Guidelines not policies: The University of Texas at San Antonio’s approach to gen AI

A lot of people, when confronted with change, want certainty, says Vito. “I think there were people who hoped for policy because they aren’t comfortable with grey areas,” she adds. “Instead, we gave them more of a playground they could use to learn and experiment.” Nothing was mandated, she emphasizes, with no pressure put on staff or faculty to use this technology if they didn’t want to use it. “But it was important for us to be very inclusive in our conversations about these tools, explaining how they can be helpful and where they can add value,” says Ketchum.

Pace of progress

For other academic institutions looking to develop their own approach to AI, Ketchum’s advice is to start small, find the one tool that could work, and give it a try using existing guidelines and best practices. Vito believes it’s important to always keep your eye on the prize, explaining they’ve already been working on improving digital literacy across the university, and that this is just an evolution of that.

Vito also stresses the importance of bringing everyone along on the journey. “When people are invited to participate in things, they feel like they’re part of something,” she says. “And then a lot of this stuff changes from being intimidating to being rather exciting.”