"AI is already influencing how people learn, work, create, and make decisions," said Michelle Fischthal, the district’s vice chancellor of Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness. "Our responsibility as educators is not simply to teach people how to use these tools, but to help them think critically about when to use them, how to use them responsibly, and how to maintain human judgment, ethics, and responsibility at the center of the process."
Two paths, now available for enrollment, encompass a series of courses that will culminate in the collection of a digital badge for use on digital profiles or in signatures, also referred to as a micro-credential. The paths include: the SDCCD Academic Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) Micro-Credential for Students, and the AAAI Micro-Credential for Faculty & Staff. The curriculum includes five modules covering topics such as AI basics, ethics and responsible use, and what generative AI can do. The AAAI Micro-Credential was developed through an Equitable AI Alliance grant in partnership with San Diego State University and UC San Diego, and mirrors SDSU's own AAAI curriculum, which has engaged more than 15,000 participants nationwide.
Enrollment for SDCCD students and employees is available through the SDCCD’s AAAI Micro-Credential website. Feedback from more than 50 district beta testers has been positive. Wrote one SDCCD employee: “What higher education needs most right now are spaces where students, faculty, and staff can explore AI without judgment — whether you are for it or against it, we all need to understand it.”
The AAAI Micro-Credential is part of SDCCD's broader districtwide AI literacy and emerging technology efforts, led through the Division of Institutional Innovation & Effectiveness in partnership with the Equitable AI Alliance, a regional collaboration dedicated to advancing equitable AI practices in education.
