Campus AI Framework

A practitioner's playbook for AI strategy and governance in higher education. Concept and content by Joe Sabado. Free to use and adapt for non-commercial purposes under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

This is an interactive application and works best with JavaScript enabled. Below is a text outline of what it contains.

The model

Eight institutional pillars, grouped into Governance (Mission & Vision, AI Principles, AI Policies & Guidelines, Governance/Risk/Compliance & Data Governance), Enablement (Engagement & Collaboration, Roles & Responsibilities), and Capabilities (Campus Readiness, Implementation & Operations); four application domains (Teaching & Learning, Research & Innovation, Operations & Infrastructure, Student & Community Engagement); and the AI Strategic Compass for prioritizing initiatives by risk and impact.

What you can do here

Find your starting point: a maturity triage (Nascent / Emerging / Established).
The first 90 days: a stage-aware action plan.
The eight pillars: concept, signals, and concrete practices for each.
Use cases & case studies: the framework applied to real campus AI initiatives.
How AI enters campus: the six pathways AI arrives and the types of AI to govern.
Maturity Assessment, Governance Guide, AI Registry: assess where you stand.
Strategic Compass, Tool Evaluation Matrix, Playbook, Adoption pathways, Run it: decide and operate.
Standards alignment: how the framework maps to NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, the EU AI Act, OECD, UNESCO, and EDUCAUSE.

Learn more and contact the author at campusaiexchange.com.

Browse the framework as text: The eight pillars · Find your starting point · Strategic Compass · Maturity Assessment · How AI enters campus · Standards alignment.

Campus AI Framework

Who it's for

One framework, many roles

Campus AI is a team sport, no single office owns it. Pick the role that fits you for a curated path through the framework: an honest frame, a few first steps, and the destinations that matter most to you.

For Presidents, provosts, CIOs, deans, boards

Leadership & cabinet

Sponsor AI well and decide what to back, without reading a manual.

You don't need to operate the framework; you need to set direction, weigh value against risk, and know what to approve. AI is arriving across your institution whether or not there's a strategy, your job is to make sure it serves the mission and doesn't create exposure. Five minutes here should be enough to act.

Your path

1
Read the one-page brief
The whole model (pillars, Compass, the 90-day ask) on a single page you can print or forward.
Open the brief
2
See the case for it
How the framework's coverage compares to NIST, ISO 42001, and the EU AI Act, and where it's honestly thinner.
Standards alignment
3
Anchor it to mission
The first pillar: why AI strategy must answer to institutional purpose, with a worked example.
Mission & Vision
4
Approve a light start
What a 90-day, low-risk start looks like, one conversation, a readiness baseline, one initiative.
Adoption pathways

The one ask for your table: approve a 90-day light-touch start, then review the evidence.

Go-to destinations

Leadership brief Standards alignment Adoption pathways