Framingham State Awarded $330,000 To Add AI Focus To Coursework

FRAMINGHAM, MA — With help of a $330,000 grant, Framingham State University plans to blend AI tools and training into some of its coursework, a change the school says could benefit hundreds of students.

The funding, recently awarded by the Davis Educational Foundation, will support faculty development and the redesign of about 20 courses across multiple disciplines, according to a news release.

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The goal is to integrate generative artificial intelligence into current classwork, so that students are better prepared for careers – and gain skills to use AI responsibly and effectively.

The university said the curriculum overhaul will advance learning for more than 300 students, over 10 percent of the school’s undergraduates.

“The training will include not only career-focused applications for AI, but also the ethical and environmental implications of AI,” said Keri Ann Sather-Wagstaff, associate provost and the principal investigator for the grant program.

For example, students may learn how to generate and refine AI-assisted writing, critically evaluate it for bias or misinformation, and apply AI in ways that enhance productivity without sacrificing academic integrity.

Based on a pilot project already underway, the grant program has been dubbed Leading to Integrate Artificial Intelligence into Student Experiences and will run for two years.

Framingham State said LIAISE will “create lasting institutional impact” since the courses will continue their AI focus after that period, and faculty will have the skills to expand that focus into other classwork.

The Davis Educational Foundation was established in 1985 by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis after the retirement of Stanton Davis as chairman of Shaw's Supermarkets.

Headquartered in Yarmouth, Maine, the foundation supports undergraduate programs of New England colleges and universities and has provided more than $140 million in grants to more than 180 institutions, according to its website.

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