Navigating Leadership in the Agentic AI Era: Insights from John Haller

AI in higher education admissions is no longer a future possibility—it’s here. Institutions are quietly piloting tools that promise to streamline processes, personalize outreach, and even predict student success. Yet, as Dr. John Haller points out in the latest episode of Higher Ed Pulse: Pulse Check, the challenge isn’t just about what AI can do. It’s about how leaders choose to use it—and whether they’re willing to talk about it openly.

‍

From Efficiency Gains to Ethical Guardrails

Haller, a longtime enrollment leader at places like the University of Miami, Drexel, and Vanderbilt, has seen firsthand how AI is being tested across the admissions funnel. At Miami, his team explored everything from using AI to review essays to scanning transcripts and calculating GPAs. But while efficiency gains are real, Haller cautions that institutions must keep humans in the loop.

“We want to make sure we’re not dehumanizing the admission process,” Haller says. “Students’ stories deserve to be read and understood by people, not just machines.”

This balance—between speed and humanity—sits at the heart of the current AI arms race in admissions.

‍

Breaking the Silence Behind Closed Doors

Many institutional leaders remain hesitant to admit how much AI they’re already using. The fear: acknowledging it might trigger an “arms race” where competitive pressures force faster, riskier adoption. Haller argues that the opposite is true—transparency builds trust.

At Miami, he launched an internal AI committee that brought together athletics, healthcare, enrollment, and communications to share best practices. He believes cross-campus collaboration and open dialogue are the only responsible ways forward.

‍

Lessons from the High School Side

Haller’s perspective is unique: he’s not only a consultant and professor but also a parent of a high school senior navigating the admissions process right now. Watching his son’s counselor experiment with AI-driven search tools has reinforced a core truth: the technology can help, but only when paired with real human listening.

“AI can suggest options, but it takes active listening and probing questions to get to what really matters to a student,” he reflects.

For Haller, this means AI should be framed as an iterative tool—much like the transition from mailed brochures to online portals. Each step changes how students and families engage, but it doesn’t replace the need for genuine guidance and care.

‍

What Leaders Should Be Asking

If Haller were advising enrollment executives today, his questions would start with basics:

• How is your institution resourced to create and deliver authentic marketing content?
• Where are the bottlenecks in your admissions process, and can AI help relieve them?
• What are the top reasons students leave your institution, and can predictive AI surface patterns to improve retention?

The ultimate goal, he argues, isn’t faster application review—it’s helping more students persist to completion.

‍

The Call for Open, Responsible Adoption

As trust in higher education reaches historic lows, institutions can’t afford to hide their AI experiments behind closed doors. Instead, Haller encourages leaders to embrace transparency, collaboration, and responsible use.

“Don’t shy away from AI as a tool—it’s not going away,” he says. “The more openly we talk about how it’s being used, the more responsibly we can use it to serve students.”

For Haller, that’s what leadership in the agentic AI era looks like: not rushing to outpace competitors, but setting the tone for how technology is adopted, explained, and trusted.