For Courtney Pham, a senior instructor of Marketing Principles at Missouri State University, keeping track of student performance across four sections, two in-person and two online, was a routine challenge.<\/p>\n
Pham often spent hours reviewing her gradebooks around exam periods to identify students who might be falling behind. But with up to 70 students in some sections, it was extremely time consuming and difficult to sustain at scale.<\/p>\n
With Instructor Assistant, Pham could view a snapshot of class performance and identify which students need support in minutes, allowing her to intervene earlier and more frequently throughout the semester. \u201cNow I\u2019m doing it weekly,\u201d Pham said.<\/p>\n
Instructor Assistant also generated tailored recommendations Pham could seamlessly share with students based on their performance and engagement patterns. She said the recommendations closely matched the tone and guidance she would normally provide herself, making it easy to personalize outreach.<\/p>\n
At the same time, students in the course were using Student Assistant to work through homework, ask follow-up questions, and better understand course concepts rather than simply receiving answers outright.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things students realized is that they needed to ask the right questions,\u201d Pham said. \u201cThe Student Assistant is there to help them learn, not give them the easy way out.\u201d<\/p>\n
A growing shift in how higher education uses AI<\/span><\/h2>\nPham\u2019s experience reflects a broader shift happening across higher education as instructors look for practical ways to use AI to support learning outcomes while helping students engage more actively in the learning process. Cengage\u2019s recent <\/span>Higher Ed Voices Research<\/span><\/a> shows just how rapidly this shift is happening. Nearly all faculty (97%), leaders (98%), and students (96%) report being at least somewhat familiar with generative AI. Additionally, 62% of students say they use AI for academics and most (59%) use it weekly or more.<\/span><\/p>\nAs adoption accelerates, the challenge is no longer whether AI belongs in education, but how to apply it in ways that strengthen engagement, persistence, and learning outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\nThis spring, we\u2019re continuing to expand both Instructor Assistant and Student Assistant across Cengage\u2019s Learning Platforms, bringing AI-powered instructor insights and embedded student support to hundreds more products and courses.<\/span><\/p>\nHelping instructors see where students need support <\/strong>\u2014 and act on it<\/h2>\nAs institutions continue exploring how AI can support teaching and learning, instructors are increasingly looking for tools that help them quickly identify where students are struggling and take meaningful action.<\/span><\/p>\nInstructor Assistant, previously introduced as <\/span>Faculty Insights<\/span><\/a>, builds on that foundation, bringing AI-powered analysis into the instructor workflow and helping faculty understand why<\/i> students are struggling. Now expanding across more than 800 of Cengage\u2019s Learning Platform Courses, Instructor Assistant provides actionable insights based on student performance and interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/play.vidyard.com\/ViHtEG2nnH5ga3XP6qcv2r.jpg\")
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While many AI-powered education tools focus on generating assignments or summarizing performance dashboards, Instructor Assistant is designed to go deeper. By analyzing both assessment results and the content instructors assign, the tool can surface more contextual, actionable insights about where students are struggling and where targeted support may help improve outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\nEarly feedback from faculty using Instructor Assistant highlights the value of having faster access to actionable student insights within existing teaching workflows.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIf I\u2019ve only got a few minutes, I can go to the Instructor Assistant and look at the struggling students,\u201d said Christy Young, Associate Professor of Business at Jackson State Community College. \u201cInstead of having to drill down and spend all that time searching, that information is right there in front of me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAs generative AI adoption accelerates across higher education, instructors are increasingly looking for tools designed to support teaching and learning in practical, responsible ways.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re all trying to learn how to navigate the AI world,\u201d Young said. \u201cI think it\u2019s great that Cengage is ahead of some of the other publishers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAI support designed to reinforce learning, not shortcut it<\/strong><\/h2>\n
As adoption accelerates, the challenge is no longer whether AI belongs in education, but how to apply it in ways that strengthen engagement, persistence, and learning outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n This spring, we\u2019re continuing to expand both Instructor Assistant and Student Assistant across Cengage\u2019s Learning Platforms, bringing AI-powered instructor insights and embedded student support to hundreds more products and courses.<\/span><\/p>\n As institutions continue exploring how AI can support teaching and learning, instructors are increasingly looking for tools that help them quickly identify where students are struggling and take meaningful action.<\/span><\/p>\n Instructor Assistant, previously introduced as <\/span>Faculty Insights<\/span><\/a>, builds on that foundation, bringing AI-powered analysis into the instructor workflow and helping faculty understand why<\/i> students are struggling. Now expanding across more than 800 of Cengage\u2019s Learning Platform Courses, Instructor Assistant provides actionable insights based on student performance and interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While many AI-powered education tools focus on generating assignments or summarizing performance dashboards, Instructor Assistant is designed to go deeper. By analyzing both assessment results and the content instructors assign, the tool can surface more contextual, actionable insights about where students are struggling and where targeted support may help improve outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n Early feedback from faculty using Instructor Assistant highlights the value of having faster access to actionable student insights within existing teaching workflows.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019ve only got a few minutes, I can go to the Instructor Assistant and look at the struggling students,\u201d said Christy Young, Associate Professor of Business at Jackson State Community College. \u201cInstead of having to drill down and spend all that time searching, that information is right there in front of me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As generative AI adoption accelerates across higher education, instructors are increasingly looking for tools designed to support teaching and learning in practical, responsible ways.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all trying to learn how to navigate the AI world,\u201d Young said. \u201cI think it\u2019s great that Cengage is ahead of some of the other publishers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHelping instructors see where students need support <\/strong>\u2014 and act on it<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nAI support designed to reinforce learning, not shortcut it<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"90%](\"https:\/\/blog.cengage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ai-stat-4778022-300x174.jpg\")
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