Digital Transformation in Higher Education The Influence of Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing on Academic Administration

Abstract

Purpose: The research in this study addresses the role of the adoption of artificial intelligence, the adoption of cloud computing, the institution's digital leadership and readiness, as well as the automation of processes in academic administration in order to understand their effects on academic administrative performance in HEIs in the context of digital transformation. Design/Methodology: The research design used in this study is quantitative cross sectional which is a type of research design. A sample of 505 respondents with respective professions of Academic Administrators, Administrative Officers, IT staff, Quality Assurance Staff, Department Coordinators, and University Managers was obtained from institutions for Higher Education (IHEs). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) has beenused to analyze the data. Findings: All the results indicated a positive relationship between AI adoption, cloud computing adoption, digital leadership and institutional readiness, and academic administrative performance, and admin process automation.Results: The results showed that there is a positive relation between the artificial intelligence adoption, cloud computing adoption, digital leadership and institutional readiness, and academic administrative performance and between admin process automation and academic administrative performance. Through the results, the study also revealed that the adoption of AI, cloud, and digital leadership and institutional readiness have a significant impact on administrative process automation. Moreover, administrative process automation includes complementary partial mediation in the relations between the use of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, academic leadership and institutional preparedness, on the one hand, and academic administrative performance on the other. Implications: The study yields a theoretical basis for the integration of technological, organizational and process-oriented approaches in the digital transformation outcomes in the higher education field. From a practical standpoint, the results indicate that universities could benefit from the adoption of AI tools, data infrastructure, digital leadership, employee training, and automation processes to streamline their services, enhance data quality, decision-making, and administrative responsiveness. Limitations and Future Research: This study was conducted with a cross-sectional design and survey-based data.Drawbacks: This study has some disadvantages due to its cross sectional design and use of survey data. Future studies should be longitudinal or mixed-method and involve exploring other factors, including anti-change and institutional culture, cybersecurity readiness, and digital literacy.