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What should AUP’s response be to the advent of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools? These tools are powerful and widely available, and are increasingly embedded invisibly in other tools. AI@91Թaims to facilitate the development of campus-level guidance for faculty, staff, and students, so that they can consider the impact of AI on teaching, learning, scholarship and work at the university, and understand the wider context and implications of the development and use of these tools.

As a community, we need to address together the AUP-specific implications of AI for

  • the world our graduates will enter
  • the administrative infrastructure of our institution
  • faculty teaching and student learning
  • the fields of study for academic disciplines

Running initially from Spring 2024 through Spring 2025, the AI@91Թinitiative aims to help the 91Թcommunity to do just that. We are coordinating the development of AUP’s campus-level guidance on AI, but we see this as part of a broader campus-level response that begins with consultations and produces not only policies and guidance, but also training, resources and possibly proposals for curricular modifications.

These are the preliminary goals of the initiative, which may be revised according to community consultations:

  • Articulate shared recognition of challenges & needs
  • Develop guidance for practice and provisioning of resources
  • Develop capacities and support for engaging with AI
  • Explore integration of AI literacy into the core curriculum
  • Facilitate exploration of AI-related intellectual questions across the disciplines

Initially proposed by Jeff Gima and Geoff Gilbert, this project was formally launched in Spring 2024 at the request of AUP’s President, Sonya Stephens, and Provost, Hannah Westley. The primary focus of the initiative is on implications of generative AI for teaching and learning. Recognizing that similar issues are arising with other types of AI, and in other areas of university activity besides teaching and learning, the project will in some cases broaden its scope when this feels useful and appropriate.

This initiative draws inspiration from others’ work, some of which is gathered under Developing higher ed AI initiatives, and in particular from the following:

  • Esther Brandon, Lance Eaton, Dana Gavin and Allison Papini’s article “” (EDUCAUSE Review)
  • Cecilia Ka Yuk Chan’s article “” (arXiv preprint)
  • the ǰ
  • work done at the American University in Cairo and other AMICAL Consortium universities, as captured by various AMICAL events on generative AI such as (panel recording and links to resources mentioned)

Previous open discussions on AI organized by AUP’s Teaching & Learning Center, as well as conversations with Claudia Roda (as Computer Science faculty member and UNESCO Chair for AI and Human Rights, with Susan Perry), have also influenced these plans.

Goals and expected outcomes

The table below expands upon the goals mentioned above and lists some of the outcomes that we hope will mark progress on the project. As this project is grounded in a process of consultation with stakeholder groups, we expect that the targeted outcomes, but also to some extent the goals and the way these goals are pursued, will be revised over the coming year.

GOALS EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Articulate shared recognition of challenges & needs

Engage faculty, staff and students in conversations to articulate together a shared recognition of challenges & opportunities represented by AI, as a campus community and as specific stakeholder groups (e.g. students, teachers of writing, etc.) and interested partners (e.g. alumni with relevant experience/expertise)

Clarify with specific stakeholder groups the existing resources they have (e.g. internal expertise) and the actions they feel are needed most in light of the above challenges, as well as the appropriate scope of those actions (campus, department, classroom, etc.)

For campus units/groups not working directly on teaching/learning/scholarship but with a general interest in these working environments (e.g. HR, CSE): encourage their development of workplace policies drawing on work from the project proposed here, and offer them suggestions/feedback if desired.
Publish on microsite for AI@91Թinitiative (on 91Թwebsite), in area restricted to 91Թfac/staff: brief summaries of challenges, opportunities, existing resources and needs identified by stakeholder groups.

-Teaching & Learning Center

-Data Governance Council

-Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate

-Student Senate

-Other student groups

-Writing Lab & Office of Academic Integrity

-Academic Resource Center (instructional design/instructional technology)

-Academic Resource Center (tutoring & accommodations)

-IT Services

-Library

-ACE (Academic, Career, and Experiential Advising)

-Communications

-Council of Chairs

-Curriculum Committee

-GLACC (Global Liberal Arts Core Curriculum) Committee
Develop guidance for practice and provisioning of resources

Through convenings with specific stakeholder groups, and with validation by 91Թleadership, co-develop broad principles, and policies and guidelines where appropriate, for

The use of AI in contexts relating directly to academics (teaching, learning, and scholarship)

The provisioning of AI-powered resources to 91Թstudents, faculty and staff, in particular where they directly relate to learning, teaching and scholarship

Raise visibility of existing work done by stakeholder groups on guidance for AI use on administrative work (e.g. within Communications) for benefit of other groups
Publish on microsite for AI@91Թinitiative (on 91Թwebsite), publicly:

-Guiding principles for use of AI at AUP (distilled from stakeholders conversations & validated by 91Թleadership)

-Guidelines for syllabus statements on use of generative AI

-Revised Academic Integrity guidelines regarding use of generative AI

-Guidelines for the provisioning of AI-powered resources for 91Թusers

-Links to any existing guidance for 91Թunits on operational use of AI in work
Develop capacities and support for engaging with AI


Coordinating with 91Թunits (ARC, ITS, etc.) already responsible for related training

Recruiting individuals at 91Թwith relevant expertise

Sourcing external training

Direct training by project coordinator
Publish on microsite for AI@91Թinitiative (on 91Թwebsite), publicly:

-Links to external resources for good practices, learning and discussion
-Schedule of training and workshops
-Mechanism for communicating questions/needs

Monthly training and workshops (internally and externally sourced)

[plans will be developed on the basis of convenings and other input from stakeholder groups]
Integrate AI literacy into the core curriculum

Work with GLACC Committee, librarians and faculty to determine whether and how AI literacy should be addressed and connected with existing information and digital literacy learning goals for students
Propose revisions of GLACC learning outcomes, integrating AI literacy with information and digital literacy LOs
Explore intellectual questions across the disciplines

Help faculty to explore opportunities for intellectual engagement with AI as a subject of study and scholarship — e.g.

Disciplinary connections to integrate into teaching

Scholarly conversations tied to AI

Other opportunities specific to 91Թfor engaging with AI in our curriculum (as a global and intercultural liberal arts university)
Series of invited speakers (possibly a colloquium) related to AI

Brief report on curricular innovations being implemented/proposed related to AI across 91Թdepartments

Project timeline

Swipe to navigate the timeline:

Project Coordinators

Jeff Gima (Librarian & AMICAL Consortium Director)
Project Co-Coordinator

  • Lead project development, meeting/training/event organization, communication, assessment and documentation
  • Work with stakeholder groups to organize training/workshops/consultation (including internal/external expertise)
  • Advise on staff aspects of project

Geoff Gilbert (Professor)
Project Co-Coordinator

  • Co-lead project development, meeting/training/event organization, communication, assessment and documentation
  • Advise on faculty aspects of project

Project Documentation

SPRING 2024 SURVEY INSTRUMENTS

(Some questions on our Spring 2024 surveys were drawn from or inspired by SDSU’s .)

SPRING 2024 FACULTY/STAFF RETREAT WORKSHOPS

PAST PRESENTATIONS RELATED TO AI@AUP

  • (recording & slides from presentation at AMICAL 2024 Conference)