AI strategy & institutional readiness

How should we
respond to AI?

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how students learn, how faculty teach, and how institutions operate. CBT helps you move beyond the noise — and build thoughtful strategies grounded in your mission, your culture, and your people.

Our position

AI is not a technology project. It's a governance, learning, and culture question — and it deserves senior leadership's attention.

14AI engagements completed in the last 18 months
6–14wksTypical time to readiness assessment + draft policy
100%Mission-grounded. Vendor-neutral. Practitioner-led.
Why CBT for AI

Higher-ed practitioners. Not AI evangelists.

Most "AI consultants" are technologists who've never run a department. We bring former provosts, CIOs, and faculty leaders who understand institutional change — paired with technical expertise where it matters.

Mission first, tools second

We start with what your institution exists to do — and let that shape every decision about AI policy, pedagogy, and procurement.

Vendor-neutral, by design

We don't resell software. We don't take referral fees. Our recommendations are built around your context, not a partnership pipeline.

Faculty-credible

Our team includes former tenured faculty and academic leaders. We can sit at the table with your senate and earn trust on day one.

Pragmatic, not performative

We help you build what's defensible, ethical, and actually usable — not a 60-page strategy that sits on a shelf.

Our framework

Four pillars of institutional readiness.

Every CBT AI engagement spans these four dimensions — assessed, prioritized, and sequenced for your institution. We don't deliver a generic playbook. We diagnose where you actually need to start.

01 / Policy

Governance & policy

Codes of conduct, academic integrity standards, data & privacy posture, IP and authorship, accessibility, and the governance bodies that own each.

  • Senate-ready academic integrity policy
  • Data classification & AI use guidelines
  • AI governance committee charter
  • Risk register & review cadence
02 / People

Faculty & staff readiness

The capability and confidence of the people who will use, oversee, and teach about AI on your campus.

  • AI literacy curriculum (faculty & staff)
  • Department chair institutes
  • Coaching for senior leaders
  • Change management & communications
03 / Practice

Teaching & learning

How AI shows up in classrooms, research, and student success — designed by educators who know how good pedagogy actually works.

  • Course design & assessment redesign
  • Disciplinary integration playbooks
  • Student-facing AI guidelines
  • Tutoring & advising pilots
04 / Platform

Operations & tooling

The technology decisions, vendor contracts, and operational practices that turn strategy into infrastructure — without lock-in or surprises.

  • Vendor evaluation & RFP support
  • Security & data review
  • Pilot & rollout design
  • Cost & ROI modeling
Engagement model

From readiness to rollout in four phases.

A typical AI readiness engagement runs 12–20 weeks. We can also enter at any phase — many institutions come to us mid-rollout, or after a policy false-start.

Phase 01

Listen

Stakeholder interviews, document review, current-state assessment across all four pillars.

2–3 weeks
Phase 02

Diagnose

Readiness scorecard, gap analysis, peer benchmarks, and prioritized recommendations.

3–4 weeks
Phase 03

Design

Draft policies, faculty development plan, governance charter, and a phased roadmap.

4–6 weeks
Phase 04

Launch

Senate & board adoption support, pilot oversight, and a cadence for ongoing review.

3–7 weeks
In practice
"They helped us think clearly about AI without pushing tools or trends. Mission first. That's rare in this moment — and it's exactly what we needed to bring our faculty along."
— VP of Enrollment · Public Research University, Missouri
Common questions

What presidents ask us about AI.

No. Most institutions are in the same position — and the ones moving fastest aren't necessarily moving best. A focused 12-week readiness engagement gets you to a defensible policy posture and a clear sequence of next steps.
We're vendor-neutral and don't take referral fees. We help you evaluate options against your context — security posture, faculty culture, instructional model, budget — and run rigorous RFPs when you're ready to procure.
Our team includes former tenured faculty and academic leaders. We sit with your senate, listen first, and bring policy drafts that reflect academic governance norms — not corporate templates.
Engagements scale from focused 6-week assessments to multi-year partnerships. Most full readiness engagements fall in a range we'll share transparently on a scoping call. We also offer fixed-fee starter assessments for institutions early in their planning.
Yes. Half-day and full-day briefings are common entry points. We tailor each session to your institution's posture and the specific questions your board or cabinet is wrestling with.
Ready to start?

Let's talk about AI on your campus.

A 30-minute call is enough to share where you are and surface where to start. No pitch deck. No vendor agenda.

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