Challenges of enabling AI applications in higher education institutions: A systematic review of Arabic literature

Abstract

This study aims to present the challenges and difficulties that hinder the enabling and integrating of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and technologies in higher education institutions through conducting a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of previous Arabic literature that was published between 2019 and 2024 on the Google Scholar platform. A key finding of the study is that the most included studies' results confirmed that higher education institutions remain lagging in integrating AI applications and technologies, particularly in human resource management, such as recruitment, training, administrative tasks, and performance evaluation. Moreover, the study highlights the weak application of AI in important administrative tasks such as planning, organising, directing, controlling, and supporting decision-making processes. The study recommends developing realistic and comprehensive strategies in order to enable AI applications in administrative and institutional development within higher education institutions. The study also recommends conducting further research on the role of AI in higher education management by applying diverse research methodologies such as futures studies/futurology (e.g., the Delphi technique and simulation), case study methods, and comparative studies.