Thursday

07-10-2025 Vol 2017

Cal State LA Receives Funding for Innovative AI Projects

California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) has successfully secured funding for two groundbreaking faculty-led artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives as part of the California State University’s (CSU) Artificial Intelligence Educational Innovations Challenge (AIEIC).

This challenge was established by the CSU system to promote AI adoption and creative instructional strategies across its 23 campuses.

In a strong show of interest, CSU received over 400 proposals from more than 750 faculty members statewide in response to the AIEIC call for innovative AI applications in educational settings.

The Chancellor’s Office has awarded a total of $3 million to fund 63 winning proposals, selected for their potential to revolutionize teaching methods, enhance research avenues, and address concerns about AI within the academic realm.

Nathan Evans, the CSU deputy vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs and chief academic officer, expressed enthusiasm about the initiative, stating, “CSU faculty and staff aren’t just adopting AI—they are reimagining what it means to teach, learn, and prepare students for an AI-infused world.”

He further emphasized the CSU’s commitment to innovation and academic excellence, noting that the funded projects aim to effectively integrate AI in student learning across the entire system.

Cal State LA’s funded projects are titled “Teaching with Integrity in the Age of AI” and “AI-Enhanced STEM Supplemental Instruction Workshops.”

The first initiative, “Teaching with Integrity in the Age of AI,” will be spearheaded by the university’s Center for Effective Teaching and Learning.

This project aims to tackle faculty concerns regarding academic integrity in the AI era by forming a Faculty Learning Community (FLC).

Scheduled from September 2025 to April 2026, the FLC will engage 8 to 15 faculty members from various disciplines to develop AI-informed, ethics-focused teaching methodologies.

Participants will assess strategies to minimize AI-facilitated cheating, implement ethical decision-making frameworks, and design assignments that align with AI literacy standards.

The second project, “AI-Enhanced STEM Supplemental Instruction Workshops,” aims to boost outcomes for students in challenging first-year courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math by incorporating tools such as ChatGPT into Supplemental Instruction workshops.

This project seeks to address limitations frequently encountered in collaborative learning environments by harnessing AI for personalized, real-time feedback and guidance.

The AIEIC is a vital aspect of the CSU’s robust AI Strategy, which commenced in February 2025 to position the CSU as the first AI-empowered university system in the nation.

The strategy is centered on three primary goals: encouraging faculty to delve into AI literacies and competencies, facilitating meaningful student engagement with AI, and examining ethical considerations surrounding AI use in higher education.

The awarded projects encompass a wide range of academic disciplines, including business, engineering, ethnic studies, history, health sciences, teacher preparation, scholarly writing, journalism, and theatre arts.

Several of these initiatives also serve as collaborative efforts across different fields or focus on faculty development, providing educators with essential tools to manage course design, policy formulation, and classroom approaches in an AI-enhanced environment.

image source from:news

Charlotte Hayes