| Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|
|
In Progress |
August 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.
Accomplishment Summary
Foundational work for the AI strategic priority has begun through several important planning and governance activities. AI Policies were completed in AY25-26 and are the foundation for AI use. IUP has established an initial strategic framing for the initiative, including a purpose statement, key performance indicators, milestones, and known challenges and risks. The initiative has also been aligned to four pathways that address the needs of students, faculty, and staff: AI literacy, teaching and learning governance, AI in the Curriculum, and operational AI tools for efficiency and decision-making.
The academic governance pathway is supported by the ACPAC AI Subcommittee, which is already in place to help guide best practices for teaching, learning, student engagement, and appropriate classroom use. The operational pathway is supported by the AI Tools Team, which is also in place and expected to expand as use cases develop. IT Services has begun positioning AI literacy as a shared institutional need, with anticipated partnerships involving the Center for Teaching Excellence, Human Resources, and other campus partners. These efforts are intended to help the campus community understand both the opportunities and the risks associated with AI.
Prior presentations and discussions with university leadership have emphasized that AI should be adopted responsibly, securely, and in alignment with IUP’s mission. Key themes include the importance of clear guidance, equitable access, responsible data use, compliance with institutional policies and regulatory expectations, and preservation of the human relationships that shape the IUP experience. The current phase of work is focused on moving from strategic framing to implementation planning for fall 2026 literacy efforts, faculty classroom guidance, student use expectations, and priority use cases for administrative and academic workflows.
Progress
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.