Year Three Begins September 2026
The first national AI conversation continues among independent institutions in 2026–27 through CIC’s AI Ready network, with brand new topics, a defined approach, and deep reach into campus.
New in 2026–27:
New Topics for All Campus Roles
New Community for AI Change Leaders
New Bot Sprints for Super Users
From enrollment and student services to curriculum changes and institutional strategy, the implications of AI are broad, fast-moving, and high stakes. AI Ready fosters learning, shares resources, and increases effective adoption of artificial intelligence across campus and every level of leadership.
“This has been the best series of sessions I have attended on AI to date. I look forward to additional opportunities to maintain currency and glean insight from others, as well as perhaps make connections with like-minded colleagues to share developments.”
To ensure AI readiness, AI Ready offers two programs:
All Campus Essentials, an opportunity to learn about and engage with nine of the most pressing topics over 12 months, structured so all areas of your campus benefit and participate
Leading the AI Charge, a monthly working community for select campus leaders driving AI adoption, where the conversation moves from what AI is to what your institution does next.
…and Bot Cohort Sprints for the super users on your campus to apply and advance their skills using AI tools.
CIC member institutions can enroll in one or both programs
All CIC member colleges and universities, and affiliate and state council members interested in expanding the education and use of AI are eligible to join one or both programs.
Institutions must complete the application(s) for the respective program(s). A designated campus contact must be identified to coordinate the initiative on your campus and manage billing details.
- Goal 1: Knowledge Sharing and Learning
Facilitate the exchange of insights, best practices, and resources - Goal 2: Capacity Building and Usage Expansion
Develop trainings, workshops, and sample materials to equip faculty and staff with foundational AI knowledge and skills - Goal 3: Collaborative Projects and Research
Support collaborative initiatives and cross-institutional efforts to explore AI across diverse administrative and academic domains
1. All Campus Essentials
Audience: All campus faculty and staff (with months aimed at specific groups)
Format: Weekly 60-minute webinars featuring experts in the field
All Campus Essentials, AI Ready’s broadest program, is built for exactly that—all roles across campus. As in previous cohorts, there are no limits on campus attendance in AI Ready webinars. Previously called “Program #1”, we have are bringing back this tried and true program with some slight modifications to build on the success of this learning community and webinar series. Each month, All Campus Essentials brings your institution into the most important conversations happening in higher education and AI, structured so that the right people from across your campus can join, learn, and act together.
Sessions are held on the first three Thursdays of each month at 2:00 p.m. (ET).
Each month centers on a new topic, announced in advance, so your campus contact can invite the right colleagues to attend. Sessions are pre-scheduled and easy to forward, making campus coordination simple.
Topics
This program addresses the AI questions your campus is already asking, including:
Fall Schedule:
- Preparing Students for an AI-Powered Workforce—The knowledge, skills, and dispositions graduates need related to AI, and how to teach them
- This month is for faculty, career services staff, academic advisors, curriculum and program directors, and provosts and academic VPs.
- Cheating, Authorship, and Academic Trust—Navigating AI in academic integrity and the evolving meaning of student work
- This month is for faculty, academic integrity officers, deans of students, registrars, and department chairs.
- AI as an Accessibility Tool—How AI bridges equity gaps and expands student and staff support
- This month is for disability services and ADA coordinators, student affairs professionals, enrollment staff, student support and success staff, and faculty.
Upcoming Schedule:
- AI and Authentic Communications—Authentic communication in an age of AI-generated content, and what it means for enrollment, marketing, and institutional voice
- This month is for enrollment and admissions staff, marketing and communications teams, institutional advancement staff, and senior administrators.
- Vocation in an AI Era—What enduring purpose looks like for students, institutions, and the people who serve them
- This month is for faculty, career services professionals, chaplains and campus ministry staff, academic advisors, and student affairs staff.
- The Ethics of AI at Scale—Bias, environment, intellectual property, and the responsibilities that come with adoption
- This month is for faculty, institutional research and data officers, general counsel and compliance staff, technology and IT leaders, and senior administrators.
- AI Nudges, Bots, and Companionship—How AI companions, behavioral nudges, and campus-deployed bots are reshaping student engagement, advising, and the boundaries of institutional care
- This month is for student affairs and advising staff, enrollment professionals, chief information officers, technology and IT leaders, and department and division heads.
- AI in the Flow of Work—The tools, automations, and everyday practices that are quietly transforming how higher ed professionals get things done
- This month is for chief information officers, technology and IT staff, administrative and operations staff, department coordinators and managers, and human resources professionals.
Topics are subject to refinement as the field evolves.
