Report from Provost’s Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning

Introduction

The Artificial Intelligence Advisory Group was charged with examining the implications, opportunities, and challenges that AI presents for teaching and learning at Ramapo College. This group was asked to explore how AI can enhance teaching, learning, scholarship, and administrative processes while ensuring ethical, equitable, and responsible use. In all its deliberations, the advisory group prioritized the liberal arts mission of fostering critical thinking, ethical reflection, and holistic education, ensuring that AI serves the college’s core values.  Specifically, the advisory group considered academic integration, research and scholarships, ethical and responsible use, faculty, staff and student development, and student experience and opportunities. 

Members: 

Michael Middleton, Provost/Vice President for Teaching, Learning, and Growth

Joyce Shim, Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs

Rob Doster, Chief Information Officer

Michael Bitz, Professor of Education;  Director of the Instructional Design Center

Rikki Abzug, Professor of Management; Director of the Faculty Resource Center

Zach Layton, Associate Professor of Music

Amy Pizzulo, Assistant Professor of Nursing

Victoria Sciancalepore, Digital Scholarship Librarian

Process and Summary  

The Advisory Group met three times in the Fall 2024 semester and for a full day retreat in January 2025 to deliberate about its charge.  The group ultimately decided to disseminate two documents to our community – an Ethics statement on AI in Teaching and Learning and this report with recommendations to the community. The recommendations in this report were developed to ensure that Ramapo effectively integrates AI into its educational mission. These recommendations should serve to help faculty and students navigate the opportunities and challenges of AI, including its role in critical thinking, ethical considerations, academic integrity, and skill development. By providing guidance on curriculum design, faculty and student development, and necessary resources, the group aims to support the college in preparing faculty and students for the evolving technology landscape while maintaining the values of a liberal arts education.

Recommendation 1:  Develop a statement of ethics on the use of generative artificial Intelligence in teaching and learning.

The advisory group believes that it is important to set a statement of ethical use as a framework for all actions taken on campus in considering AI in teaching and learning.  With the use of generative AI, the committee has developed a Statement of Ethical Use of AI in Teaching and Learning at Ramapo.  However, we recognize that the statement is only a first step in consideration and adoption of AI. We suggest the following action items as next steps.

• The Academic Policy Committee should regularly review and update its statement and guidance on use of generative AI in classes and coursework.
• Convening groups at Ramapo College should develop and provide clear guidelines on the acceptable use of AI in scholarship in their respective field. These guidelines should address how AI-generated content, data analysis, or other contributions are evaluated, credited, and documented in faculty members’ scholarly work. By establishing these standards, the committees can ensure consistency, transparency, and alignment with the college’s commitment to ethical and responsible AI use. This should be taken into consideration within the promotion and tenure committees.
• The College’s leadership should form a broader statement of AI use campus-wide encompassing security, sustainability, legal rights and protections.
• The Provost’s Office should work with IT and legal teams to investigate and share the legality of information that can be uploaded such as copyrighted material. 

Elements of the ethical use statement will also appear in action items in subsequent recommendations.

Recommendation 2: Faculty Curriculum and Professional Development for the Use of AI in Curriculum, Teaching, Scholarship

Ramapo College is dedicated to empowering its faculty through professional development in AI integration across curriculum, teaching, and scholarship. This initiative aims to create a community of change agents who can effectively leverage AI technologies while critically examining their societal impacts. We suggest the following next steps: 

• Support curriculum development through IDC, FRC, convening groups and Schools, including integrating AI topics into curricula and ensuring that faculty are trained to teach these concepts effectively and ethically.
• Offer workshops and provide resources on AI Tools.  It is essential to provide hands-on workshops through IDC, FRC and the Provost’s Office and maintain a central web space (e.g., Teaching with AI) focused on using AI tools to help faculty model responsible and ethical practice in teaching and scholarship. 
• Strengthen communities of practice and collaborative learning communities to allow faculty to share best practices and innovative strategies for incorporating AI into their teaching and scholarship (e.g., grants, certificates/credentials, technologies, etc.). These faculty collaborations could be created through FRC, Schools or convening groups.

Suggested People/Group for implementation: 

FRC, IDC, FRC’s Advisory Board & Academic Leaders (e.g., conveners, directors, deans, provost)

Recommendation 3:  Ramapo should offer a base level of student knowledge about AI to serve as a foundation for future learning.

It is crucial for students to receive Critical AI Literacy training at the start of their Ramapo careers. There should be a consistent source of training and resources delivered via a universally accessible platform coordinated by instructors.

We suggest that the College develop a Canvas Module on Critical AI Literacy that can be implemented in FYS and other courses with the goal of all Ramapo students receiving a beginning level of AI literacy. The Module would be included in a common FYS Canvas template and also included in the Canvas Commons for any other instructor to implement and modify. The Module could include interactive activities where students experience AI interfaces; practice prompt engineering; understand hallucinations; protect against scams, disinformation, and cybercrime; and learn about the ethics of AI, including when the use of AI is appropriate and when it is counterproductive. The Module should be reviewed regularly (at least annually) for relevance and appropriateness.  The Module could be reworked for subject specificity through consultation with faculty/convening groups, conveners, and deans. The Module should be consistent with the AI policies set forth by the College. The Pathways Program could include an AI in the Workforce module in consultation with the Provost’s Office. 

