UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State World Campus has launched new credentials in artificial intelligence (AI) and resources to bring AI into the virtual classroom as part of Penn State’s efforts to prepare students and professionals for an AI-driven world.
The initiatives are intended to put AI education and resources within reach of World Campus online learners and adults across the United States who cannot or choose not to leave their jobs or relocate to pursue higher education. Adult learners make up 76% of students enrolled through Penn State World Campus. The rollout also aims to provide online teaching faculty with training, tools and best practices for using AI in the courses they teach.
The credentials include an expanded master’s degree in artificial intelligence that has a no-code/low-code option for people who do not have a programming background and an AI engineering option for those who want to deploy and develop AI systems. New AI-related graduate certificates in business strategy, human resources, and digital transformation explore the use and application of the technology in the workplace.
A variety of new AI resources include AI icons that faculty can post in their courses to show students the permissible level of AI use, a writing tool to help students understand how to use AI in writing, a toolkit for faculty to integrate the tool in the courses they teach, and a professional development course for online teaching faculty. World Campus is also funding faculty-led proposals to integrate AI literacy into several programs, including the entire systems engineering master’s program and a studio art course for undergraduates.
“Artificial intelligence is bringing us to a new dawn in a new era, and Penn State, as a land-grant university, has a mission to serve our community and make higher education accessible to all,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, Penn State’s provost and executive vice president. “Penn State World Campus is how we meet today’s working adults where they are and deliver skills and credentials they need in a workforce that AI is quickly reshaping. It allows an adult learner studying in Pennsylvania or an active-duty service member to have the same access, support and workforce readiness. Penn State World Campus is helping us define the next generation of land-grant impact.”
The efforts at World Campus to bring AI into the virtual classroom are made possible through partnerships between the University’s academic colleges and campuses that offer their programs online.
“We are building AI infrastructure around what working adults need — credentials connected to real skills, support built into their learning experience, and faculty creating curriculum that meets them where they are,” said Karen Pollack, interim vice provost for Online Education at Penn State. “For working adults, a quality online education should give them the tools to move their careers forward and help them finish what they started. Working adults trusted us with their education before AI was part of the conversation, and that trust is what drives every decision we make.”
AI credentials for working professionals
Penn State began offering a professional master’s in artificial intelligence online in 2022 to give tech professionals nationwide a way to learn new skills in the emerging field of AI. Led by faculty from the engineering division of the Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies, the program has been delivered online through World Campus.
Rising demand for employees to have AI skills and training prompted Great Valley and World Campus to expand the original program.
The no-code/low-code Applied and Generative AI Option aims to deliver practical skills without requiring coding knowledge for tech-savvy professionals who are eager to integrate AI into their work.
The AI Engineering Option is a coding-intensive, systems-oriented track for those with programming experience who want to build and deploy AI and machine learning systems.
“Organizations across industries are looking to AI to improve efficiency, drive strategic growth and unlock new possibilities,” said Raghu Sangwan, director of engineering programs at Penn State Great Valley. “Low-code and no-code tools open that door by enabling more professionals, not only specialized programmers, to apply AI in meaningful ways. Through automation and augmentation, our students can learn to turn emerging AI technologies into practical solutions that help shape the next generation of the enterprise.”
Penn State World Campus also partnered with three academic units to launch three new graduate-level certificates in artificial intelligence:
Applications are open to apply for admission to these programs. Courses begin in January.
Enhancing learning in the virtual classroom with AI literacy resources
Penn State World Campus wants to help support each online learner with access to tools and resources so that they can be able to thoughtfully and ethically apply AI in their education.
The AI for Writing resource includes a module in Canvas that students can take to explore artificial intelligence in writing and a toolkit for faculty. The tool is being embedded in all of the University’s sections of English 15, the rhetoric and composition course required of all undergraduate students. The student module in Canvas encourages students to be curious while using critical thinking skills to weigh how the technology impacts their writing. “AI for Writing” was developed by World Campus Online Faculty Development and the English department’s Program in Writing and Rhetoric.
World Campus also helped lead development of GenAI Use Icons, the University’s first standardized visual system that faculty can use to signal whether generative AI is allowed, limited or not permitted on a given assignment or course. The project began in the Penn State Online MBA program before growing into a cross-unit collaboration with the Commonwealth Campuses, central IT, and accessibility specialists across Penn State. The icons, now available as an integrated Canvas tool, give students a consistent visual cue as they move between courses, reducing confusion about AI expectations and letting them focus on course work rather than deciphering each instructor’s policy.
Penn State World Campus Online Faculty Development added AI exploration into its foundational online teaching course. The professional development opportunity is designed to give instructors experience with tools so they can thoughtfully integrate AI into the online courses they teach. The course, “Essentials of Online Teaching,” has two offerings this fall, starting Sept. 7 and Oct. 5.
World Campus is funding nine faculty-led initiatives designed to embed AI literacy in various courses and programs offered online. The projects will integrate artificial intelligence into course work to give students exposure to how AI is being used in careers in their fields. Penn State Great Valley, Penn State Behrend, Penn State Harrisburg, the College of Education, the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, the College of Arts and Architecture, the College of the Liberal Arts, the Eberly College of Science, and campuses in the University College have programs or courses that are participating.
About Penn State World Campus
Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years and serves 19,000 learners worldwide. Students have flexible access to high-quality programs supported by comprehensive academic and student success services.
The efforts from Penn State World Campus and its academic partners build on Penn State’s AI Transformation initiative the University announced earlier this year, which committed Penn State to AI literacy for every student and employee, new AI-focused faculty hiring and expanded AI infrastructure across the university.