AI-Fluent Education at the Eccles School of Business
At the David Eccles School of Business, an AI education vision set by Dean Kurt Dirks,
that students are not only AI fluent but also fundamentally strong, is now being implemented
under Professor Himanshu Mishra’s leadership. The implementation aims to build AI
fluency across the student experience while keeping critical thinking, decision-making,
and ethical reasoning at the center.
A vision for AI-ready learners
The initiative is designed around a workplace where AI touches most roles and disciplines. AI is treated as part of the core learning experience, not an add-on. Students learn how to use AI for insight and problem-solving, and how to understand its limits and downstream effects.
The initiative is designed around a workplace where AI touches most roles and disciplines. AI is treated as part of the core learning experience, not an add-on. Students learn how to use AI for insight and problem-solving, and how to understand its limits and downstream effects.
A four-part roadmap for AI readiness
The work is being delivered through a four-part roadmap that spans student support, faculty support, and ethics:
The work is being delivered through a four-part roadmap that spans student support, faculty support, and ethics:
- Faculty training
Faculty support includes training, shared resources, and examples that instructors can adapt to their courses. Workshops create space for instructors to compare approaches, share materials, and discuss what is working in classrooms while maintaining academic rigor and integrity. - Ethical and responsible use
Ethics and responsible use are built into the program. Students and faculty cover transparency, academic integrity expectations, and the human impacts of AI-driven decisions. The goal is clear norms for when and how AI is acceptable, and how to document and evaluate AI use. -
Student GenAI training
Students receive hands-on GenAI training focused on practical use. The training covers what large language models can and cannot do, how to write prompts, how to verify results, and how to use AI without outsourcing thinking. -
Advising and career services
Advising and career development teams are building AI into student guidance. Students learn how AI is reshaping industries, job roles, and hiring.
What is already in motion
- Work underway across the school includes integrating GenAI into courses across the business school, with more than 1,100 students reached to date.
- Shared AI resources are being curated so instructors can use them across different teaching styles.
- Teaching practices are being documented so faculty can reuse patterns that hold up under real classroom conditions.
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Faculty-to-faculty workshops are running to spread classroom-tested methods.
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Industry speakers are being brought in to connect course work to current business practice.
- The AI4U student club is being supported to build peer learning and student leadership.
- An online AI Foundations course is being developed for incoming freshmen, so students begin with shared baseline skills.
- Peer institution collaboration is ongoing, including work with teams at the University of Colorado Boulder to exchange lessons learned.
- Close collaboration with U Responsible AI leadership to ensure the implementation aligns with university goals.
Addressing classroom realities
The work responds to issues that show up quickly when AI enters coursework. Faculty need clearer options for assessment design, academic integrity policies, and ways to keep critical thinking present in student work. The implementation focuses on setting norms, updating assignments and assessments, and giving instructors tools and examples.
The work responds to issues that show up quickly when AI enters coursework. Faculty need clearer options for assessment design, academic integrity policies, and ways to keep critical thinking present in student work. The implementation focuses on setting norms, updating assignments and assessments, and giving instructors tools and examples.
Interested in collaborating?
To discuss collaboration, learn from the roadmap, or adapt similar practices in your area, please reach out to himanshu.mishra@utah.edu.
To discuss collaboration, learn from the roadmap, or adapt similar practices in your area, please reach out to himanshu.mishra@utah.edu.