Suggested People/Group for implementation:

IDC, Library, and FYS in consultation with faculty and administration

Cahill Center work with Provost’s Office for possible Pathways program

Recommendation 4: The College should invest in the necessary structures and supports for AI integration into Teaching and Learning 

Institutional structures and supports are crucial for AI integration into the college to ensure that AI is implemented in a way that aligns with the core values of a liberal arts education and provides the opportunity for all to benefits of AI technology, including having students well-prepared for an AI-influenced future, while maintaining academic rigor and integrity.  We suggest the following steps:

• Create a cross-functional AI governance committee to develop a strategic AI plan, oversee AI implementation, address ethical concerns, and evaluate outcomes with a charge to: 
  • Ensure alignment with institutional values and approaches to accessible and equitable resources for teaching and learning.
  • Collaborate with faculty to define ethical policies and standards that balance AI support with academic integrity.
  • Update academic integrity guidelines to reflect AI’s evolving role in curriculum development, teaching, learning, scholarship, and assessments.
  • Develop feedback methodologies to collect outcomes from student and faculty groups to advise future actions.
  • Provide transparent communication throughout campus about AI integration efforts.
• Allocate Appropriate Resources for AI Initiatives, including:
  • Setting aside a portion of the operating budget to fund initial AI efforts and explorations such as software licenses, student AI-exploration leaders, and faculty mini-grants for AI projects.
  • Setting aside budget for a personnel line(s) as a campus AI expert dedicated to AI efforts.
  • Seeking external funding opportunities, such as grants, to support AI integration in liberal arts education – looking into hardware / labs our campus may benefit from.
  • Developing public facing initiatives and programs as a hub to broaden the value and impact of AI through seminars, colloquiums, etc., for all students, staff, and faculty. 
  • In consultation with faculty, student success (advising, time management, career), OSS and Counseling (digital detox, de-screening time, cyberbullying, etc.), providing accessible and equitable resources and support for the mental and emotional health and wellbeing of all students, staff, and faculty.
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration, external partnership, and community engagement
  • Encourage partnerships between departments to explore AI applications across various liberal arts disciplines.
  • Consider hiring faculty members in different disciplines who can contribute to AI initiatives across campus.
  • Promote outreach to area organizations to promote awareness, AI literacy, and leadership within our greater community.

Report from Provost’s Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning PDF

Ethics Statement for Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning at Ramapo College

Ramapo College is dedicated to fostering ethical, equitable, and responsible engagement with Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning. As educators, we recognize AI’s transformative potential to enhance pedagogy, support student success, and encourage innovation, while also upholding our responsibility to ensure its use aligns with the values of academic integrity, critical thinking, and holistic education.

1. Alignment with Educational Mission: Faculty members should utilize AI tools in ways that support the liberal arts mission of fostering critical thinking, ethical reflection, and the personal and intellectual growth of students. AI should serve as a tool to enhance learning outcomes, not replace the role of educators or students in the learning process.
2. Preservation of Academic Integrity: Faculty must ensure that AI use in the classroom upholds the principles of academic honesty. Guidelines should clearly distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in assignments, assessments, and collaborative work. Faculty are encouraged to educate students on the ethical use of AI to foster responsible academic practices.
   • Faculty should provide clear course policies on the use of AI, including examples of what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable practices. These policies should align with institutional guidelines on academic integrity and promote understanding of ethical AI use. 
3. Equity and Inclusion in Learning: AI tools and technologies must be selected and implemented with consideration for equity and accessibility. Faculty should strive to minimize potential biases in AI applications and ensure all students have equal access to the resources and support needed to engage with AI effectively. As a campus, we should strive to reduce or eliminate the opportunity gaps that may exist as a result of students’ resources or prior experience.
4. Transparency in AI Use: Faculty are encouraged to maintain transparency when incorporating AI into their teaching. This includes informing students about the use of AI tools, the rationale behind their integration, and how these tools contribute to their educational experience. Faculty should also model critical engagement with AI by discussing its limitations and potential biases.
5. Empowerment of Human Agency: While AI can enhance efficiency and creativity, faculty must prioritize empowering students as active participants in their own education. Assignments and activities should be designed to encourage critical thinking, problem-solving, and original thought, with  AI serving as a complement to these skills rather than a substitute.
6. Sustainability and the Environment: Faculty and administrators should consider the environmental impact of AI tools and technologies. AI systems often require significant computational power, which can contribute to energy consumption and carbon emissions. Faculty should attempt to use AI tools when they create overall efficiency.
7. Continuous Growth, Learning and Professional Development: Faculty and students are encouraged to engage in ongoing learning about AI technologies to stay informed about their capabilities, limitations, and ethical considerations. Professional development opportunities should be sought to ensure faculty are equipped to integrate AI tools responsibly and effectively into their teaching.
8. Support for Ethical AI Use in Scholarship: Faculty using AI in their research and scholarship should adhere to ethical standards in conjunction with their respective discipline, ensuring that AI applications contribute to the advancement of knowledge while reflecting Ramapo College’s values of integrity and responsibility.
9. Reflection and Feedback: Faculty are encouraged to continuously reflect on the effectiveness and impact of AI tools in their teaching. Soliciting student feedback can help ensure that AI applications enhance the learning experience without compromising equity, understanding, or student engagement.  Additionally the College and its Faculty should stay abreast of the rapidly changing AI Ecosystem and the different techniques evolving in Higher Education.
10. Respect for Intellectual Property: Faculty must remain mindful of issues related to intellectual property when using AI in teaching and scholarship. This includes protecting student and faculty-generated work, understanding copyright implications of AI tools, and modeling ethical attribution of AI-generated content. It is important to understand that AI tools can use information provided for future use. 
11. Community Learning: Ramapo has a responsibility to educate the larger community about AI is to provide accessible information and critical perspectives on the potential benefits and risks of artificial intelligence, fostering informed public discourse and ensuring responsible development and use of AI technology.

Ethics Statement of AI in Teaching and Learning PDF