Lawson Returns From UPCEA DT&L and SOLA+R Conference With New AI Insights

Lesa Lawson, Assistant Vice Provost for Professional Education, recently returned from the second annual Summit for Online Leadership and Administration + Roundtable (SOLA+R) and Distance Teaching and Learning Conference (DT&L) conference hosted by UPCEA in Minneapolis. DT&L and SOLA+R have traditionally been two separate conferences but have been combined for the past two years with great success. The conferences had several sessions focusing on utilizing artificial intelligence in higher education; from Auburn to Harvard, AI is the center of everyone’s attention.

Lawson’s interest was especially piqued in a session hosted by Auburn University, where they discussed how they’ve rolled out AI for their faculty and students. Auburn has implemented a Canvas course for their faculty where they can learn about AI and its ethical uses. But more than that, the faculty members are then able to take that course (in total or in parts) and implement it into the courses they teach so they can educate their students on how they’re expected to use AI. This course is frequently updated and made available to institutions nationwide. Lawson noted that she has been doing a lot of research on the Auburn course and others like it to see if it would be a good fit for Baylor. 

Lawson was reading an article just the other day that noted that 70% of recent college graduates wished they had more AI in their studies. This goes to illustrate the continued appetite for AI in and out of the classroom as students move into the workforce. “As GPE continues to evolve, you can be sure AI will be a constant point of conversation for our team,” Lawson said.