Experts and campus leaders urge coordinated state action on AI in higher education

A special session of the New Jersey Senate Higher Education Committee convened to examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping colleges and universities and to consider related legislation.

Liat Krawczyk, executive director of the New Jersey AI Hub, told the committee the Hub’s priorities are aligning education with labor‑market needs, strengthening institutional capacity and expanding experiential learning. "If adoption lags innovation, we risk economic disruption," Krawczyk said, urging statewide employer engagement, faculty upskilling and new apprenticeship pilots in Camden and Morris counties.

Dr. David Trebach, associate professor of computing at Montclair State University, urged protections for academic freedom and insisted human judgment remain central to teaching and public service. "The professional discretion of instructors in delivering a rich educational experience cannot be replaced and should not be supplanted by automated systems," Trebach said, and he recommended transparency, privacy safeguards and vendor‑contract practices that avoid lock‑in.

Speakers from Rutgers and other institutions described both large productivity gains and substantial disruption. Dr. Moe Davis of Rutgers Business School summarized survey findings that about 40% of workers report using AI at work and that AI users estimate a typical task time dropping from about 90 to 30 minutes when aided by AI. He warned this speed of change increases the need for retraining and flexible workforce programs.

University leaders described practical steps under way on campuses. Michael Salvatore, executive vice president at Kean University, highlighted faculty training and tools that let educators synthesize research and focus on judgment‑driven tasks. John Palesco, provost at NJIT, described institution‑wide efforts including an "AI exploration day" and said NJIT’s board has dedicated $10,000,000 to advance AI across the university. Panelists urged the state to consider shared computational resources and expanded access to industry systems so smaller institutions and students are not left behind.

Committee members and witnesses repeatedly emphasized the tension between protecting residents (ethics, bias, student integrity) and keeping the state competitive. Witnesses recommended flexible workforce funding, careful procurement and governance frameworks, and broader investment in faculty professional development and shared infrastructure.

Votes at a glance: the committee moved a package of higher‑education bills, including S3788 (task force on higher education governance and funding; committee amendment; appropriation listed in the packet as $200,000), S3814 (revised licensure for out‑of‑state institutions, with committee amendments), S3871 (Student Parent Protection Act), S229 (employment outcome reporting for certain graduates), S2180 (protections and registration for private postsecondary loan creditors), and S3217 (statewide skills academy network). Committee roll‑call records taken aloud in the hearing show the motions carried and multiple senators recorded votes of “Yes.”

What this means: witnesses asked the Legislature to fund faculty training, create pathways for apprenticeships and experiential learning, ensure equitable access to AI tools and compute, and design guardrails that protect academic freedom and student interests while enabling economic opportunity. The committee advanced the bills for further consideration.

Next steps: the committee concluded the hearing portion and moved into formal business; the bills that were carried in committee will proceed following the Legislature’s established process.