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

Operational toolkit · standalone tool

AI Maturity Assessment

Diagnose where your institution actually stands across the eight pillars, a cabinet-friendly pulse check and a deeper practice-level diagnostic, on one scoring model.

This is a wide, desktop-optimized working tool. It opens full-screen over the site so you have room to score every pillar, compare against the maturity levels, and read your profile, then closes back to the framework. Your answers are saved on this device, so you can leave and return.

A fast cabinet pulse check, or a deeper practice-level diagnostic, both feed one score
A radar profile across all eight pillars with overall maturity (1 Initial → 5 Optimizing)
Your top gaps surfaced automatically, with the practices behind them
Results drive the Implementation Playbook and the Compass maturity lens
Export your profile to share with leadership
Progress saved locally on this device

Ready to begin?

Open the assessment

Opens full-screen, press Esc or Close to return to the framework

Best on a laptop or larger screen. The assessment is a conversation starter, not a verdict, and where this guidance and your local rules differ, your local rules govern.