Presented by DEAC and the Artificial Intelligence International Center of Excellence (AiICoE)
July 15, 17, and 22, 2025
1:30 to 3pm ET
As artificial intelligence accelerates, distance‑education leaders are exploring how these tools can boost academic quality, streamline course development, enrich the online student experience, and prepare learners to enter a workforce transformed by AI. Across disciplines and modalities, institutions that adopt a structured, ethical approach are seeing measurable gains in retention, efficiency, and learning outcomes.
This online workshop series—built around the five guidelines of the AI International Center of Excellence (AIICOE) framework—provides an opportunity for academic and administrative staff to co-design a campus-ready AI roadmap. Bringing together perspectives on technology, instructional design, operations, regulatory mandates, and workforce readiness, the workshop will showcase real examples from DEAC peers adopting AI strategies and empower participants to draft a Quick-Start Action Plan to guide responsible AI integration aligned with quality standards.
In addition, you will learn to:
- Apply key mandates (FERPA, GDPR, EU AI Act, state laws) to safeguard data and ethics.
- Design or sponsor AI research projects that improve teaching, learning, or operations.
- Map tiered AI‑literacy programs for faculty, staff, and students.
- Align curricula and credentials with AI‑driven workforce skills and employer needs.
Join us for interactive discussion and practical exercises to enhance digital learning experiences and operational efficiency with AI while maintaining compliance and workforce relevance.
Workshop Series Details
Who Should Attend? Academic and operational leaders, faculty, technologists, early adopters, AI skeptics, and anyone interested in navigating or enhancing AI collaboration within their institution or organization.
Format: Live online training (Zoom meeting), recorded for replay and supported by templates and readings
Registration Fees:
$200 per person (DEAC member institution rate)
$250 per person (non-member)
CEU: DEAC will issue a certificate documenting 5 contact hours to attendees who participate in all three interactive, practice-oriented sessions.
Instructors: AIICOE Founders, Dr. Matthew D. Gonzalez & Juan Antonio Henriquez
Guest Presenters:
Dr. Susanne Thompson, President, Moreland University
Tracey Abell, President & CEO, American College of Healthcare Sciences
Tiffany Rodriguez, Chief Academic Officer, American College of Healthcare Sciences
Thais Lyro, Chief Product Officer, Penn Foster Group
Detailed Agenda
First Session: Tuesday, July 15, 1:30 to 3pm ET
AIICOE Standard I: Developing an Institutional AI Strategy
AIICOE Standard I II: Aligning with Mandates & Guidelines
Is your institution navigating the AI landscape without a clear roadmap? Without a well-defined AI strategy, educational institutions risk potential compliance issues and fragmented implementation efforts. This foundational session demonstrates how a unified, institution-wide AI strategy aligned with legal, ethical, and regulatory frameworks provides clarity on institutional goals, optimizes resource allocation, and fosters trust in your institution as a leader in responsible AI adoption. Guest speaker Dr. Susanne Thompson, President of Moreland University, will share her institution’s experience adopting a comprehensive AI strategy.
Learning Objectives:
- Define the key components of an effective institutional AI strategy
- Identify relevant mandates and guidelines (e.g., FERPA, GDPR, EU AI Act) that impact AI adoption and require clear policies in your educational setting
- Apply the AIICOE framework to create an institution-wide AI strategy that aligns AI initiatives with institutional goals and ethical considerations, including engaging leadership, disseminating the strategy to stakeholders, and establishing review processes.
Second Session: Thursday, July 17, 1:30 to 3pm ET
AIICOE Standard III: Contributing to AI Research
AIICOE Standard IV: Establishing AI Literacy
Is your campus community prepared to thrive in an AI-enhanced educational environment? Institutions that neglect AI research and literacy risk falling behind in academic innovation and graduating students unprepared for technological changes. This session explores how engaging in AI research and projects enhances academic leadership, creates a culture of innovation, and fosters reputation-building partnerships. Learn how applying AI across the curriculum and campus as part of a comprehensive AI literacy plan empowers faculty, staff, and students to develop confidence with AI tools and reduces resistance to adoption. Guest speaker Thais Lyro, Chief Product Officer at Penn Foster Group, shares Penn Foster’s comprehensive AI strategy, with a focus on its AI literacy and research initiatives.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify opportunities for your institution to contribute to AI research
- Establish preliminary goals, metrics, and plans for strategically-aligned AI research and results sharing
- Communicate commitment to establishing and enhancing AI literacy across your campus community
- Apply the framework to design strategies for integrating AI theory and practical use into curricula
Third Session: Tuesday, July 22, 1:30 to 3pm ET
AIICOE Standard V: Aligning with Workforce Pathways
As AI reshapes careers at unprecedented speed, are your programs and policies keeping pace? Students face a workplace where AI proficiency is expected, and they expect their education to prepare them rather than push their AI usage and learning into the shadows. Institutions that partner with employers to predict and equip learners for a future in flux will lead in student recruitment, retention, and graduate employability. This session addresses the critical link between AI education and workforce pathways, demonstrating how embedding AI and data skills into academic programs builds industry recognition, enhances graduate employability, and strengthens student recruitment and retention. Guest speakers Traci Abell and Tiffany Rodriguez, President and CAO respectively of the American College of Healthcare Sciences, will share their award-winning institutional strategies for campus AI literacy, adoption, and workforce alignment.
