Sinclair Community College wants to integrate artificial intelligence into all aspects of its operations over the next three years.
That's why Sinclair announced the new AI Excellence Institute, with $5 million dedicated toward the plan.
Through proper education and planning, the college hopes to establish itself as a leader of AI in higher education.
Years of planning
Christina Amato, dean of eLearning at Sinclair Community College and the executive sponsor for this initiative, said this program has been almost three years in the making.
A group of faculty and staff formed the AI Action Team in early 2023. They recognized the growing concerns about AI in higher education and set out to research the ways AI was being used at their institution.
They established teaching methods to use moving forward, which became the AI Excellence Institute.
"It seems to me that probably the riskiest thing, in terms of potential for harm, is AI being used in a vacuum or in isolation."
With faculty and students engaging with, experimenting with, and understanding the best practices of using AI, Sinclair hopes to see greater overall confidence concerning this rapidly adapting technology.
AI 'reshaping how students learn'
Sinclair is taking this step towards establishing itself as a leader in AI integration and collaboration.
“Artificial Intelligence is not a future trend...it’s a present force that is reshaping how students learn, how institutions operate, and how employers hire," Steve Johnson, the president and CEO of Sinclair, stated in a press release.
However, despite the carful planning and research, there are still apprehensions over embracing AI, especially amongst students.
Katie Gray, a sophomore at Sinclair, said she is concerned about professors lacking the technological experience to properly educate student using AI.
"I think part of the issue is that we're working with a generation of people who are still behind on what Instagram is. So, I think they are struggling to keep up with how quickly it's advancing," Gray said.
Still, Amato does not anticipate pushback from students. She believes the flexibility of the new guidelines will aid in calming these concerns.
"Our faculty approach with questions and conversation, not hard and fast accusations or the level of certainty that you really can't have with AI," she said. "It seems to me that probably the riskiest thing in terms of potential for harm is AI being used in a vacuum or in isolation."
The AI Excellence Institute is meant to aid not only students, but faculty, staff, and the outside community by being a source of information and guidance for AI related questions.
