Date of Award
10-2025
Culminating Project Type
Dissertation
Styleguide
apa
Degree Name
Higher Education Administration: Ed.D.
Department
Educational Administration and Higher Education
College
School of Education
First Advisor
Rachel Friedensen
Second Advisor
Jennifer Jones
Third Advisor
Emeka Ikewuonu
Fourth Advisor
Judith Siminoe
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Higher Education, Narrative Policy Framework, Artificial Intelligence
Abstract
This study seeks to understand the narratives that surround artificial intelligence (AI) policy in higher education, specifically how institutions frame students’ academic use of AI in the classroom. Using the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) as a guide, this study utilized a qualitative content analysis of 59 publicly available policy-related documents from 12 public universities. Codes for characters, plots, and morals of the story revealed that students and faculty were most often positioned as heroes, AI misuse was frequently framed as the villain, and students were also depicted as victims vulnerable to unclear guidance or peer misuse. Opportunity plots highlighted AI’s potential for innovation, while crisis and decline plots emphasized risks to academic integrity and educational values. Moral framings most often advocated regulating AI or teaching responsible use, with outright bans far less common. These findings suggest that institutional AI policies operate as narratives that shape how students and faculty interpret, apply, and respond to emerging technologies in higher education.
Recommended Citation
Corlee, Taylor D. Dr., "Narrative Policy Framework: Student Academic Use of Artificial Intelligence" (2025). Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration. 103.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/hied_etds/103
Comments/Acknowledgements
I dedicate this work to my wife, Taylor N. Corlee, and to Cecelia Corlee. Your patience and love sustained me through long nights of meetings, the stress of deadlines, and the countless hours spent buried in research when I should have been with you. I am grateful to my parents and family, whose encouragement over the last four years has given me the motivation to keep pressing forward toward the finish line. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Dr. Friedensen, whose belief in me was invaluable. Your encouragement each semester, and your willingness to listen when I needed to vent or simply talk through the day, carried me further than you know. I am also deeply thankful to my committee, Dr. Jones, Dr. Ikewuonu, and Judith Siminoe, for their thoughtful feedback, steady guidance, and unwavering support.
Finally, I must acknowledge my favorite author, J.R.R. Tolkien, whose works gave me escape when the weight of research grew heavy. When the road was hardest, I often thought of Samwise Gamgee carrying Frodo up Mount Doom: ‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.’ To my family, friends, and mentors who carried me when I was weary, I owe you everything.