2026: Faculty Task Force to Explore Best Practices for AI Integration Across UMD Programs

A task force comprised of faculty and staff at Dartmouth, Massachusetts, was tasked with developing recommendations for integrating artificial intelligence as a teaching and learning tool.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a fundamental part of everyday life, especially in education. College campuses are facing the challenges posed by AI and its current and future impact on higher education. The rapid development of this technology has led students and educators to consider the place of AI in the classroom and rethink how it can be used as a learning tool.

To address these questions and challenges, Dartmouth College Professor Ramprasad Balasubramanian created the AI ​​Task Force, a group of staff and faculty tasked with examining the academic capabilities of AI and developing a set of recommendations to meaningfully integrate AI across UMD’s curriculum.

Task force members are Scott Ahrens, Brian Ayotte, Julie Bowman, Nancy Godlewski, Firas Khatib, Melody O’Donnell, BK Lai, Michael Sherif, Mendy Smith, Matt Snyder, Alexis Teegarden, Aylen Valova, and Anu Vyas. They will work with the Office of Faculty Development, the Senate Technology Committee, and Instructional Design.

The task force was led by Chair Amy Shapiro, dean of the Honors College, who shared insights about the task force’s goals and how it will benefit the Dartmouth College community in Massachusetts.

Why is it important for universities to have a dedicated AI task force?

AI is the most disruptive technology to impact higher education since the development of the internet. This has the potential to dramatically change student outcomes and the way we teach and learn. Most educators aren’t sure how to use it, or if they should use it at all.

The task force is important because it brings together faculty, technologists, and administrators from across campus to study the issue and provide recommendations to the president on how Dartmouth should move forward with the use of AI in the classroom and prepare students for a future that involves AI in their workflows.

What are the goals of the task force?

The task force will explore and evaluate how faculty are currently using AI in their teaching, how other schools are implementing AI, and how campuses can help faculty become familiar with and proficient in AI-integrated pedagogy. The main goal is to ensure that graduates become skilled users of AI tools and technologies in their professional practice.

As AI becomes more pervasive, what skills and competencies do you want your students to have?

At a basic level, students need to become familiar with AI. This means understanding what AI is, how it works, the inherent biases of each AI, how to use it ethically and responsibly, and its features and shortcomings.

Fluency with AI varies by field, but fluent users must know how to use AI as a partner in the human creative process. Each university or specialty should provide information about what their majors need to know to use AI at a high level.

And finally, in the AI ​​competency, students demonstrate the ability to use this powerful technology responsibly and ethically within their discipline.

How does the task force align with the university’s broader academic mission?

The foundation of the campus’ mission is a dedication to “engaged learning and innovative research that leads to students’ personal and lifelong success.” Because AI brings disruptive potential to so many industries, it is important for graduates’ success to understand what AI is, its current limitations, and how to use it effectively and responsibly in their chosen fields.

Preparing our students for the world in which they will live and work after graduation is critical to our mission as a university. The task force’s mission is to inform campus decisions to help students succeed in an AI-influenced world.

What challenges and opportunities lie before this task force?

There is a lot to learn about AI, and the technology is rapidly evolving. One challenge is understanding the landscape in a way that remains relevant a year from now.

Equally important, we need to be experts enough to make suggestions that support students’ intellectual growth, rather than succumbing to the temptation to use AI as a replacement for thinking.

What excites you most about the future of AI in universities?

We know what activities promote meaningful learning (such as creative problem solving) rather than superficial learning (such as rote memorization). Many of these methods require individual experience and time, making it difficult for professors to offer them in large classes.

Shapiro is excited about the potential for faculty to leverage the power of AI to teach students through simulation, the Socratic method, individualized and adaptive tutoring, and other strategies that can help students reach their full potential.

AI also has the potential to support students throughout their learning journey by acting as on-demand instructors, coaches, and evaluators. These are powerful tools that truly accelerate student learning.