SUNY board approves civic discourse, artificial intelligence requirements
State University of New York Chancellor John King Jr. speaks during his visit to Stony Brook University in 2023. Credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas
Civic discourse and artificial intelligence will soon be more prominent in the undergraduate general education curriculum for freshmen entering State University of New York schools, state officials said this week.
The requirements, approved by the SUNY board of trustees, will begin with students who start school in the fall of 2026 and are working toward earning a bachelor’s or associate degree, according to a news release.
The changes will not cause students to take more classes and will be part of the ongoing general education requirements, education officials said.
"We are proud that every SUNY student will be expected to demonstrate the knowledge and skills that advance respectful and reasoned discourse, and that we will help our students recognize and ethically use AI as they consider various information sources,” SUNY Chancellor John King Jr. said in a Tuesday statement.
Education officials stressed that the changes are essential to ensuring that SUNY graduates are engaged and versatile as they encounter innovative technologies and people with different views.
“These updates will ensure our students are thoughtfully engaging with diverse perspectives, while also learning to navigate, and assess the growing impact of artificial intelligence in our society,” SUNY Board Trustee Candice Vacin said in the statement.
Vacin, a psychology professor at Genesee Community College, is also president of SUNY's Faculty Council of Community Colleges.
The civic discourse portion will be added to the general education core competencies with hopes that students support democracy through having healthier dialogues and engagement with civic life, officials said.
Students who take part in this learning are expected to have several skills, including being able to consider different perspectives and advocate ethically, according to the news release.
The AI component updates the information literacy core competency. With that education, students should gain several skills, including being better able to weigh information for bias, truthfulness and other factors, education officials said. They should also be able to comprehend the ethical dimensions of using sources like AI.
Before the changes are fully utilized, they will be developed on campuses, state officials said.
Education: Howard University
Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.
Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation; New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting; Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.
