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This is a trendy technology tool that makes some educators take a deep breath and others hold their breath. It's artificial intelligence.
For some teachers, AI chatbots and other tools are easing an impossible workload by acting as tutors for students who need individual support. But others in the education world say AI could exacerbate the already dire literacy and math comprehension crisis in kindergarten through 12th grade and exacerbate cheating among college students.
On the other hand, some universities are embracing digital fields and giving students the opportunity to major in AI. AI is a model that has been around for decades, but has become a hot topic in recent years thanks to big data.
Across the state, regulations on how schools use AI, and even proposals to limit regulations altogether, are still being rejected by Congress, meaning AI in higher education is still in the wild west.
How are colleges and universities in Greater Cincinnati responding to the AI trend? What opportunities are available and what regulations are in place?
Here's what we know:
Overview of AI at Greater Cincinnati Colleges and Universities
University of Cincinnati
Hamilton County's largest university has a landing page dedicated to AI: ai.uc.edu. Policies regarding acceptable use, inclusivity for users with disabilities, and regular assessment and mitigation of risks are all listed as part of the page.
From there, users can navigate to a “compass for navigating the ethical and practical landscape of AI” in the form of AI guidelines, which first instruct students to use UC-licensed AI tools using their UC login credentials. These tools include BearcatGPT, UC's private version of the company's OpenAI ChatGPT functionality.
UC’s AI integration began in early 2025, when the university began accepting submissions about the use of AI by students, faculty, and staff, which were then reviewed by an official university team called the AI Enablement Community of Practice (AIECOP).
As far as AI in the UC classroom, there are several undergraduate and graduate programs with AI as their tagline, including the Master of Artificial Intelligence Engineering degree, which features courses in technology law, machine learning, and intelligent systems theory.
UC also offers a Lindner College of Business graduate certificate that explores the use of AI in business: increasing managerial productivity.
At the undergraduate level, the school's Blue Ash campus offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in artificial intelligence. This is a two-year workforce program that prepares students for entry-level jobs related to AI.
University of Miami
Similar to UC, the University of Miami offers a lot of AI guidance across multiple departments. The digital realm is woven into the school's MiamiTHRIVE strategic plan, with a focus on giving students hands-on experience with AI and demonstrating how tools can support human capabilities rather than replace them.
As of September 2024, Butler County Public University also offers university-provided AI tools, including Google Gemini, a standard tool included in Google Workspace.
Guidance on the use of AI by both teachers and students is outlined on the university's website, with the site stating that the focus is on “ensuring that GenAI supports rather than changes teaching and learning processes in the short term”.
This site provides sample AI policies that teachers can implement in their syllabi, ranging from prohibitions to allowed AI use in some assignments to parameters for using generated AI throughout the course.
The school's course catalog shows that it offers several AI programs, including an AI minor with an emphasis on machine learning and a Bachelor of Science in AI in the School of Engineering and Computing.
Xavier University
Although Xavier University does not provide its own landing page on the use of AI, it does provide a list of academic research related to AI for the reference of faculty and students.
Rather than the Xavier-backed version of AI tools like UC, the private Jesuit Catholic school provides students and staff with access to Microsoft AI tools, such as the Microsoft365 Enterprise version of Copilot.
Also, unlike Miami and the University of California, Xavier's AI academic program is offered as a Bachelor of Arts degree rather than a College of Engineering degree. In it, students will be provided with training in the technical parts of AI, such as coding and robotics, as well as an ethical understanding of the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
The majority of guidance regarding the use of AI at Cincinnati State Technical Community College is contained in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy posted on our website.
This policy outlines guidelines for use by students and faculty, including academic integrity among students, faculty discretion in determining the appropriateness of the use of AI tools, transparency and disclosure, data privacy and security measures for inputting confidential and sensitive information into AI tools, and ethical use.
While there are no AI-specific bachelor's or associate programs within the classroom, there are several courses that cover the digital tools available to students. These services include AI for Business, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Python for AI courses that help students build AI-powered apps.
Northern Kentucky University
Northern Kentucky University, like the university, provides AI guidelines to the campus community covering how students can cite and use AI ethically, how to use NKU login credentials to ensure data safety when using Microsoft Copilot, and how faculty can use AI during instruction, grading, and content generation.
NKU's Chase College of Law is the only university to offer sponsored AI tools to its students: Lexis Protégé and Westlaw CoCounsel. But for the rest of the students, NKU offers Microsoft Co-Pilot 365.
Like Miami, NKU offers a minor in artificial intelligence through the School of Information Studies. Students can also take several AI courses through both the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Education.
Gateway Community & Technical College
Northern Kentucky's community colleges are following the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) framework for AI, which is available to both students and faculty, Gateway Communities media manager Phil Dischar told The Enquirer.
The statewide organization outlines the use of AI related to cheating and plagiarism in its student conduct and academic integrity policies. Faculty use of AI when creating courses is also outlined in the KCTCS guidelines, which require faculty to set course-specific rules regarding generative AI, and like Miami, regulations range from “not allowed” to “required as a learning tool.”
Dischar said the Gateway community hopes to maximize student success by increasing students' use of AI through coursework and access to Microsoft365 tools, while meeting the workforce's demand for AI-savvy employees.
“When used judiciously, AI tools can help students brainstorm, organize ideas, draft and revise, and navigate career planning, which is especially important for adult learners and first-generation students,” Disha said.
Like Cincinnati State University, Gateway Community does not offer AI-specific majors or minors like four-year universities. However, there are AI-related courses, certifications, and non-credit online training programs, such as AI for Business and AI for Everyday Life and Work.
