MSU and business leaders recommend new AI-focused course amid opposition from faculty

A council of Michigan State University administrators and business leaders announced Wednesday three initiatives that members say will better prepare students and researchers to contribute to Michigan’s economy and workforce.

To meet the needs of tomorrow’s economy, universities should ensure students learn how to use artificial intelligence tools, the council argues. This means creating a basic elective course centered on AI and offering certification in AI competency. Recommendations include creating new programs to promote work experience and internships during undergraduate studies and further interweaving MSU’s research activities with industry.

But some faculty balk at the idea of ​​outside business leaders having a say in the curriculum, a responsibility that is typically delegated to a small number of internal governing bodies. Prior to this announcement, the University Faculty Senate passed a resolution expressing displeasure that MSU did not go through proper academic governance channels to propose this initiative.

“Proposals for new curriculum should come from faculty because the Academic Governance Bylaws clearly state that faculty have the right to ‘establish and maintain the intellectual authority of the university,’” Faculty Senate President John Arni-Flesner wrote in an email to The State News. “MSU faculty do not take this responsibility lightly, and therefore we look forward to a more productive partnership with the Chancellor and the Green and White Council as we all work toward the common goal of ensuring MSU remains a world leader in faculty-led education and research.”

MSU, on the other hand, argued that the council’s proposed initiative remains only a recommendation.

“These recommendations in no way supersede the university’s process for implementing changes to the curriculum or other initiatives themselves,” university spokeswoman Amber McCann told The State News.

Controversy over the Green and White Council’s initial public announcement began during Tuesday’s University Faculty Senate meeting, the day before the initiative was announced.

So some faculty members who received the draft press release began focusing on the council’s first proposed initiative: creating AI-focused courses and certifications to help students “thrive in an AI-driven economy.”

“I think you could reasonably read that there’s an idea that maybe they’re going to circumvent the policies and procedures that we have in place, bypass faculty input, and introduce a curriculum that’s coming from outside business leaders,” Jamie Allan, associate professor of pharmacology, said during the meeting.

MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz was also present at the meeting and said the language of the press release would be adjusted accordingly, emphasizing that faculty have the authority to establish the curriculum. He added that some of the proposals within the “AI-Ready Spartans” initiative have already been implemented, and a number of AI-related courses are being developed by faculty across campus.

Another issue raised by faculty was the inability to share draft press releases with faculty who are not members of the Senate.

“We have a regulatory process where we look at this curriculum, we review it, we have the expertise to do that, and then we have a process where we discuss and debate and the curriculum is designed and approved,” said Andulana Borsilla, an associate professor at James Madison. “And while it is my understanding that faculty are involved in this process, I also believe this circumvents the University Code, the Academic Governance Code, and the role and expertise of faculty in this process.”

In response, Professor Guskiewicz said there was “nothing set in stone” regarding these initiatives and that the purpose of the consultation with the Senate was to gather feedback from faculty leaders.

Víctor Rodríguez Pereira, assistant professor of Spanish, said during the meeting that announcing the three recommended initiatives to the public, including a press release sent to the media, could place unnecessary restrictions on future discussions about the initiatives.

“It’s still setting the agenda and it’s as if this is going forward as something set in stone, or at least as solidified in semi-dry clay,” Rodriguez Pereira said. “I worry about that because we are defining the parameters and boundaries of the discussion rather than incorporating broader ideas.”

In the final act of the meeting, pharmacology professor Allan tabled a resolution expressing frustration with the government’s failure to adhere to academic governance protocols, arguing that the initiative was developed without “the necessary legal approvals of the University Committee on Curriculum (UCC), the University Committee on Undergraduate Education (UCUE), or the Faculty Senate.”

The resolution also asserted that “Fundamental AI courses,” “AI certificates,” or “Career Connected” degree requirements cannot be implemented or published in the university catalog until they are “proposed by an academic department and approved through established faculty governance.”

The final part of the resolution called on Guskiewicz to “immediately cease” implementing these initiatives and submit them to the appropriate channels for review.

Some faculty members, like Matthew Broadhead, associate professor of counseling, educational psychology and special education, expressed concern about the resolution, saying university leadership has shown an openness to feedback and that the Senate should not take action until the recommendations are made public.

Rebecca Anthony, an associate professor in the College of Engineering, said she supported the suspension of presentations, but added that she didn’t think the resolution was necessary because the language didn’t explicitly state “rejection of established protocols for curriculum revision and that it is a faculty-led process.”

The resolution passed 27-17.

Two other initiatives announced by the council, titled “Career-Connected Spartans” and “Spartan Catalyst,” aim to strengthen student career prospects and connect MSU researchers with business and industry in the state, respectively.