- Why is the CSU investing in artificial intelligence?
The CSU is investing in AI because it is fundamentally changing how people learn, work and solve problems across nearly every industry. Higher education cannot ignore this shift, but it must approach it thoughtfully and responsibly. The CSU’s investment is grounded in its mission to expand access, promote responsible use for student success and prepare graduates to contribute to California’s economy and communities. By providing resources and training for students to AI literacy including critical thinking and ethical awareness, the CSU is working toward expanding workforce readiness skills, which can accelerate social mobility and reinforce the return on investment for students and taxpayers.
- What is the CSU’s artificial intelligence initiative?
The California State University launched a systemwide artificial intelligence (AI) initiative in 2025 to provide the CSU community with opportunities to thoughtfully integrate AI into teaching, learning, research and operations across its 22 universities. Access and equity were central to every aspect of the CSU’s AI strategy. Prior to this initiative, access to AI tools was uneven across campuses, with some students and faculty able to access tools while others could not. This systemwide effort is designed to enhance student success, support faculty innovation, and ensure graduates are prepared for a rapidly evolving economy where AI fluency is increasingly essential. As the nation’s largest and most diverse four-year public university system, the CSU is uniquely positioned to model how AI can be implemented ethically, equitably and at scale.
Learn more about the initiative on the AI Commons website.
Follow recent updates and announcements here.
- How does the CSU’s AI initiative align with CSU Forward, the university system’s strategic plan?
The CSU’s AI initiative directly advances the priorities outlined in CSU Forward, particularly its focus on student success, workforce readiness, equity and innovation. By providing equitable access to AI tools and opportunities to integrate AI literacy across disciplines, the CSU is strengthening its ability to prepare students for high-demand careers while improving learning outcomes. The initiative also supports CSU Forward’s emphasis on removing barriers to degree completion, such as transcript processing and credit articulation, and using data-informed approaches to better serve students. In this way, AI is not a standalone effort—it is a key enabler of the CSU’s long-term vision for a more responsive, future-ready university system.
- In what ways does AI support CSU Forward’s commitment to equity and student success?
CSU Forward prioritizes closing equity gaps and improving outcomes for all students, and the AI initiative plays a critical role in advancing that goal. By ensuring systemwide, no-cost access to AI tools, the CSU is eliminating disparities that previously existed between campuses and student populations. AI-powered tools can also support personalized learning and administrative efficiency, thereby helping students stay on track to graduate. These efforts align with CSU Forward’s goal of increasing graduation rates, reducing time to degree and ensuring that all students—regardless of background, campus or field of study—have the support they need to succeed.
- How does the AI initiative help the CSU meet CSU Forward’s workforce and economic mobility goals?
A central pillar of CSU Forward is preparing students for California’s evolving workforce and driving economic mobility. The AI initiative supports this pillar by providing opportunities to embed AI skills, critical thinking and ethical awareness into the student experience across all 22 universities. Through industry partnerships, applied learning opportunities and faculty-led curriculum innovation, students are gaining competencies that align with workforce demands in an AI-driven economy. This ensures CSU graduates are not only career-ready but also positioned to lead and adapt in rapidly changing industries—advancing both individual opportunity and the state’s broader economic competitiveness.
- How does this initiative support student careers and California’s workforce?
The CSU plays a critical role as a workforce pipeline for California, and its AI initiative is designed to ensure graduates are competitive in an AI-enabled economy. Through partnerships with industry leaders, faculty-led curriculum innovation and hands-on learning opportunities, students are developing practical AI skills that align with workforce needs across sectors such as healthcare, education, business and technology. California added more than 100,000 AI job postings in 2024, more than any other state, and the CSU plays a critical role in preparing our students for this growing demand and evolving workforce. As outlined in the CSU’s recent economic impact report, Moving California Forward: The Economic Power of the CSU, in 2023–24 alone, CSU-related spending supported 210,800 jobs and produced $2.3 billion in state and local tax revenue.
- How did the CSU make decisions about AI tools and partnerships?
The CSU used an extensive systemwide and multi-layered process that prioritized due diligence, inclusion, scale and long-term impact. This process included engagement through formal governance bodies such as the systemwide GenAI Advisory Committee and IT leadership councils, as well as direct input from students, faculty, staff and campus leadership across all 22 universities. This was not a one-time consultation, but an ongoing and iterative process designed to balance innovation, risk management and educational outcomes.
- What specific criteria did the CSU use in selecting OpenAI for contract renewal?
The CSU renewed its agreement with OpenAI following extensive evaluation and input from stakeholders across the system, including the CSU’s GenAI Advisory Committee and its three subcommittees, which unanimously recommended renewing the contract. The CSU’s decision to renew its agreement with OpenAI was guided by the following systemwide priorities:
- Data privacy. The highest consideration for choosing OpenAI was the legal and data privacy protections for our students, staff and faculty. OpenAI provides the strongest security measures possible.
