Transformation of university faculty competencies through AI Integration

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education has rapidly transformed pedagogical practice, revealing a gap between the availability of technological tools and faculty capacity to incorporate them in a critical, ethical, and pedagogically grounded manner. This study aimed to analyze the competencies developed by university faculty in response to AI integration. A quantitative descriptive approach was adopted, with a purposive sample of 168 faculty members from public and private institutions in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico, across in-person and virtual modalities. A 16-item Likert-scale questionnaire was administered, validated through expert judgment and yielding a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of .832, structured around the variables AI competencies and teaching role. Results indicate a basic-to-intermediate level of proficiency in technical and ethical competencies, with means ranging from 1.52 to 1.88; critical thinking to determine when and for what purpose AI should be used recorded the lowest mean (1.52). Regarding the teaching role, the use of data analytics for personalized feedback reached the highest mean (2.24), although 38.8% of participants reported being unfamiliar with its application. It is concluded that technological appropriation is advancing more rapidly than pedagogical reflection, underscoring the need to design experiential and collaborative teacher professional development programs that strengthen critical thinking and guide the ethical integration of AI, as well as to conduct future longitudinal and mixed-methods research.