Perceived AI Regulation of A Tertiary Education Institution in Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the perceived regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) among faculty and students of a selected tertiary education institution in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The study focused on three dimensions of the respondents' perceived AI regulation of the university: pedagogical, governance, and operational. Majority of the responding faculty members were between 20–30 years old, female and master’s degree holders, while participating students, who were also mainly between 20–30 years old, were mostly male. Perceptions of AI regulation in the pedagogical dimension were generally neutral (faculty mean (x̄) = 3.27); (students mean (x̄) = 3.24).  Governance perception among the respondents was revealed to have a significant difference (t = 4.955, p < .001) between faculty (x̄ = 3.42) and students (x̄ = 3.14), with faculty perceiving governance aspect of AI regulation more positively. Similarly, operational perceptions were more favorable for responding faculty member (x̄ = 3.56) than students (x̄ = 3.42), (t = 2.990, p = .003), with concerns raised about insufficient training and resources. Statistical tests also showed weak but positive correlation between age and all three dimensions, namely pedagogical (r = 0.21, p = 0.047), governance (r = 0.17, p = 0.114) and operational (r = 0.26, p = 0.050) dimensions, suggesting older respondents held more favorable views. The tests also indicate a week positive correlation between sex and the pedagogical (r = 0.09, p = 0.291), governance (r = 0.05, p = 0.473), and operational (r = 0.13, p = 0.225) dimensions. These results suggest that respondents' perceptions of AI regulation varied very minimally between male and female respondents. Weak positive associations were also observed between department membership and perceptions of AI regulation: pedagogical (r = 0.20, p = 0.062), governance (r = 0.24, p = 0.087), and operational (r = 0.21, p = 0.098) dimensions. Educational attainment also showed weak positive associations with all three dimensions (pedagogical r = 0.21, governance r = 0.24, operational r = 0.24), indicating that higher education levels may correspond to more favorable perceptions. These findings highlight the need for clearer governance policies, targeted AI literacy training, stronger support systems, and inclusive institutional frameworks to ensure ethical, transparent, and effective AI integration in higher education.