- Consistency. The second consideration was ensuring continuity for students, faculty and staff, who are already using these tools in coursework, research and daily operations, preventing the need to essentially start from scratch with a new service.
- Access. The current agreement with OpenAI costs $1.60 per user. This cost is covered with systemwide resources and offered free to our students, faculty and staff. The closest provider offered $8.00 per user, per month and would need to be supported by campus resources or a user fee.
- Expansion. Finally, the new agreement anticipates expanding the service from 500,000 to 675,000 users, including a new benefit for free service to students up to one year after graduation in their efforts to enter the workforce.
- Exploration. The agreement will continue providing relevant opportunities to responsibly and efficiently explore GenAI uses across instructional and workplace settings while maintaining an environment that protects intellectual property.
Together, these factors were central to the CSU’s decision and aligned directly with its mission to expand opportunity and remove barriers to student success.
- How did access and equity factor into this decision?
Access and equity were central to every aspect of the CSU’s AI strategy. Prior to this initiative, access to AI tools was uneven across campuses, with some students and faculty able to access tools while others could not. By making a coordinated systemwide investment, the CSU ensures that all students and employees have access to the same high-quality tools at no personal cost. This approach helps close the digital divide, prevents the creation of a two-tiered system and ensures that no student is left behind as AI becomes a foundational skill for academic and professional success.
- How is the CSU protecting student, faculty and staff data?
The CSU placed a strong emphasis on data privacy, legal protections and security throughout its decision-making process. The system’s AI agreements include enterprise-level safeguards such as secure authentication, controlled access and data protections aligned with CSU policies and legal obligations. Faculty and student interactions with AI tools are treated with the same level of care as other university technologies, and the CSU continues to refine its policies and guidelines to ensure responsible and secure use as technology evolves.
- How is the CSU ensuring responsible and ethical use of AI?
The CSU has established robust governance structures to guide the responsible and ethical use of AI across the system. This includes the GenAI Advisory Committee and specialized subcommittees focused on teaching and learning, privacy and security, and productivity. The CSU provides AI courses and training for students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, guidance and resources and policies are offered to support ethical and responsible use, while preserving academic freedom and ensuring faculty maintain control over how AI is used in their classrooms. The CSU’s approach emphasizes that AI is a tool to enhance—not replace—human learning, judgment and expertise. Additionally, the CSU will be placing customized mental health notices into the platform.
- How are faculty involved in shaping and using AI at the CSU?
Faculty play a central role in shaping the CSU’s AI strategy and its implementation. They are represented in governance bodies, advisory committees and the AI Workforce Acceleration Board, and actively contribute to instructional approaches. Participation in AI use is voluntary, and faculty retain full authority over their classrooms, teaching methods and course syllabus. In addition, thousands of faculty have engaged in professional development on ethical and effective AI use, and many are leading innovation through initiatives such as the AI Educational Innovations Challenge.
- What did the CSU learn from its community about AI?
The CSU learned that AI is already widely used and valued across its community. Survey results show that more than half of students, roughly six in 10 faculty and nearly two-thirds of staff are regularly using AI tools in their work and studies. The CSU also found that ChatGPT is the most widely used AI platform among both students and faculty. At the same time, the CSU community emphasized the importance of equitable access, strong privacy and intellectual property protections, clear guidance and a continued focus on teaching quality and student learning outcomes.
- What has the CSU accomplished since launching the AI initiative?
Since launching the initiative, the CSU has provided AI tools and training to nearly half a million students and 63,000 faculty and staff, creating one of the largest AI deployments in higher education. The system has engaged nearly 100,000 community members in shaping its approach, supported faculty innovation through funded curriculum projects across all 22 universities and delivered professional development to thousands of faculty. The CSU has also launched the AI Workforce Acceleration Board, developed partnerships with industry leaders and created real-world learning opportunities such as micro-internships and AI-focused research initiatives.
See CSU’s year in review in Ai here.
- What are the next steps for the CSU’s AI strategy?
The CSU will continue to expand training and support, strengthen governance and privacy frameworks, and evaluate additional AI tools and partnerships as part of a long-term, multi-vendor strategy. The system will also continue to engage students, faculty and staff in shaping future decisions and will measure the impact of AI on learning outcomes and operations. The CSU’s focus remains on ensuring equitable access, responsible use and meaningful benefits for students and communities across all 22 universities. Informed by the results of the CSU systemwide AI survey and input from stakeholders across the system, the CSU’s generative AI strategy is entering its next phase of development. The initial phase focused on establishing a strong foundation of access, equity, and responsible use. The next phase builds on that foundation and turns toward deeper institutional integration, measurable impact, student success, workforce readiness and long-term sustainability. The CSU is currently reviewing recommendations and guidance provided by the Teaching, Learning & Research, Privacy, Security & Procurement and Enhanced Productivity Applications subcommittees of the CSU Generative AI Advisory Committee.