AI Fluency: Faculty FAQs

AI Fluency means students graduate with deep expertise in their field and the ability to apply AI thoughtfully, responsibly and innovatively within it. AI Fluency ensures solid foundations in AI and goes further to include critical thinking, ethical reasoning and creative problem-solving with AI. This initiative prepares students to be “bilingual”— fluent in both their discipline and the responsible, intuitive use of AI. Ethics are not an afterthought but a core, integrated component of AI Fluency, ensuring students are equipped to navigate the opportunities and challenges of AI in society. 

AI Fluency encourages deeper discovery. It is not about replacing the deep expertise of any field, it is about enhancing it. If a student’s passion is about advancing cancer treatments, accelerating drug discovery, shaping sustainable energy solutions, or revealing new dimensions of art history, in AI Fluency we will explore how, if, and when AI can strengthen their pursuit. 

Beginning with the undergraduate Class of 2029, there are a series of key expected learning outcomes to be achieved through students' completion of their degree. Not every course will use AI or touch on an expected learning outcome. The colleges will work closely with planning out where students will complete these learning outcomes over four years.

• Explain foundational concepts such as artificial intelligence, large language models, machine learning
• Explore the potential benefits and limitations of common AI applications in the context of a chosen field
• Evaluate the types of inputs and outputs foundational to AI systems — including data, prompts, commands and emerging modalities — and explain how input form and quality influence output quality, performance and reliability
• Use AI tools to accomplish specific goals in the field of study, and critically assess outputs for accuracy and relevance to the task
• Design innovative applications of AI within a discipline, supported by a rationale for the potential value and feasibility
• Explore the implications (ethical, societal, environmental, legal, practical) of AI use cases and develop reasoned recommendations for responsible implementation within a field of study

No. The AI Fluency initiative supports and encourages exploration but does not require AI integration in every course. Instructors should share with their students how AI will, or will not, be used or permitted in a given course.

No. AI use in a course will be determined by the instructor.

Academic integrity, ethics and other critical implications are at the heart of AI Fluency. From classroom discussions to policy resources, the initiative supports instructors in leading conversations about responsible use. These topics are integrated into the Launch Seminar and embedded throughout the curriculum.

To support academic integrity, Ohio State’s Committee on Academic Misconduct has established student responsibilities under the Code of Student Conduct with respect to generative AI tools. Some instructors may approve of using generative AI tools in the academic setting for specific assignments. However, these tools should be used only with the explicit and clear permission of each individual instructor, and then only in the ways allowed by the instructor. If an instructor has not authorized their use in a given course, generative AI tools should not be used in the completion of course assignments.

The Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning also provides strategies for setting expectations, designing assignments and fostering responsible student engagement with AI.

In a world with rapidly growing adoption of AI, the goal of AI Fluency is to equip students with the skills, knowledge and know-how to leverage AI in ways that can advance thinking and exploration. AI is an increasingly available tool and like any tool, what you get from it depends on how you use it. With AI Fluency, we aim to utilize the learning environment to understand how to use AI to explore areas of interest more deeply and pursue a deeper level of understanding. 

Equally important, and core to the learning outcomes, is ensuring our students develop the judgement to recognize when AI might not be the right tool. As we think about how to harness the tools we have at our disposal in service of the things we care about, sometimes that might be AI. Sometimes it will not.

Over the course of the 2025-26 academic year, Ohio State’s colleges will be tasked with developing their own plans for their undergraduate programs on how the Class of 2029 will graduate AI fluent. More details will be shared with colleges on identifying particular courses through the major that achieve the AI Fluency learning outcomes. 

Additionally, as you have interest in exploring teaching in AI or with AI and are looking for resources or consultations, here are offerings from the Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning. Also, if you have other questions related to AI Fluency, please feel free to reach out to csi@osu.edu.

The Launch Seminar, part of Ohio State’s signature General Education Bookends experience, helps all first-year students explore their interests, build foundational skills, reflect on aspirations and connect with resources. Now, it also serves as a space for students to start exploring AI and how it intersects with their academic and career goals. The three new AI-infused Launch Seminar modules introduce students to 1) what generative AI is and how it works, 2) using AI effectively and ethically, and 3) using AI thoughtfully throughout their university careers. The modules are tied to the six learning outcomes Ohio State expects all undergraduates to develop as part of the AI Fluency initiative.

In the First Year Success Series, students are given the option to participate in various workshops. This year we will offer “Exploring with AI” workshops providing experiential learning and collaboration in how to responsibly leverage AI to more deeply explore areas of interest.

We are providing multiple layers of opportunities for instructors and faculty members to familiarize themselves with AI fundamentals, tools and instructional design resources to explore the best way AI tools may be integrated into their courses. Instructors and faculty are encouraged to contact the Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning and the Center for Software Innovation (CSI) for support. These resources will help you, step-by-step, explore the possibility of incorporating AI into courses, including one-on-one consultations, faculty fellows, as well as other mechanisms to support instructor fluency in applying AI across disciplines.

In addition, peer-to-peer sharing of pedagogical ideas on advancing AI Fluency are powerful, and we are exploring ways in which we can learn more about individual faculty creativity and applications of AI in their courses, and ways to share what faculty have gained from such explorations and applications of AI in teaching and learning. While the central resources in the Drake Institute, CSI and other units will be critical in the early stages, it is very likely that individual faculty creativity and exploration will be the vehicle through which the most powerful pedagogical impact will be felt at Ohio State.

Supporting faculty in using AI thoughtfully and effectively is a shared effort across the university. A diverse network of university offices contributes to centralized and distributed guidance, training and instructional support. Find resources available across Ohio State.

The Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning plays a leading role and is expanding its offerings to help faculty integrate AI into their teaching. Faculty can access AI-Infused Course Design Institutes, workshops, sample assignments, learning communities and instructional consultations for one-on-one support. Learn more about the Drake Institute offerings.

More information to come on this soon.

Faculty are encouraged to develop or revise courses to thoughtfully integrate AI in partnership with their departments. Any course changes that would require approvals should flow through standard processes. Support is available through the Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning and other campus partners. This includes instructional design consultations, sample materials and funding opportunities to support the development of AI-infused courses and modules.

The university maintains a list of AI tools that meet its standards for privacy, security and accessibility. These include Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and NotebookLM, and Adobe Creative Cloud. View the approved list.

Only tools that meet Ohio State’s institutional standards for privacy, data security and accessibility are approved for use. These tools are reviewed and vetted by the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI). Read more about security and privacy. 

Although the initiative begins with the Launch Seminar and First-Year Success Series, all students will have access to AI innovation workshops and AI hackathons. These experiences are designed to provide practical, hands-on learning that students can apply in their chosen field. In addition, colleges are actively working to embed AI learning opportunities throughout degree programs, ensuring students encounter AI in meaningful ways across their academic journey.

AI Fluency is a university-wide priority, and regional campuses are part of the broader planning and implementation strategy. Regional campus faculty will have access to the teaching-support resources and programming.

While AI Fluency is initially focused on undergraduate education, with the goal that every 2029 graduate will be AI Fluent in their field of study, exploration of AI in graduate and professional education is welcome. The same AI tools supporting undergraduate education are fully available for use in graduate and professional education. 

Yes. Assessment will begin after the first year of the AI Fluency launch to allow time for colleges and departments to explore how best to incorporate AI Fluency into majors and minors.

For other questions, please reach out to csi@osu.edu.