Prospects for Integrating Artificial Intelligence into the Administration of Higher Education in Greece

Abstract

This study examines administrative employees’ perceptions of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the administration of Greek public universities. Using a cross-sectional online questionnaire administered across three universities (N = 127), we map perceptions across five domains: (i) perceived efficiency/effectiveness contributions, (ii) perceived automation benefits, (iii) perceived adoption challenges, (iv) perceived ethics and data protection requirements, and (v) perceived skills development needs. Results indicate a generally supportive climate for AI use in university administration, but support is conditional: ethics and data protection are prioritized most strongly, whereas perceived efficiency/effectiveness gains are closer to neutral-to-slightly positive. Respondents endorse task-level automation more than broad organizational performance claims and emphasize training and human oversight as enabling conditions for responsible deployment. These findings suggest that a governance-first and capacity-first implementation pathway may be more aligned with staff priorities in the Greek public university context. The study provides an exploratory baseline for future evaluative research on AI-enabled administrative modernization.