Kent State University at Kent
OH · AI Readiness #214 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 4.3 /10
Kent State opens AI to every undergraduate through CAE 15350, Artificial Intelligence and Innovation in Society, a three-credit course with no prerequisites covering AI literacy, ethics and the social impact of the technology.
The Golden Flashes put undergraduates into AI research early. The GUANS Lab, run by computer scientist Qiang Guan, carries seven undergraduate researchers alongside its doctoral students and holds NSF funding plus a published drug discovery collaboration with Cleveland Clinic. Outside that lab the offerings thin out, with no undergraduate AI major, minor or certificate in the catalog.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: F
- Curriculum: C+
- Partnerships: C
- Research: C+
A(I)ttitude™: cautious
Selected Highlights
- Academic Integrity Policy 3342-3-01.8 formally revised to address generative AI; kent.edu/ai hub aggregates institutional AI guidance with named tools and course listings.
- NSF grants to Kent State PIs (Dr. Qiang Guan: >$2M active; NSF SHARE $3M consortium) represent documented federal AI-related financial commitments, though no single institutional capital commitment with a stated dollar figure was found.
- AI content integrated into B.S. in Information Technology concentrations (Application Development, Cloud, Cybersecurity); no standalone B.S. in AI but named AI concentration pathway confirmed.
- AI ethics content embedded in CTL workshops, a cross-disciplinary AI and society course featured on kent.edu/ai, and faculty advocacy pieces in Kent State Today; no standalone program or office.
- Google Gemini/NotebookLM and Adobe Firefly confirmed as sanctioned non-Microsoft tools for university use; Copilot excluded per rubric.