Investigating The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Quality Assurance in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review investigated the influence of artificial intelligence on quality assurance practices within higher education institutions located in Pakistan, considering the Revised Quality Assurance Framework of the Higher Education Commission. The researchers focused on 20 public and private universities in the four provinces of Pakistan and the federally administered territories of the Pakistan region, analyzing the incorporation of AI across the three components of the framework: PREE (8 standards), RIPE (16 standards), and REEQAB (14 standards). The studies employed a mixed-methods design, integrating the analysis of documents on institutional quality assurance - reports, HEC policies and AI implementation in conjunction with structured surveys and semi-structured interviews with quality assurance leads, academic managers and educators. The systematic review was guided by the PRISMA approach, using documents dated 2015-2025. The answer AI technologies brought significant advancements in the automation of curriculum assessment and accreditation, the evaluation of research, and the monitoring of quality and control systems. The main challenges identified respond to insufficient infrastructure, weak technical capacities, poor finances and organizational reluctance to change. The most marked disparity in the degree of AI uptake provision across the country was evident in the difference in implementation between urban and rural institutions. The urban institutions of education AI displayed far more advanced implementation than their rural counterparts. Results underlined the necessity of establishing sophisticated AI training initiatives to accompany the growing investment, along with the standardization of execution frameworks and policy adjustments, to ensure AI's full capabilities are harnessed to bolster the quality assurance frameworks in Pakistani higher education institutions.