AI Resources for Faculty: AI and Academics (Students)

As students, you have or will run into something that is AI generated. Or perhaps your instructor has told you to use AI in some way, whether it is you directly interacting with it or the class looking over something AI generated. You may have wanted to use AI in your coursework but were not sure if you should or even how to cite AI (for the former, carefully look over the syllabus and instructions for the assignment. If you are still unsure, email your instructor). 

According to Richard Culatta (2025), states that "In addition to just knowing about AI, students need to practice using AI to think deeper, create better, and solve problems more efficiently than the could on their own". With that in mind, he create the profile of an AI graduate, available from the ASCD Blog. Culatta (2025) centers the profile around six points:

1. Learner: Students know how to use AI to learn new skills and explain complex points.
2. Researcher: Students know how to use AI to assist in research.
3. Synthesizer: Students know how to use AI to refine information that meets their needs.
4. Ideator: Students know how to use AI to brainstorm ideas and topics.
5. Connector: Students know how to use AI for the purposes of collaboration between people and increase that collaboration.
6. Storyteller: Students know how to use AI to present information in multi-media formats.

In addition, the Modern Languages Association (MLA) (2024), students become literate users of Generative AI (GenAI) when students:

1. have basic working knowledge of how GenAI works
2. have an understanding of policies and frameworks for ethical use of GenAI
3. know how to prompt GenAI for useful outputs
4. are able to critically evaluate those outputs
5. are able to monitor their own learning when using these tools
6. are able to recognize the fundamental differences between GenAI output and typical human communication
7. are able to recognize and understand the harms that can come from GenAI misuse

For more information on these points, check out the MLA Student Guide to AI Literacy.

The above points overlap somewhat but the purpose is clear: use of AI has become the expectation rather than the exception. And this is particularly true in the work force. The Digital Education Council (2025) AI in the workplace 2025 surveyed various organizations. 56% of respondents stated that most employees use AI in the workflow daily, with an additional 29% stating that some employees do (Digital Education Council 2025, p. 6). The Digital Education Council (2025) also reports that, currently, "AI in the workplace is still primarily serving as an assistant to human work, rather than replacing it" (p. 9), further breaking down the tasks that AI is being used for. These tasks include but are not limited to drafting and editing emails, summarizing documents, information searches, and more. However, the Digital Education Council (2025) predicts an 8% job loss by 2030 (p. 12) and the jobs most likely to be affected are public relations and marketing roles as well as data analytics (p. 13). Finally, many organizations do not provide or offer guidelines to their employees (Digital Education Council, 2025, p. 20). This last part is where Canisius steps in. By providing students opportunities to use AI in a directed, educated way, students can begin to check off the points from Culatta (2025) and MLA Style Center (2024). This, in turn, sets students up for success in the everchanging landscape of the AI-fueled workforce.

References

Culatta, R. (2025, July 14). Profile of an ai-ready graduate. ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/blogs/profile-of-an-ai-ready-graduate

Digital Education Council. (2025, July 28). AI in the Workplace 2025. https://www.digitaleducationcouncil.com/post/ai-in-the-workplace-2025

MLA Style Center. (2024). Student guide to ai literacy. MLA Style Center. https://style.mla.org/student-guide-to-ai-literacy/