AI for Teaching and Learning (AI4TL) Institute: Call for Participants

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) is providing systemwide leadership and support for the AI for Teaching & Learning (AI4TL) Institute as part of the system’s Vision 2030 commitment to strengthen student success, expand access, and advance innovation across the California Community Colleges. In partnership with the College of the Canyons, Carnegie Mellon University, the State University of New York (SUNY) System, and Axim Collaborative, the Chancellor’s Office Academic Affairs division is supporting colleges in forming cross-functional teams and participate in a national professional learning community focused on advancing AI to support teaching and learning.

Colleges who are selected will receive $10,000 to design an AI project for teaching and learning with coaching and peer support.

The Institute represents a system-level response to the rapidly changing instructional landscape. It is designed to help colleges move beyond isolated AI experimentation toward coordinated, mission-aligned practices that enhance teaching, support student learning, and build institutional capacity. For the California Community Colleges, the Institute provides a structured opportunity for college teams to advance Vision 2030 by strengthening faculty and staff professional learning, supporting responsible and equitable AI adoption, and sharing promising practices across the system and with national partners.

Cohort 1: The Institute will launch on January 19, 2027, and end by June 18, 2027.

Apply by November 15, 2026

Cohort Details

We are seeking institutional teams to join our first cohort that possess:

  • A commitment to expanding educational opportunity, student success, and equitable outcomes, with particular interest in supporting the goals of Vision 2030 within the California Community Colleges and comparable priorities across partner systems.
  • A commitment to evidence-based instruction and an organizational desire to move beyond isolated AI experimentation toward coordinated, mission-aligned instructional strategies that can inform broader institutional and system learning.
  • A willingness to dedicate cross-functional personnel to a sustained, 5-month engagement designed to enact tangible change in teaching and learning, curricula, campus policies, or support structures and to share lessons learned with the broader cohort.

Meaningful and effective institutional change requires alignment between faculty innovation, staff expertise, and administrative leadership. As part of this system-level professional learning effort, participating institutions should apply as cross-functional teams of 4 to 6 members. A successful team would likely include:

  • Teaching Faculty (Minimum of 3): Faculty members representing diverse academic disciplines who are eager to pilot AI-supported instructional practices.
  • Professional Staff: Instructional designers, academic technologists, librarians, and/or Teaching & Learning Center staff specializing in instructional support.
  • Academic Administrators: Deans, department chairs, or campus leaders positioned to influence institutional policy, academic strategy, and resource allocation.

One member of the team should serve as the Team Lead, who will:

  • Serve as the primary point of contact between the participating institution and the Institute.
  • Inform your team’s assigned coach (see description below) of any issues hindering the successful completion of the participating institution.
  • Schedule regular (monthly) team check-in meetings with the team’s coach.

Participating California Community Colleges will receive $10,000 to defray any associated costs.

Participation in the Institute unfolds over 5 months of activities, with an estimated total 40-60 hours of effort per team member. (This includes 22 hours of synchronous activities and approximately 18-36 hours of asynchronous work, not inclusive of meeting or planning time outside of formal Institute activities.)

Synchronous Activities include five monthly, one-hour check-ins with a coach, five webinars (one hour each), and three (3) four-hour plenary sessions.

Virtual Plenary Dates

  • Friday January 22, 2027
  • Friday March 12, 2027
  • Friday June 11, 2027

We understand that not every team member will be able to attend every session, but we strongly encourage full participation.

Each team will be paired with an experienced AI4TL Coach who will provide structured subject matter expertise, mentorship, and pedagogical guidance to teams as they navigate the complexities of ethical, practical, and effective AI integration. Institute activities include:

  • Foundational Learning: Team members will complete the foundational AI 4 Learning (AI4LN) self-paced online course via Carnegie Mellon University’s Open Learning Initiative Torus platform to establish a shared baseline of AI literacy, equity-focused frameworks, and pedagogical possibilities. Regular webinars led by AI experts on relevant topics will enhance and augment the course content. This common foundation will help participating teams connect local work to institutional missions and Vision 2030 priorities.
  • Active Coaching & Collaboration: Teams will participate in five structured, monthly synchronous check-ins with their assigned coach. Teams will also attend three virtual Institute Plenaries (Kick-off, Mid-term, Concluding) and participate in “birds of a feather” affinity group breakout sessions.
  • Project Execution & Artifact Creation: Teams will design and execute a locally relevant AI integration project related to one of the tracks below. By the concluding plenary, teams should deliver a final artifact (e.g., revised syllabus, AI classroom policies, professional development model) to be openly licensed and shared in a national public-good repository. These artifacts will support local implementation and contribute to the shared body of practice that informs systemwide learning and future guidance.
  • In-Person Convening: We anticipate convening participating colleges for an in-person event, to be held at College of the Canyons. We will keep you informed as details evolve.

Teams will select one of the following primary focus areas to guide their 5-month journey through the Institute. Projects should respond to a local need while generating learning, tools, or practices that can contribute to the Chancellor’s Office’s system-level learning agenda:

pROJECT tRACK

dESCRIPTION

Updating Course Design and Assessments

Redesigning syllabi, assignments, and rubrics to support evidence of learning in an AI-augmented environment. Revisions should extend beyond individual classes and identify practices that can be adapted across disciplines and shared for broader system learning.

Developing Shared Guidelines for Teaching and Learning

Creating institutional or departmental policies for academic integrity, AI ethics, and acceptable use in teaching and learning, aligned with institutional mission and applicable system guidance.

Designing Faculty Professional Development

Building local train-the-trainer models or campus workshops to increase baseline AI literacy and strengthen professional learning for teaching and learning.

Piloting AI-Supported Learning Practices

Deploying instructional or student-support interventions, such as agentic AI, tutoring, or personalized learning frameworks, while documenting evidence of effectiveness to inform local improvement and broader system learning.

Student AI Literacy

Developing modules, workshops, or campaigns to equip students with the skills and knowledge to use AI safely and effectively for academic success.

Selecting AI Tools for Teaching and Learning

Developing recommendations or evaluation checklists tailored specifically to the needs of teaching and learning and to responsible, equitable, and effective adoption of AI tools.

The Chancellor’s Office will coordinate a structured evaluation agenda for the AI4TL Institute in partnership with the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group). The evaluation is designed to generate evidence about individual, institutional, and student impact and to support system-level learning. As part of program evaluation and broader research dissemination, participants will be asked to complete pre- and post-surveys measuring AI confidence and institutional cohesion. Additionally, faculty participants who implement AI-informed instructional changes will be asked to distribute a survey to students in the relevant courses.

To apply, please submit the application by November 15, 2026.

Please direct any questions to Judith Sebesta, Project Director, AI4TL Institute, at judith.sebesta@canyons.edu and FacultyPD@cccco.edu.