With strategies like hands-on experiments, librarian-led demos, and templates for model-policy language, colleges are preparing for a new era in tech. ADVERTISEMENT [The Edge Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Iâm Goldie Blumenstyk, a senior writer at The Chronicle covering innovation in and around higher ed. This week I highlight various ways colleges are preparing to teach and operate in a world suffused with artificial-intelligence tools. ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Hereâs how five colleges are building their AI expertise It doesnât take a big budget or a deep bench of computer-science researchers for organizations to begin equipping themselves to understand the potential impact of powerful new artificial-intelligence tools. That was the clearest takeaway â and in many ways, the most comforting one â from the many responses to [my question last month]( on how organizations are preparing for an AI-powered future. I appreciate the detailed responses so many of you sent my way. Notably, many of the interesting ideas I received came from institutions that arenât giant, and the people heading up the efforts arenât necessarily techies, but rather folks like librarians and professors of writing. Iâm impressed by the initiative so many people are taking in developing resources for their colleagues and Iâll note that many of these resources are available for sharing. I also want to highlight the anxiety over AI many of you shared â concerns about its use in cheating and in diminishing the value of teaching writing â that I saw in many of the comments. Clearly that concern runs deep and deserves continued attention. Following are highlights from five colleges: Metropolitan State University of Denver runs monthly workshops on [AI Empowerment in Higher Education]( led by Samuel M. Jay, a professor of communications studies and director of faculty affairs. It is also building an [AI for All]( site that is rich with readings, how-to videos, and policy guidance to help professors and staff members. Jay said he plans to spend the summer developing additional videos explaining the best approaches to âprompt engineeringâ â thatâs the skill of crafting the questions so AI tools return the most useful responses. Heâll also be working with the English department on policies for the best use of Chat-GPT and other generative AI tools. Last year MSU Denver created a generative AI taskforce that advises the provost, deans, and others in academic affairs on matters, like whether to deploy AI detectors. Having faculty members well-represented on committees like this, Jay wrote, is âa great way to lower the anxiety level (just a bit).â Randolph College, in Virginia, has been engaging on AI issues through one of its committees, the Writing Board, which has been soliciting its faculty members for opinions on and strategies for generative AI. This is more than informational, said one member, Jennifer Gauthier, a professor of media and culture. The board is hoping to use the information to propose changes to the [Honor Code]( which is entirely managed by students. Also, she said, most professors now realize they need statements on AI use in all their syllabi, and probably for each assignment, too: âIt has become clear that AI might be useful and could be allowed as a resource in some circumstances.â (As an instructor teaching students to analyze media messages, however, Gauthier is still wary. The speed at which the tools provide answers, she said, is âtruly terrifying to me.â) Hudson County Community College, in New Jersey, created a GenAI Professional Learning Community as a vehicle for faculty and staff members to explore AI hands-on. Over the past year the community has organized a series of individual and group exercises using the tools to develop lesson plans, prepare meeting agendas, write grant proposals, and the like. The idea is for college personnel to get âa feel for how these tools can be used ethically to increase creativity and productivity,â wrote Matthew LaBrake, executive director of the collegeâs Center for Online Learning. The hands-on exercises are key. âExperimentation with gen AI,â LaBrake said, âis really a prerequisite to understanding them and their potential impact on both education and industry.â Marshall University brought together professors, administrators, and technologists for a Presidential Task Force on AI, and that has in turn developed [templates for language faculty members might use on their syllabi]( some [practical guidance for teaching with AI](. (The first lesson in that latter document: âAI is here to stay.