Introducing the CISA AI Escalation Pathway
Guidance on where to go with AI questions
With artificial intelligence moving so quickly, it can be hard for even the most engaged users to determine who to ask for help when they need it. Within CISA, we’ve developed an AI escalation pathway to help faculty and staff know where to go when they have a question about AI.
This framework offers four routes for faculty and staff, each addressing a specific area of focus: general questions, IT-related concerns, unit/program strategy and AI partnership ideas, and learning experience design and consultations.
General questions
This is often the first stop for anyone navigating AI at CISA. Examples of general questions include:
- How can I use AI in my course?
- Is using AI in my research allowed?
- What things should we consider when using AI for college committee work?
Faculty and staff can email questions like these to CISA AI Task Force co-chairs Saba Rudsari and Stephen Carradini. They can also reach out to Carradini and Rudsari for information about attending the task force’s regular AI office hours or joining the #cisa-ai Slack channel.
Through these touch points, faculty and staff can get support working through their questions. If needed, the CISA AI Task force can help identify aspects of questions that may need to be addressed through a different route on the CISA AI escalation pathway.
IT-related questions
These questions are often specific and related to products or services, for example:
- Can I use Superhuman in my course?
- Can I get Claude access?
Any faculty and staff who know the exact tools they want to use and how they want to use them can route IT-related questions like these directly to CISA technology support. Those who are unsure about specific tools or use cases can contact the AI Task Force, which can help them identify the right path forward.
Unit/program strategy and AI partnerships
Questions falling into this bucket might include:
- I was approached by a company with a tool I’d like to use. What should I do
- How do I connect with others at ASU doing a certain type of AI work?
Faculty and staff looking to find or establish AI-related partnerships to support their work should contact Adam Pacton, CISA’s senior strategist of AI integration and emerging technologies.
Pacton’s role includes considering how technology partnerships fit into CISA’s AI ecosystem. He can help identify partnership possibilities that are feasible and functional, as well as connect individuals and groups with potential university partners.
Learning experience design and consultations
When faculty identify an AI need in one of their courses, a conversation with Jennifer Werner, Enterprise Technology AI learning strategist, may be the next step. Werner can help faculty assess opportunities to integrate AI tools into the classroom and answer questions like, “I have a course-related need that I think an AI tool could help address. What tools fit in Canvas that can meet it?”
Your AI questions, answered
It can be hard to know where to go to keep up with AI. In CISA, faculty and staff do not have to do it alone. This AI escalation pathway offers a quick resource to help our community triage questions and concerns as they come up. It’s not exhaustive — but it is a place to start.
Have you encountered similar pathways or resources like this elsewhere? We’d love to hear about them! Reach out to the AI Task Force with your ideas and thoughts.
Stephen Carradini teaches and researches ethical and effective implementation of emerging technologies in the workplace and the public. Carradini is the CISA dean’s fellow for academic programs and curricular innovation, co-chair of the CISA AI Task Force and an associate professor in CISA’s School of Applied Professional Studies.