Integrating AI across the institution

“As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) spreads throughout society, community colleges are moving from a classroom-by-classroom and office-by-office approach to integrating AI college-wide. This requires training staff, faculty and students on how to use it and setting policies to ensure successful, ethical use of the technology while overcoming challenges that it poses. Doing this requires constant and multipronged communication, based on the understanding that AI is not just another tool, project or technology implementation, but will require wholesale culture change – drawing wisdom not only from throughout the campus but also employers and the community, according to representatives of three colleges who presented on their respective schools’ experiences with AI during the American Association of Community Colleges annual convening earlier this month. This article comes from the current issue of the Community College Journal, the bimonthly magazine of the American Association of Community Colleges . ‘Opportunity for a transformational shift’ The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) has approached AI institutionally and collaboratively, with voices from across the college, to adopt a holistic architecture and avoid excessive focus on specific tools and actions, says Stephanie McCaslin, dean of learning resources. “We’re assessing what AI means to us, as students, staff, faculty and our whole community,” she says. “We’re providing training, infrastructure, data and engagement opportunities for the purposes of moving forward together as a college that uses AI responsibly and sustainably.” Valarie Burks, vice president of information management and technology, says CSM sees AI as something more than a tool or a project. “We are looking at this as an opportunity for having a transformational shift that will touch every aspect of the enterprise,” she says. The campus-wide AI Task Force , pulled together last year to draw up the college’s AI Roadmap, decided it couldn’t work in silos, setting up working groups aimed at each AI strategic goal the college aimed toward: infrastructure, data governance, security, curriculum, policy development, student engagement, training and evaluation, Burks says. “That structure allows us to focus our alignment and our shared decision-making,” she says. “As an institution, we are assessing our AI readiness across all levels at the same time, looking at our current AI portfolio and contracts to see what opportunities exist that will allow us to optimize AI use. We’re looking at how we incorporate AI governance, embed topics in faculty and staff professional development and learning experiences for students.” Campus-wide surveys will give the college a sense of what decisions to make based on a broad swath of opinions, without overemphasizing early adopters or anecdotal feedback, Burks says. “Our goal all along has been to have consistency and clarity in our approach, so that what we do with AI supports our students and our communities in ways that are ethical and sustainable,” she says. CSM is providing “a buffet of opportunities” for students, faculty and staff that accounts for their breadth of learning preferences and needs, McCaslin says, publishing a yearlong AI professional development training guide with a variety of options rather than a one-off session. “Speakers have helped faculty and staff understand the instructional and operational use cases,” she says, adding that the college also has offered “panel events, hands-on skill sessions, asynchronous webinars – we have a variety of options.” These training sessions have been paired with leadership and guidance around institutional policy development, with strong input from across the college, McCaslin says. “We’ve intentionally slowed down that part of the process so we get it right,” she says. “We’re looking ahead to have more robust training around ethics and responsible use. That will give people clear parameters as AI becomes more embedded in their daily work that will empower them to become more confident in using AI technology.” Among the most significant challenges has been navigating the complexities of integrating AI given that it touches a wide range of issues: academic integrity, data privacy, accessibility and workforce readiness, Burks says. “There’s no one policy or training that addresses the immenseness,” she says. “A big part of what’s contributing to our success in this area is the trust and engagement in the process.” Building a ‘community of care’ Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, last July launched a three-year strategic initiative called the AI Excellence Institute that’s worked to integrate AI into pedagogy and workforce engagement, embedding skills and forging industry partnerships. The $5 million initiative aims to help Sinclair become a national leader in integrating AI into its curriculum, with fellows representing the school’s four academic divisions coming together to gather information and share best practices on what’s working and what’s not in different divisions and departments, says Luis Sanchez Alcazar, an assistant professor in psychology and the fellow chosen to represent liberal arts, communication and social sciences. “From that specific hub, we’re working with the entire college to put out professional development resources and help faculty learn more about AI,” he says. “In addition, our associate director of external partnerships … is working with the community and the workforce to better understand what AI looks like in different [career] fields. We bring that back into the Institute to continue creating resources for faculty members.” Sinclair also provides reciprocal services to employers to help them better see the connection between AI and their industries, especially for graduates who will comprise their future workforce. Given that external partners want students to be workforce-ready, connections to understand their expectations are vital, which is why faculty and staff undertake externships and bring that knowledge back into the classrooms, says Wendy Moore, assistant dean for health sciences and the AI Excellence Institute fellow for that division within Sinclair. “AI gives us the tools to process charts that are 500 pages long that we can’t read in 10 minutes, to give us that bedtime back, to talk to patients and have more human relationships,” Moore says. “And using AI agents is a great way to simulate – we can tell our students that this patient might say this or that.” There’s more to this article! 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