INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND INSTITUTIONAL PLATFORMS IN MOROCCAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES: AN EXPLORATORY QUALITATIVE STUDY OF STUDENT EXPERIENCES AND FACULTY PRACTICES POST-COVID 22. INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND INSTITUTIONAL PLATFORMS IN MOROCCAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES: AN EXPLORATORY QUALITATIVE STUDY OF STUDENT EXPERIENCES AND FACULTY PRACTICES POST-COVID

This article examines how Moroccan public universities are integrating two distinct families of digital technologies — generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools and institutional learning platforms — in the post-COVID academic context, and how this integration shapes student outcomes and faculty practices. Despite sustained policy attention to digital transformation in Moroccan higher education, no empirical study has jointly examined these two technological tracks within a single analytical framework anchored in the lived experience of Moroccan public university stakeholders. Drawing on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2; VENKATESH et al., 2012), the Community of Inquiry framework (GARRISON et al., 2000), and digital divide theory (VAN DIJK, 2006), we conducted an exploratory qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with ten participants from Moroccan public institutions, combining faculty members primarily engaged in teaching with participants holding institutional responsibilities in digital pedagogy and academic governance. Thematic analysis was performed using a consolidated matrix structured around eleven theoretical constructs. Findings indicate that teaching presence, perceived usefulness of AI, and students' general digital competencies are consistently reported across participants, while facilitating conditions, institutional support and technical infrastructure are perceived as significant barriers. The digital divide, encompassing material access, competency gaps and data costs, emerges as a structural moderator of technology integration on both tracks. We propose the Dual-Track Technology Integration Model as a conceptual contribution that distinguishes the two adoption pathways. Managerial implications are formulated for Moroccan university leadership and the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation.