Reach University · AI Strategy · FY2026
Turning Jobs into Degrees - Scaling Impact with AI
How AI can help Reach grow from 3,200 to 7,500 candidates without losing what makes this model work: personal relationships, practical learning, and workplace-based education.
Our mission: "Turn jobs into degrees." Every AI decision serves this.
Dr. Paul St. Roseman, Chief Information and Research Officer
Dr. Lisa LeBoeuf, Vice Provost
Brad Luhta, Director of IT
AI Guidance Policy effective July 1, 2025
The Challenge
We're Growing Fast. AI Helps Us Keep Up.
⚡
Volume Is Increasing
More candidates means more advising, communication, and documentation. AI helps teams manage that growth without proportional headcount increases.
🌍
The World Is Changing
Reach's strategic plan explicitly names AI as reshaping the workforce. If we don't engage with AI, we're less equipped to help candidates navigate a world where AI is everywhere.
🔁
Replication Needs Systems
NCAD is helping universities launch apprenticeship programs. AI-powered tools and playbooks make Reach's model scalable beyond our own campus.
💡
Our Advantage
Our candidates are already doing real work. AI helps us document, support, and credential that work better than ever before.
Our Philosophy
Bottom-Up,
Not Top-Down
We don't mandate how every department uses AI. We set the guardrails — then departments decide what works for their work.
- University sets platform standards and privacy rules
- Departments identify their own highest-value use cases
- IT is the hub for access, training, and complex projects
- Everyone shares what's working
The IT Ticket
Everything starts with a ticket. It's how IT knows what you need and how we scale support responsibly.
Non-Negotiables
Rules Everyone Follows
A few things apply to everyone — they protect our candidates and our reputation.
- Never enter student records, SSNs, or sensitive personal data into AI tools
- Disclose when AI substantially shaped formal work
- Only use IT-approved platforms for work tasks — new tools require IT review first
- Humans always review AI output — AI never decides on its own
- External tools (Domain 3) require IT partnership before starting
Governed by the AI Guidance Policy
Effective July 1, 2025 — authored by Brad Luhta & Dr. Lisa LeBoeuf
Framework
Three Areas. Different Owners. One Mission.
AI use at Reach is organized into three areas — each with its own users, tools, and level of IT involvement.
🎓
1. Teaching & Learning
AI supports faculty in designing courses, giving feedback, and building curriculum. Faculty-led, with Gemini as the primary tool.
FACULTY-LED · GEMINI
⚙️
2. Operations & Efficiency
AI helps staff handle more volume — candidate communication, reporting, document drafting, employer relationship support.
STAFF-LED · GEMINI + CLAUDE
🌐
3. Stakeholder Tools
Custom AI-powered tools for external audiences — employer portals, NCAD resources, candidate self-service, impact reports.
IT-PARTNERED · CLAUDE
Key principle
Departments choose their own AI use cases within each area. IT supports the rollout — it doesn't prescribe the solution.
Domain 1
Teaching
& Learning
Professors of Practice bring unmatched workplace expertise. AI helps them do more with it.
- Draft syllabi and rubrics grounded in real workplaces
- Summarize long readings for working candidates
- Build case studies from candidates' own industries
- Generate discussion questions in Gemini Docs
- Create assessments tied to job performance
In Practice
What This Looks Like at Reach
Real use cases for faculty using AI in day-to-day teaching.
📝
Canvas + AI
Generate quiz questions from course readings. AI drafts, faculty reviews and selects.
🎥
Zoom Summaries
Summarize class recordings for candidates who couldn't attend. Saves faculty time, helps candidates stay current.
💬
Richer Feedback
Write more detailed feedback faster — especially valuable as cohorts grow.
🏥
ACH Curriculum
As Behavioral Health launches (Sept. 2026), AI can rapidly develop new course content and training materials.
Primary Tool: Google Gemini
Already in your Google Workspace. Submit an IT ticket to get started.
Domain 2
Operations
& Efficiency
Going from 3,200 to 7,500 candidates means higher volume across every team. AI helps staff handle more without burning out.
- Draft candidate check-in emails and follow-ups
- Turn Domo data into readable meeting summaries
- Review employer MOUs and pull out key terms
- Draft SOPs, onboarding guides, and FAQs
- Analyze survey responses across cohorts
In Practice
What This Looks Like at Reach
Where staff teams can start seeing time savings right away.
📧
Candidate Outreach
AI drafts a personalized check-in email. Staff reviews, personalizes, and sends — 5 minutes instead of 20.
📊
Domo + Claude
Paste a data summary into Claude and ask it to write a 3-bullet update for a team meeting.
🤝
Employer Relations
Claude reads a 40-page MOU and highlights the 5 things your team needs to know for the onboarding call.
📋
Documentation
AI drafts the first version of an SOP or FAQ. You fill in the expertise and expertise. Reduces blank-page time.
Tools: Gemini for day-to-day · Claude for documents
Both available through IT. Submit a ticket to get set up.
Domain 3
Stakeholder
Tools
AI as a product — tools that external audiences interact with directly. Highest impact, most IT involvement.
- Employer portals showing candidate progress
- NCAD playbooks and replication resources
- Candidate self-service for common questions
- Dynamic impact reports for policymakers
- Smart intake forms routing users to the right step
What This Unlocks
Reach Beyond Reach
Domain 3 tools extend Reach's model to audiences we can't serve with staff time alone.