â) The West Virginia university is also experimenting on the business side. Itâs working with AI tools from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services to explore if the technology can be used to increase efficiency. Some examples, per Jodie Penrod, the universityâs chief information officer: Can they spot abnormal end-of-the-year spending or simplify the query systems used for budgeting ? Even more exciting â to me, at least: Marshall is also evaluating ways that AI might be able to scan the content of courses offered by other universities, to pave the way for smoother transfer for students. At Camden County College, in New Jersey, library personnel are leading the charge. Information-literacy librarian Lori Lenox has been teaching both students and instructors the power of using AI tools for research â and the ways they can come up with some pretty bad responses to queries. Andy Woodworth, a systems and web-services librarian, has developed [an admirably comprehensive guide]( to a wide range of topics related to AI and higher ed. Yet in his note to me, Woodworth said heâs now finding it useful to look beyond higher ed â at things like data-center investments, chip-design announcements, and geopolitics â to better understand the AI developments likely to affect colleges in the future. âThe AI chatbots that are now being pushed by vendors come from somewhere,â Woodworth wrote, âand understanding the underlying players helps inform me as to what has merit and what has hype.â Of course not all responses were examples of campuses enthusiastically leaning into AI. Lew Ludwig, a math professor at Denison College and director of its Center for Learning and Teaching, wrote that heâs encountered âmounting avoidance of this new technologyâ at his liberal-arts college, in Ohio. At the sessions heâs held for professors at the center, he said, âthree or four of my 220 faculty show up, even with a stipend.â (Heâs also penned [a Harry Potter-themed analogy]( that laments higher edâs reluctance to wrestle with âyet another potentially disruptive enchantment.â) In that same blog post, Ludwig channels the message of Ethan Mollick, a Wharton School professor and author of a new book, [Co-Intelligence: Living and Working With AI]( who argues that professors and others in higher education need to directly explore AI tools. To do otherwise, Ludwig wrote, is âeffectively outsourcing our role in shaping the future of this transformative technology to a few tech executives.â The Supreme Court affirms the CFPBâs future Throughout its 14-year life, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has played [a key role]( policing the lending practices of for-profit colleges, the credit-card deals colleges offer to their students, and the operating procedures of organizations that service student loans. Its right to exist has also been frequently under attack. But earlier this month [the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7 to 2 to legitimize the way itâs funded,]( decision that assures the bureau will stay on the scene for the foreseeable future. Join our discussion this week on the trust gap Sometimes it seems that the Mars-Venus analogy applies all too well to administrators and faculty members. But with financial pressures growing and enrollments falling at many colleges, the need for greater understanding â and collaboration â has never been more vital. What does it take to find common ground? Can new models of shared governance bridge these divides? Please join me on Thursday, May 23, at 2 p.m. Eastern, as I explore those questions and dive into related survey data on a Chronicle virtual panel. [Sign up here]( to tune in and pose questions live, or watch on demand. Got a tip youâd like to share or a question youâd like me to answer? Let me know, at goldie@chronicle.com. If you have been forwarded this newsletter and would like to see past issues, [find them here](. To receive your own copy, free, register [here](. If you want to follow me on X, [@GoldieStandard]( is my handle. Or find me on BlueSky Social, which I just joined with [the same handle](. UPCOMING PROGRAM [The Chronicle's Strategic-Leadership Program for Department Chairs | June 2024] [Join us in June]( for a professional development program tailored to the needs of department chairs. Experienced academic leaders will provide insights on the the current trends in higher ed, effective ways to manage a department, strategic planning, and more. [Register today!]( Goldie's Picks WHAT MOTIVATES STUDENTS [Colleges Are Selling Themselves as Wage-Boosters. They Have Something Better to Offer.]( By Scott Carlson and Ned Laff [STORY IMAGE]( Many workers care more about finding purpose in their jobs than they do about pay. Why did colleges stop emphasizing their role in the search for meaning? SUPPLY-CHAIN WOES [Why Wonât More College Students Tutor Schoolchildren?]( By Kelly Field [STORY IMAGE]( Work-study jobs in local schools could save colleges money, stanch learning loss, and raise student engagement. But hurdles abound. âTHOSE MISTAKES ADDED UPâ [The War in the Mideast Fuels a Crisis in the Midwest]( By Kate Hidalgo Bellows [STORY IMAGE]( Indiana University at Bloomington made a series of unpopular decisions. Then it called the police on protesters. CAREER RESOURCES [May article collection about moving into administration ] [Read the May collection]( for insights on moving into administration. Find out what you need to know before starting a senior position, the rewards of being in administration, and more! ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Fostering Students' Free Expression - Buy Now]( [Higher Education in 2035]( Higher education is facing an array of challenges: economic headwinds, political pressures, and shifting demographics. [Order your copy]( to help your institution prepare for what’s ahead, and discover how the sector will evolve in the coming decade. 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