The Californer - Cal State LA secures funding for two artificial intelligence projects from CSU

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CSU initiative encourages faculty to explore instructional strategies that leverage AI tools.

LOS ANGELES - Californer -- Cal State LA has won funding for two faculty-led artificial intelligence projects through the California State University's (CSU) Artificial Intelligence Educational Innovations Challenge (AIEIC).

The CSU launched the initiative to ensure that faculty from its 23 campuses are key drivers of innovative AI adoption and deployment across the system. In April, the AIEIC invited faculty to develop innovative instructional strategies that leverage AI tools.

The response was overwhelming, with more than 400 proposals submitted by over 750 faculty members across the state. The Chancellor's Office will award a total of $3 million to fund the 63 winning proposals, which were chosen for their potential to enable transformative teaching methods, foster groundbreaking research, and address key concerns about AI adoption within academia.

"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," said Nathan Evans, CSU deputy vice chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs and chief academic officer. "The number of funded projects underscores the CSU's strong commitment to innovation and academic excellence. These initiatives will explore and demonstrate effective AI integration in student learning, with findings shared systemwide to maximize impact. Our goal is to prepare students to engage with AI strategically, ethically, and successfully in California's fast-changing workforce."

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Cal State LA's winning projects (https://genai.calstate.edu/communities/faculty/csu-artificial-intelligence-educational-innovations-challenge-awards) are titled "Teaching with Integrity in the Age of AI" and "AI-Enhanced STEM Supplemental Instruction Workshops."

For "Teaching with Integrity in the Age of AI," the university's Center for Effective Teaching and Learning will form a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) to address faculty concerns about AI and academic integrity. From September 2025 to April 2026, the FLC will support eight to 15 cross-disciplinary faculty members in developing AI-informed, ethics-focused pedagogy. Participants will explore ways to minimize AI-facilitated cheating, apply ethical decision-making frameworks, and create assignments aligned with AI literacy standards.

The "AI-Enhanced STEM Supplemental Instruction Workshops" project will look to expand and improve student success in challenging first-year Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math courses by integrating generative AI tools, specifically ChatGPT, into Supplemental Instruction workshops. By leveraging AI, the project addresses the limitations of collaborative learning environments, providing personalized, real-time feedback, and guidance.

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The AIEIC is a key component of the CSU's broader AI Strategy, which was launched in February 2025 to establish the CSU as the first AI-empowered university system in the nation.