Last summer James Madison University's Research, Economic Development and Innovation division provided some insights regarding artificial intelligence and student readiness.
The press release stated that as AI becomes more integrated into college life, an expert in its ethical and educational implications has called on the community to do more than just use AI.
Professor Philip Frana gave advice on how universities should help teachers use AI responsibly and how the rise of AI will make it all the more necessary to have a university education that promotes critical thinking and develops reasoning skills.
At James Madison University, Frana, who is a coauthor of the Encyclopedia of AI, teaches his students about AI literacy and the ethical considerations involved in using AI.
In June 2026, Auburn University announced that, together with researchers from James Madison University, it had published findings on the need for comprehensive AI literacy education which focuses on ethical reasoning, metacognitive awareness and evaluation.
Published in Research & Practice in Assessment, "Generative AI Literacy of Incoming American College Students: Assessing the Need for Formal AI Training at Two Institutions" said that it looked at the generative AI literacy of incoming students from both James Madison University and Auburn University and found that AI literacy was low at both universities: 63 per cent for James Madison University and 54 per cent for Auburn University.
The group recently presented their findings at the 2026 Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science.
One of the researchers noted that the group had discovered that incoming students are already using AI tools; however, their fundamental understanding of how these tools work and of how to evaluate them properly is still very limited.
The study also revealed consistently low AI literacy scores across all areas of study, showing that students in STEM fields need AI literacy just as much as those studying the humanities.
Higher education should incorporate formal AI literacy into its curricula and programs rather than assuming that students already possess the ability to evaluate and interact with AI critically.
