Developing an Institutional Readiness Framework for Agentic AI Adoption in Bangladesh Public Universities: Insights from Faculty and Policy Stakeholders

Abstract

The evolution of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the landscape of higher education as AI can plan activities, make use of digital tools, and carry out progressively independent acts in teaching, administration, support services, and research processes. The development of such technology brings along new opportunities for the universities, but at the same time, it poses certain challenges to them, which include infrastructure issues, institutional capabilities, governance issues, ethical issues, and human supervision. Such challenges are quite relevant to public universities of Bangladesh. The study constructs a contextualized IRF for adopting agentic AI in Bangladesh public universities. Based on interpretivist approach and adapted TOE framework, this study adopted qualitative research methodology involving semi-structured interviews with 18 university faculty members and policymakers. Four main themes were emerged from thematic analysis: Infrastructure-Policy gap, Socio-cultural inertia, Ethics and Grassroot innovations. The findings indicate that institutional readiness is not solely a technological condition but is shaped by organizational culture, leadership capacity, regulatory preparedness, ethical considerations, trust, and human oversight. Based on these findings, a four-level Institutional Readiness Framework is proposed, comprising foundational readiness, cultural readiness, regulatory readiness, and implementation readiness. The framework emphasizes strengthening digital infrastructure and literacy, developing institutional awareness and role clarity, establishing context-sensitive and human-in-the-loop governance mechanisms, and implementing supervised AI pilots supported by training and review processes. The study contributes to the emerging literature on agentic AI by providing a context-sensitive readiness framework grounded in the realities of public universities in the Global South. It also provides practical implications for policymakers and university administrators seeking to develop responsible, equitable, and contextually appropriate pathways for agentic AI adoption in Bangladesh.