NW Valley Times

Rick Holbeck, executive director of online instruction, and Dr. Breanna Naegeli, dean of the Honors College at Grand Canyon University (GCU), presented at the recent Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Annual Conference in Chicago. When first-time attendee Holbeck entered the room where he was scheduled to speak, he was taken aback by its size.

“They chose HUGE rooms for us – like ballrooms,” said Holbeck. He was there to discuss GCU's approach to artificial intelligence alongside Naegeli. “I was shocked. I thought, no one’s going to come to this.” Contrary to his expectations, the rooms were filled with an estimated 400 attendees each.

“The rooms were packed,” Holbeck noted. The audience actively engaged with the presenters during and after their session. Katie Sprute, online full-time faculty chair in the College of Education, also spoke at the conference on how to better engage remote faculty.

“We had lines of people coming up to talk to us about what we were doing and even emails afterward of, ‘You guys are leaders. I’d love to pick your brain about this.’ We were asked to do a podcast in the future for another university," Holbeck shared.

Holbeck and Naegeli were not alone; other GCU faculty members also presented at this prestigious event. Holbeck led another AI-related discussion with College of Education Dean Dr. Meredith Critchfield, while Sprute conducted her own presentation on engaging remote faculty.

"From what I gather, it was a pretty competitive process to present," said Sprute. "I was humbled to have the opportunity to share what GCU and the College of Education is doing." Critchfield added that it was special to witness enthusiasm around GCU’s presentations: “We talk a lot at GCU about innovation and helping our students change their lives for the better.”

Provost Dr. Randy Gibb acknowledged the significance of multiple invitations for GCU presenters on similar topics like AI: “For a university to get selected is always a competitive process...”

Vice Provost Dr. Jennifer Lech emphasized that HLC typically avoids selecting talks from a single institution but makes exceptions for notable contributions like those from GCU.

Sprute addressed relevant issues in higher education such as online learning and adjunct faculty engagement: "The idea of trying to foster community with remote faculty when they might also have a job somewhere else presents even more challenges."

GCU’s presentations on AI aligned well with the conference’s theme “Leading International Education at a Crossroads.” Since ChatGPT emerged in 2022, AI has been a significant topic in academia.

“AI has been prominent over the last 18 months,” said Naegeli, who chairs both Character and Integrity Committee and Generative Artificial Intelligence Committee at GCU. They discussed integrating AI into curriculum while maintaining ethical standards.

Two consistent themes from audience feedback were concerns about academic dishonesty and job replacement due to AI: “For many institutions... their first response was policy creation,” said Naegeli.

At HLC, Holbeck and Critchfield shared teaching strategies surrounding AI integration: “There are 200-plus other AI platforms emerging every month,” noted Critchfield.

The question for GCU became how best to use AI ethically rather than blocking it entirely. Their visual model demonstrated collaborative efforts across departments including technical support and instructional design.

Holbeck highlighted that one key takeaway from HLC was recognizing how much progress GCU has made regarding AI integration: “When pandemic hit...we transitioned smoothly due to our leadership in online education.”

GCU aims to lead in AI technology just as it did with online education during COVID-19 disruptions.

Many attendees sought more information about GCU's virtual LOPE Conference on June 6 which will cover topics like "Using AI to Help Students Be Successful Beyond the Classroom" and "Ethical and Societal Implications of Generative AI."

Holbeck concluded that other institutions still grappling post-pandemic acknowledged that GCU is ahead in addressing AI challenges: “We haven’t even thought about this yet... You guys are way ahead.”

Manager of Internal Communications Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at [email protected] or 602-639-7901.

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