🏢
Employer Portals
Employers see real-time progress data on their candidates. Builds trust, reduces check-in calls.
🔗
NCAD Expansion
AI-powered tools let partner universities access Reach's frameworks without requiring Reach staff in every meeting.
❓
Candidate Q&A
AI answers common candidate questions 24/7 — program details, financial aid basics, next steps.
📈
Impact Reports
Data-driven reports generated for different audiences — community partners, legislators, board members.
Primary Tool: Claude · Requires IT partnership from the start
Contact IT to scope any Domain 3 project before beginning.
IT-Managed AI Deployments
Five Deployment Categories.
IT manages AI across five categories — from standard tools available to everyone, to licensed enterprise deployments, vendor AI, marketplace add-ons, and large-scale solutions.
| Deployment |
Best For / Notes |
Access |
| 1. Google Gemini ALL USERS |
Day-to-day Workspace tasks — candidates, faculty, staff, contractors |
Your existing Google account |
| 2. Claude for Teams / Enterprise LICENSED |
Deep analysis, long docs, Domain 3 tools · $25/user/month · SSO |
IT provisioning · dept. budget required |
| 3. SaaS AI Functionality EMERGING |
Canvas Ignite AI, Element BoltAI, future SIS — inside tools you already use |
IT activates within existing systems |
| 4. Marketplace Apps APPROVAL REQUIRED |
Google Workspace, Zoom add-ons — submit IT ticket before use |
IT reviews and approves |
| 5. Claude Code / Azure AI Foundry ASPIRATIONAL |
Large-scale infrastructure projects — employer portals, university-wide integrations |
Must run through IT from the start |
| ChatGPT |
Being phased out — no SSO, no Workspace integration, outside enterprise agreement |
Strategic Alignment · FY26-28
AI Supports Every Strategic Priority
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Impact: Building Careers
AI helps faculty deliver stronger, more personalized learning — candidates build real career-ready skills, not just credentials.
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Impact: Building Workforce
Employer portals and AI-powered partnership tools make Reach a better, more transparent employer partner.
📊
Financial Sustainability
AI helps us scale to 7,500 candidates — our breakeven — without proportional cost increases. Efficiency is survival.
🔁
Replicability
AI-powered playbooks and tools let NCAD help partner universities launch apprenticeship programs at scale — without Reach staff having to be everywhere.
💡
Innovation Capacity
Behavioral Health (ACH), new employer markets, new program models — AI accelerates our ability to experiment, learn, and launch.
What's Coming
Three-Phase Rollout
Building AI capability in stages — starting with accessible tools and scaling toward custom-built systems for external audiences.
Phase 1 · Now → FY26
Foundation
- Gemini access for all (candidates, faculty, staff, contractors)
- IT onboarding and training launched
- Ticketing workflow established
- ChatGPT phased out for work tasks
- Early adopters identified per department
- Privacy and disclosure standards set
Phase 2 · FY26 → FY27
Expansion
- First Domain 3 stakeholder tool launched
- Claude integrated for document analysis
- ACH program AI use cases developed
- Department AI playbooks created
- AI integrated with Sonis
- NCAD replication resources built
Phase 3 · FY27 → FY28
Scale
- Employer-facing portals at scale
- Candidate advising AI tools live
- NCAD tools supporting 3M degree vision
- AI embedded in Domo reporting
- Annual governance review
- Platform evaluation and updates
Our Commitments
How We Keep This on Track
🎯
Mission First
Every AI use case connects to turning jobs into degrees. If it doesn't help candidates or the people who support them, it's not a priority.
🔒
Privacy Always
No student records, no personal information, no sensitive data in AI tools. Non-negotiable, no exceptions.
✋
Humans Decide
AI drafts, analyzes, and suggests. Humans review and take responsibility. AI never gets the final word on anything affecting a real person.
📣
Be Transparent
Disclose when AI substantially shaped your work. Trust is the foundation of everything we do at Reach.
🏛️
Equity in Design
Tools built for candidates must work for everyone — regardless of language, age, or access to technology.
🔄
Learn as We Go
AI is evolving fast. We'll revisit our approach every year and update based on what we learn.
Getting Started
One Ticket.
That's All.
Submit a ticket to IT. Tell them what you want to do — they'll help you figure out the right tool, approach, and training.
Submit an IT Ticket →
1
Submit a ticket describing what you want to improve or build
2
IT reviews and scopes the right approach with you
3
Get access, training, and ongoing support
4
Share what's working — your team's wins help others learn
Key Contacts
Who to Reach
Three leaders own this strategy. All want to hear from you.
🎯
Dr. Paul St. Roseman
Chief Information and Research Officer
Executive AI strategy, AI integration into business processes and internal tools
📚
Dr. Lisa LeBoeuf
Vice Provost, Academic Affairs
Academic policy, faculty guidance, instructional use, disclosure standards
💻
Brad Luhta
Director of IT
Platform access, IT tickets, Domain 3 projects, training, day-to-day governance
AI Guidance Policy (July 1, 2025)
Questions about what's allowed? All three are here to help.
Reach University · AI Strategy
AI That Turns
Jobs Into Degrees
Questions, ideas, or a workflow you want to improve? Submit a ticket through IT. We're building this together — one department at a time.
Thank you. · AI Guidance Policy effective July 1, 2025
Dr. Paul St. Roseman · Chief Information and Research Officer
Dr. Lisa LeBoeuf · Vice Provost
Brad Luhta · Director of IT
Reach University · FY2026