The AI Readiness Illusion in Higher Ed

Here's something we keep seeing: university leadership is convinced their career services are adapting to AI. Career advisors feel underprepared and unsupported. Students are already using ChatGPT for everything from CVs to interview prep, and nobody's talking to each other about it.

Three groups. Three completely different realities. Same institution.

We got tired of hearing "we're working on it" in meetings where nobody could actually define what "it" was. So we built a way to measure it — a 10-minute assessment for each group that maps where people actually are versus where they think everyone else is.

What we're actually measuring

The assessment covers six dimensions: tech infrastructure, team capability, organizational culture, budget and sponsorship, student experience, and strategic vision. Same dimensions, different questions for each group.

Directors get 27 questions plus AI-generated follow-ups based on their answers. Do you have an AI policy? A timeline? Budget allocated? Or is it still "on the roadmap" somewhere between the new CRM and that website refresh from 2019?

Advisors get asked about confidence and capability. Can you guide a student who asks how to use AI in their job search without feeling like a fraud? Do you have tools, training, time? Or are you expected to figure it out between appointments?

Students get asked about expectations versus reality. Are you using AI already? Do you trust your career center to help you navigate this? Or have you already decided they're irrelevant and you're on your own?

What you get back

The report doesn't score you as "good" or "bad" — that's useless. What it shows is the distance between perceptions. A director who rates institutional readiness at 8/10 while their advisors rate it 4/10 and students rate it 3/10 has a problem that has nothing to do with technology. It's a communication and alignment problem disguised as an AI problem.

You also get benchmark scores against 50+ peer institutions who've already taken the assessment, so you can see where you stand relative to similar universities. And because we're not sadists who hand you a problem without a path forward, the report includes an AI-generated 90-day implementation roadmap based on your specific gaps.

Why free?

Honestly? We want the data. Every career center that participates helps us understand what's actually happening across different regions, institution types, and cultures. You get a diagnostic you can take to your next leadership meeting. We get to learn. Fair trade.

If you want in: 360aiready.org