Approach
Each month includes three structured sessions that move from conversation to context to application:
- Session 1—The Conversation: An expert-led overview of the month’s topic, grounding participants in what’s happening and why it matters right now
- Session 2—Demos and Perspectives Horizon Sessions: Panels, demonstrations, and campus examples that show what AI looks like in practice in this space
- Session 3—So What Now?: A discussion-driven session focused on implications, next steps, and how campuses like yours are advancing this work
This structure repeats monthly, with many campuses having well over 100 staff and faculty members participate throughout the year. As in previous cohorts, there are no limits on campus attendance in AI Ready webinars. Last year, Campbell University (NC) held the record with 1,172 participants in all.
Investment
$2,500 institutional enrollment fee, covering the full program year, and unlimited attendance
This does not include access to the Bot Cohort Sprints (see below).
2. Leading the AI Charge
Audience: The one to three campus leaders of the AI Change conversation on campus
Format: Community of practice built around monthly topics in a 90-minute session
Intimate, executive community.
Breakout room with best practices.
Active guidance and conversations.
Some people on your campus aren’t just learning about AI—they’re the ones responsible for leading it. This program is built for them. (If you are on this page and signing up for your campus, this person might be you.)
Leading in the Era of AI is a monthly 90-minute topical community of practice designed for the people driving AI adoption and culture change on campus: provosts, chief information officers, AI committee chairs, faculty development leaders, and senior administrators who are doing the hard work of moving from conversation into action.
This isn’t a survey of AI topics. It’s a working community for leaders who are navigating the real complexity of change—governance decisions, faculty trust, board conversations, institutional risk, and what it actually takes to change a campus culture around AI.
Topics
Sessions address the practical and strategic challenges campus leaders face, including:
- Data Governance and Management—Building the frameworks your institution needs to use AI responsibly
- Having the AI Conversation with Your Board—How to structure a board retreat or working session on AI strategy
- Faculty Training and Preparation—Building professional development that actually moves the needle
- Buying AI Software—What to evaluate, what to ask vendors, and how to make decisions your campus can stand behind
- Advancement and AI—How to talk with donors and funders about AI investment
- Student Concerns and Resistance—How to engage students honestly and build trust around AI use
- AI Governance Structures—What a chief AI officer role looks like, and how institutions are structuring AI leadership
- Data, Privacy, and the Surveilled Campus—Student data rights, institutional accountability, and ethical data use
- From Discussion to Action—Turning campus AI committees into campus AI momentum
Investment
$4,000 institutional enrollment fee, covering the full program year
This does not include access to the Bot Cohort Sprints (see below).
3. Bot Cohort Sprints
Audience: Your campus super users (limited to three individuals per campus)
Format: 3 sprints that allow your power AI users to build institution-level bots for actual deployment
Ready to build campus AI independence? Bot Cohort Sprints are intensive three-week experiences designed for campus super users who are ready to build.
Most CIC campuses are currently hiring outside bot-builders, a large investment that creates long-term dependence. Bot Cohort Sprints are intensive three-week experiences designed for campus super users who are ready to build instead.
Each sprint brings together a cohort of super users for a focused, hands-on dive into building and deploying AI bots on campus—walking through design principles, practical use cases, and the real work of making bots functional for your institution’s specific needs.
Members of the bot cohort get access to all bots built for deployment on participant campuses.
Three sprints are offered each program year:
- September Sprint
- December Sprint
- March Sprint
Specific sprint details, including session cadence and participant capacity, will be shared with enrolled institutions ahead of each sprint window.
A CIC staff member will reach out to you at the conclusion of our enrollment cycle in August regarding cohort sign-ups.
Investment
$1,500 institutional enrollment fee.
Bot Sprints are separate from All Campus Essentials and Leading the AI Charge programs.
AI Ready Program Leadership
Contact Information
For questions about CIC’s AI Ready network offerings, contact Matt Trainum, vice president for strategic networks and partnerships, at mtrainum@cic.edu or Sabrina Sturgeon, AI adoption and innovation specialist, at ssturgeon@cic.edu.
Sponsors
AI Ready is made possible in part through the support of our program sponsors.
For sponsorship opportunities, contact Matt Trainum at mtrainum@cic.edu or Simone Smith, director of sponsorships,at simone.smith@cic.edu .
FAQ
Q: Are the webinars recorded and available to members of our campus if we join?
A: We record and archive All Campus Essentials sessions, resources, slide decks, and chat transcripts for members of your campus to access the length of the program and an additional 6 months following it’s conclusion. We record and share all Leading the AI Charge sessions as we are able with some exceptions to allow for more candid discussion among campus leaders.
“This was helpful. I was afraid AI would make me irrelevant as a teacher, but I can now see how I can use it to help students learn and help myself be more creative.”