Learning Objectives:
- Develop strategies for aligning AI curricula with assessed workforce needs
- Establish partnerships with employers and industry professionals to inform AI education
- Create environments that allow students to practice and showcase AI skills (e.g. innovation labs, career centers, credit for prior learning, and community engagement)
About the AIICOE:
The Artificial Intelligence International Center of Excellence (AIICOE) aims to: 1) resolve education organization problems, through guidance, 2) grow the AIICOE Framework toward the resolution of problems, 3) assist each education organization in the creation of their own A.I. center of excellence, and 4) form an AIICOE Institution where faculty, researchers, administrators, staff, and education technology vendors can contribute solutions to resolve the combined set of problems faced by education organizations.
Series Instructors:
Juan-Antonio Henriquez is a Senior Lecturer at Oregon State University’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, with extensive experience in engineering education, academic leadership, and instructional innovation. He previously served as Associate CIO and Director of Academic Computing at the University of New Orleans, where he led strategic IT initiatives, faculty technology programs, and post-disaster academic continuity efforts. His teaching portfolio spans electrical engineering, computer science, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, with faculty appointments at the University of New Orleans, Delgado Community College, University of Charleston, and at a DEAC-accredited institution, where he also directed nationally recognized distance education programs. Mr. Henriquez has served as a Subject Matter Expert and evaluator for the American Council on Education (ACE) for numerous years, reviewing military and workforce training programs across the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard to assess academic credit equivalency and curricular rigor. He is also an experienced accreditation chair and curriculum evaluator for the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), where he has led institutional reviews and served on educational standards and appeals committees for several years. His engineering background includes hands-on design and consulting in embedded systems, audio signal processing, industrial control systems, and emerging AI applications, with work spanning both academic research and private industry.
Matthew D. Gonzalez is the Founding Director of Cyber Security for the University of Charleston, WV, as well as Cyber Security Evaluator and Enterprise Architect at the American Council on Education (ACE). Dr. Gonzalez served as a Chief Data Officer for the DoD, IT Project Manager at USAA and at TTEC, Chair of Business for the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and serves as a Cyber Security Evaluator and Enterprise Architect for the American Council of Education. He has served on the Quality Matters committee to align higher education curriculum to rubrics and standards. He has embedded Artificial Intelligence within Cybersecurity Curriculum and is one of the founding members of the Artificial Intelligence International Center of Excellence (AiICoE) and the AiICoE Framework toward artificial intelligence strategy development.
Guest Presenters:
Susanne H. Thompson serves as the President, Moreland University for the Colibri Group. A career educator with experience across K-12 education, higher education and educational technology, Dr. Thompson began her career as an elementary teacher and held multi-district professional development and curriculum roles before becoming Superintendent of Schools for the Northwestern Lehigh School District in Pennsylvania. She served as a senior executive at Discovery, and led Discovery Education’s Higher Education Network, served as COO for the Corporate Partnerships Business leading the creation of innovative workforce development curricula within some of the world’s largest corporations. Susanne also created and led Discovery’s Professional Development Business. At Moreland, Dr. Thompson has championed a comprehensive AI strategy deployed in both academic and operational applications. She also serves as a Commissioner for the Distance Education Accreditation Commission.
Thais Lyro is Chief Product Officer at Penn Foster Group. A user experience design expert who has led teams in five countries, Thais is responsible for ensuring that Penn Foster’s programs and learning experience are designed with learner success front-of. Formerly Head of Artificial Intelligence for Cengage Group and advisor to brands like the MIT Media Lab, Lucas Films, Nvidia, Sony, and University of Phoenix online, Ms. Lyro has spearheaded Penn Foster’s strategic adoption of AI in its academic operations – from course development processes to unique, AI-assisted demonstrations of student learning – as well AI literacy and workforce pathway alignment initiatives involving the entire online campus and stakeholder groups. She also serves as a Guardian at AngelUS Network, a global professional network of women supporting and empowering each other, and is a champion of leveraging AI’s potential to enhance learning experiences and foster personalized, data-driven approaches.
Tracey Abell is President and CEO of the American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS), based in Portland, OR, and offering degree and certificate programs in integrative health and wellness. Abell holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Western Governors University and a master’s degree in Education with a specialization in Leadership in Higher Education from Capella University. With over 20 years’ experience in for-profit higher education and personal experience as an adult, online student, Abell is a proponent of innovation that leads to adaptive, individualized education to best serve the needs of today’s college students. She is the author, with Dr. Tiffany Rodriguez, of Institutional Effectiveness: How an Integrative Approach Drives Achievement as well as a dedicated advocate for enhancing the recognition and value of online learning, including in her service as a DEAC Commissioner and member of the DEAC Board of Directors from 2022-2025.
Tiffany Rodriguez serves as Chief Academic Officer at American College of Healthcare Sciences and is the winner of DEAC’s 2025 Innovation Award for her work leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance student learning, communication, and professional pathways across campus. Dr. Rodriguez earned her Ph.D. in biomechanics at Texas A&M University and experienced the power of data to drive transformative decision-making early in her career – first as a Director of Institutional Research and then as a Dean of Institutional Effectiveness. Today as the lead for ACHS’s ACE Initiative (AI for Community Engagement: Advancing Communication, Teaching, and Learning), she spearheads a hands-on interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff strategically exploring AI’s role in both learning and administrative operations, and she oversees a portfolio of campus programs ranging from AI-assisted personalized learning and career advising to a Shark Tank style pitch-fest where students and researchers critically evaluate AI products for enhanced learning.
