but also a lot of our faculty and our staff as well. I want to make sure that we are ahead of this, so we are leading AI instead of AI leading us.
Q: When you say ethics, do you mean the environmental and socio-economic ethics of ethical AI consumption, or do you mean the ethics surrounding classroom use specifically of students, like plagiarism, cheating, all of those things?
A: You know very well in your role that with AI, you have to be careful when you put something in a prompt if you don’t know the data behind how it’s creating the answer, then you might be led down the wrong pathway. Just because data’s out there doesn’t mean it’s great data. So I want our students to understand the responsibility that if you use AI, you’re also understanding the data source behind it. So we’ve got to talk a lot about metadata, which is the source behind the data, is just as important — that you might have a smaller data set, but it’s more meaningful because it’s very high quality data. So I’d like that to be important. The second piece is how do we teach? How do we test? How do we make sure that we don’t plagiarize? But I don’t want us to fall behind other universities or other disciplines or even other countries.
Q: Several programs related to diversity have been removed in the last couple years. Division of Community Affairs, 1956 and Alice, and then Lucy’s Legacy and Bridge programs that were altered. Are those shutdowns ever going to expand to course material and course content at our university, such as programs about race, gender, ethnicity?
A: I think it’s probably important that we’re straight on the facts. The first thing is that the Legacy programs are continuing. And in fact, they are expanding. So when you look at The University of Alabama, we represent all 67 counties. We represent over 5 million people across the state, and we have been, and we will continue to be a place that provides opportunity for all these students. We’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years championing how many students enter our first class, right? But we don’t talk enough about how those students are doing while they’re at Alabama and what they’re doing when they graduate or if they graduate. So you’re going to see me spending a lot of time as president in my administration focusing on how we make sure all students, all students have access to the things that they need to be successful and to stay in college. One data point for you is we graduate from first to second year retention rate is about 88% and a lot of those 12% that don’t make it to their second year are in areas representing across the 67 counties. So how do we focus our energy and our calories to make sure that those students stick around, and so that every student has the ability to graduate from The University of Alabama going forward?
Q: I read something today from your task points that was about resource management and how the University is altering financial budgets to make sure the University is more streamlined and efficient. Are they being removed because of resource management or because of national pressure?
A: My background is as a scientist, so I’m very much a data person, and it’s important for me that if you are a taxpayer or if you’re a student coming to the University that I work for you. That you know that every cent and every dollar that comes in, we’re investing it toward the areas that you need as students to make sure you’re successful. And so, for example, we’ve taken money from programs that we’ve sunsetted and invested it into advisors. I’m talking to a lot of students who they said, “it’s too hard to get to my advisor”, or there’s not enough advisors based on the growth of the students at Alabama. So what you will be seeing as students are programs that were your idea, that you need more advisors, you need access to better software, you need access to more vans that take you to different places on campus. And so what we’re doing is responding to the needs of the campus based on data, based on the data for the areas that we need to expand.
Q: Do you think that the overall data is pointing to, instead of these programs that are centered on diversity, people who are in the same underrepresented community are the students more wanting institutional support in the form of advising and things like that? Is that what you’re saying?
A: I would say that for every program that we have at The University of Alabama, we are going to be focused on the biggest return on investment. We’re going to be looking at the biggest value. So, for example, if we’re looking at a program that’s teaching artificial intelligence, you should expect as students that we’re saying we’re going to evaluate what the outcomes were before we started the program and outcomes after. When I look at areas of things like first to second year retention or graduation rates, I think we have to be honest and look at ourselves in the mirror and say we need to be doing things differently. Whether it’s new programs in behavioral health, whether it’s new programs in internships, whether it’s AI fluency, whether it’s leadership fluency, but really track that, and then you should be able to ask me in two years, “Dr. Mohler, is that working?” And if it’s not, we need to be honest enough to change course if that’s appropriate, and that’s true for all of our programs.
Q: What are you hoping to accomplish in your second year of service, solely from a student perspective?
A: Well, I think a lot about how I’m going to keep coming back to outcomes, and I want to keep talking about how we make sure that we’re using data to best inform us of making your experience here on campus the best that it can be. So, for example, your first year on campus, how do we make sure a freshman that’s coming a long way to Tuscaloosa to do their undergraduate degree has access not only to great advisors and great classes, but also areas of behavioral health, areas for clubs, areas to be engaged, areas to try find new friends and engage with the broad constituency we have here in Alabama? Beyond, simply, “I’m going to take English, I’m going to take math and I’m going to take history,” how do we make sure that they have access to the programs that help students not only get through that first semester, but thrive once they get through that first year? How do we make sure they graduate? How do we make sure they graduate with jobs and make sure that they have the jobs they need to be successful?
Q: What is the main thing the University is doing to prepare students for the job market?
A: Well, I think the first piece is making sure students have experiential learning, which means they take a discipline and know how they can apply it to the job market. Making sure students have access to internships or service, right? If you’re an art major, you typically don’t think about doing an internship, but you might do service or do activities with a group, making sure that they connect you to the real world and making sure that they have the ability to have connections. So when they do graduate, they already have a good sense of what they’re going to be doing and what success looks like.
Q: You said a lot of the kind of institutional changes you’re making are because of data that you’re seeing. Is this data at a national level, a state level, or is it coming directly from students and professors?
A: I think it’s all of the above, and I think that opinions are great and feelings are important, but it’s really important for you all as students that we’re making decisions based on facts, right? So when we look at areas like retention, when we look at first to second year retention, we’ve been plus or minus about 80% for the last two years, 86, 85, 88% and that sounds good. That’s a B or a B-plus. I want us to be better because for every class, if we have 10,000 students, that means that’s 1,200 students that leave the University before they graduate, and every one of those has an important story to tell. So for me, if we have a consistent grade that’s not where we want it to be, it means that we have to do interventions. We have to change the way we’re working because we have 80% plus of our students doing really well. There’s a certain number that we’re not impacting, and so we need to really make sure we’re focusing on all students here.
Hence then, the article about q a with ua president peter mohler was published today ( ) and is available on The Crimson White ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Q&A with UA President Peter Mohler )
Also on site :