| Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|
|
On Track |
September 2026 |
Overview
Artificial Intelligence is one of IUP’s strategic priorities for 2026–27 and reflects the university’s commitment to addressing a major structural shift in higher education, the workforce, and institutional operations. The initiative advances responsible AI adoption in ways that improve student outcomes, enhance teaching and learning, support faculty and staff effectiveness, and strengthen institutional decision-making while managing risk. IUP’s approach is grounded in the belief that AI should augment, not replace, the human connection that defines the IUP experience.
The work is organized around four coordinated pathways. The first pathway, AI Literacy Across All Constituents, focuses on helping students, faculty, and staff develop a foundational understanding of AI tools, opportunities, limitations, and risks. The second pathway, Best Practices and Governance for Teaching, Learning, and Student Engagement, supports responsible and consistent guidance for academic use, including faculty classroom practices and appropriate student use expectations. The third pathway, AI in the Curriculum, focuses on preparing students to understand, evaluate, and use AI responsibly within their disciplines and future careers. The fourth pathway, Development and Adoption of AI Tools for Operational Efficiency and Decision-Making, supports administrative and operational use cases that can reduce routine work, improve responsiveness, and allow employees to spend more time on higher-value, human-centered work.
The initiative also addresses key risks, including data privacy, compliance, change management, responsible use, resource alignment, tool fragmentation, and vendor risk. As a result, this priority is both a technology initiative and a governance, trust, equity, and mission stewardship effort for IUP.
Progress Report: July – September 2026
The Artificial Intelligence priority has moved from early planning and campus consultation to an established framework for advancing responsible AI use at IUP. The work is now organized across four pathways focused on AI literacy, teaching and learning, operational efficiency and decision-making, and AI in the curriculum. Foundational governance work has also advanced, including approval of updated AI-related university policies and the development of new resources to provide guidance for the IUP community. Early exploration of AI tools and potential applications is underway, providing opportunities to evaluate how emerging technologies can responsibly improve university operations and services. With the framework and initial governance structure in place, the next phase will focus on expanding AI literacy and guidance, establishing baseline measures, evaluating responsible use cases, and identifying opportunities that can be effectively scaled across the university.
| Focus Area | Progress This Quarter | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Framework | Four pathways established and communicated to guide AI efforts across the university. | Complete |
| Policy and Governance | Updated AI-related policy language approved and supporting guidance developed for responsible use. | Complete |
| AI Literacy and Engagement | Campus-wide literacy and engagement efforts are being organized, including alignment of the November AI Summit with the four pathways. | In Progress |
| AI Tools and Use Cases | Early prototypes and potential applications are being explored to assess operational value and responsible use. | In Progress |
Next Quarter
- Expand coordinated AI literacy, guidance, and engagement for students, faculty, and staff.
- Establish baseline measures to assess adoption, academic integration, responsible use, and operational value.
- Advance selected AI use cases through responsible, phased evaluation.
- Use the November AI Summit as a university-wide opportunity to advance AI literacy and engagement.
Leadership Attention
Responsible Adoption: As AI use expands, continued attention to data privacy, governance, support capacity, and rapidly changing tools will be important to ensure responsible and sustainable adoption.
Milestone Timelines
Fall 2026: Launch AI literacy for students, faculty, and staff; implement faculty classroom guidance and student use expectations.
Fall 2026: Confirm and communicate the four initiative pathways, including AI in the Curriculum, and align campus partners to each pathway.
Winter 2026–27: Expand training and integrate approved AI tools into academic and administrative workflows.
Spring 2027: Assess impact across academic programs and administrative units; scale successful use cases institution-wide.
Priority in Action
As artificial intelligence becomes more common in teaching, learning, research, and daily work, IUP has updated several university policies to provide clearer guidance for responsible AI use. New AI language has been added to the IT Acceptable Use Policy, Information Protection Policy, and Data Classification Policy, complementing existing expectations in the Academic Integrity Policy.
Challenges and Risks
Team Members
- Todd Cunningham, chair
- Michael Barber
- Erika Bem
- Christopher Brown
- Christopher Clouser
- Hilliary Creely
- Marlon Czar
- Ben Dadson
- Dana Driscoll
- Ben Ford
- Samuel Grieggs
- Lori Harkleroad
- Kelly Heider
- Steven Hovan
- Chris Kitas
- Jacqueline McGinty
- Jeff Montgomery
- Scott Moore
- Shawn Nicklow
- Gian Pagnucci
- Veronica Paz
- Hans Pedersen
- Jon Roumfort
- Emily Rutter
- William Schleicher
- Emily Smeltz
- Bryan Sciotto
- Matthew Vetter
- Dan Yuhas