ETS Research Institute Awarded $4 Million U.S. Department of Education Grant to Advance AI-Enhanced Learning in Higher Education

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ETS Research Institute, in collaboration with the University of Memphis and Georgia State University, has been awarded a four-year, $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to reimagine how artificial intelligence can support learning in higher education. The initiative (Award No. P116J250806) is part of the Department's $169 million in FIPSE grants awarded last month aimed at strengthening postsecondary teaching, learning, and student success.

"As generative AI reshapes education, our responsibility is to set a standard for how AI can deepen learning, strengthen critical thinking, and empower both students and educators," said Kadriye Ercikan, Senior Vice President of Global Research at ETS. "This grant underscores our commitment to pioneering research that meets the moment and reflects the very core of our impact in the world: bringing scientific rigor, measurement science, innovation, and purpose to the future of learning."

At a time when generative AI tools are widely used among college students, this work responds to the growing evidence that unstructured reliance on AI can undermine learning, engagement, and long-term knowledge retention. Over the next four years, the team will:

• Design and study scenario-based learning and assessments (SBLAs), uncovering how integrating generative AI can be used in ways that promote deep learning, critical thinking, and AI literacy across disciplines in higher education.
• Create instructional and assessment models that intentionally guide reflection, reasoning, ethical decision-making, and responsible AI use. SBLAs will place students in realistic, discipline-specific problem scenarios that rely on guided decisions, feedback, and application.
• Co-design and refine SBLAs across multiple postsecondary settings, including two public universities and a community college.

By the end of the grant period, the team expects to produce approximately 20 SBLAs used by more than 2,000 students, with evidence of improvement in instructional practice, student learning, higher order thinking, and AI literacy. This work will seek to establish an impactful, national model for teaching and assessment in the age of AI, one that equips students not just to use AI, but to understand it, question it, and learn with it responsibly.

Zuowei Wang (PI) is leading the effort with his ETS Research Institute colleagues Tenaha O'Reilly and Patrick Kyllonen as co-PIs. John Sabatini from the University of Memphis, Jonathan Cohen and Joseph Magliano from Georgia State University are serving as co-PIs from their respective universities on the project.

About ETS

ETS is a global education and talent solutions organization enabling lifelong learners to be future ready. Our mission – advancing the science of measurement to power human progress – ensures our focus to enable everyone, everywhere, to demonstrate their skills and chart their path to future readiness for life. We are committed to readying 100M+ people for the next generation of jobs by 2035. We deliver on this commitment through trusted assessments and skills solutions – including TOEFL, TOEIC, GRE, Praxis and Futurenav – and groundbreaking initiatives powered by our Research Institute. With a robust global footprint, including subsidiaries (PSI), offices and operations in more than 200 countries and territories, we help over 50 million individuals each year measure their proficiency and unlock new opportunities. Discover how we expand our worldwide impact: www.ets.org.

The contents of this press release were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education (Department). The Department does not mandate or prescribe practices, models, or other activities described or discussed in this document. The contents of this press release may contain examples of, adaptations of, and links to resources created and maintained by another public or private organization. The Department does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. The content of this press release does not necessarily represent the policy of the Department. This publication is not intended to represent the views or policy of, or be an endorsement of any views expressed or materials provided by, any Federal agency.

SOURCE ETS