AI Training for Texas Public Universities and Community Colleges
Texas Government Code Section 2054.5193 extends the AI awareness training mandate to all Texas governmental bodies - including public universities, university systems, community college districts, and higher education coordinating bodies. Every applicable employee must complete DIR-certified training by August 31 annually.
Our DIR-certified program covers the AI risks most relevant to higher education: research data integrity, FERPA and student privacy in AI tools, academic integrity considerations, and the responsible use of AI in administrative workflows. Approximately one hour, self-paced, and built for institution-wide rollout.
Covered Institutions
- University of Texas System (all components)
- Texas A&M System (all components)
- Texas State University System
- Texas Tech University System
- All 50 community college districts
- Independent state universities
Who Needs Training at Your Institution
The mandate covers any employee who uses a computer for 25% or more of their assigned duties. At a university or community college, this encompasses most professional staff and a significant portion of faculty.
Administrative Staff
- Presidents, provosts, vice presidents
- Deans and associate deans
- Department chairs and program directors
- Academic advisors and counselors
- Financial aid officers and processors
- Registrar and enrollment management staff
- Human resources and payroll personnel
- Communications and marketing staff
Technical and Research Staff
- IT and systems administrators
- Research administrators and coordinators
- Grants management staff
- Institutional research analysts
- Library and information resources staff
- Facilities management with computer-based systems
- Contract and procurement officers
Faculty and Instructors
Faculty at Texas public institutions are employees of a governmental body. If a faculty member uses a computer for 25% or more of their overall assigned duties - which most faculty do, considering course management systems, email, grading platforms, research tools, and administrative tasks - they are covered by the mandate. The threshold applies to total assigned duties, not only instructional contact hours. Institutions should work with their legal counsel and review DIR guidance to determine applicability for their specific faculty classifications.
Special Considerations for Higher Education
Higher education institutions face AI-related challenges that are distinct from other government entities. Our course addresses these directly.
Research Data and AI
University researchers frequently work with sensitive datasets - human subjects data, proprietary research, federally controlled research information, and export-controlled materials. Inputting any of this into a commercial AI tool can create serious compliance violations. The course teaches employees how to classify data before using AI tools and what categories of information must never be entered into external AI systems.
FERPA and Student Data in AI
FERPA protects the privacy of student education records. When a faculty member or advisor inputs student names, grades, or academic records into a commercial AI chatbot, that may constitute an unauthorized disclosure under FERPA. The course covers this risk specifically and teaches staff and faculty to avoid inputting student personally identifiable information into AI tools that are not covered by a FERPA-compliant data agreement.
AI and Academic Integrity
The DIR AI awareness training covers the appropriate use of AI tools in a professional work context. While this training is targeted at employee use of AI in their work duties - not at student academic policies - the underlying principles of transparency, accountability, and verification of AI outputs apply in both contexts. Institutions should supplement this training with their own academic integrity policies for students.
Employee vs. Student AI Policies
The DIR mandate and this training apply exclusively to employees in their professional capacity. Student use of AI tools in academic work is governed by each institution's academic integrity policies, not by the DIR AI awareness training requirement. Institutions need both - an employee compliance training program (this course) and a student AI use policy - but they are separate instruments addressing different populations.
System-Wide Enrollment for University Systems
Large university systems with multiple component institutions have unique compliance challenges. Our enterprise tier is designed for exactly this situation.
System-Level Dashboard
View aggregate completion statistics across all component institutions from a single dashboard. Each component can also have its own administrator with access to campus-level data.
Dedicated Account Manager
Enterprise accounts receive a named account manager at Evolve AI Institute who handles enrollment setup, answers questions, and assists with annual renewal planning.
Custom Volume Pricing
Systems with 501 or more applicable employees receive custom pricing below the Agency rate. The larger your enrollment, the more cost-effective compliance becomes. We can also structure multi-year agreements.
Tier Pricing Overview
| Plan | Employees | Price/Person |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | 1-2 | $24.95 |
| Team | 2-50 | $17.95 |
| Agency | 51-500 | $11.95 |
| Enterprise | 501+ | Custom |
Purchase Order Support
Universities and community colleges typically require a formal procurement process. We support:
- Purchase order (PO) payments
- Formal quote letters on letterhead
- W-9 and vendor registration documentation
- CMBL-registered vendor status
- Net-30 invoicing for qualified institutions
Frequently Asked Questions - Higher Education
Yes. Texas community college districts are governmental bodies subject to Texas Government Code Section 2054.5193. All 50 community college districts in Texas - from Alamo Colleges District and Dallas College to small single-campus districts in rural Texas - are covered by this requirement.
Any community college employee who uses a computer for 25% or more of their assigned duties must complete DIR-certified AI awareness training by August 31 of each fiscal year. This includes all administrative staff, academic advisors, financial aid processors, IT staff, and faculty who regularly use computer systems for their work duties.
Faculty at Texas public universities and community colleges are employees of governmental bodies. The 25% threshold applies to their total assigned duties - not only classroom instruction. A faculty member who uses a learning management system to post syllabi and grades, communicates with students by email, conducts research using online tools, and handles administrative responsibilities through a university portal almost certainly uses a computer for 25% or more of their total duties.
The practical guidance for most institutions is that full-time faculty should be included in the training rollout. Adjunct faculty and part-time instructors present a more nuanced situation - consider their actual computer use relative to their assigned duties. Consult your institution's legal counsel and the Texas DIR for definitive guidance on specific faculty classifications at your institution.
The course includes a dedicated section on privacy, data classification, and the risks of entering sensitive information into AI tools. This section addresses FERPA directly - specifically the danger of inputting student records, grades, personally identifiable information, or other education records into commercial AI tools that may retain or process that data.
Employees learn a practical framework for classifying information before using any AI tool: public information, internal information, confidential information, and restricted information. FERPA-protected student data falls into the restricted category and must not be entered into any AI tool that does not have a FERPA-compliant data processing agreement in place with the institution.
The training does not provide legal advice and is not a substitute for your institution's FERPA compliance program. It provides employees with practical awareness and decision-making tools to avoid inadvertent violations when using AI in their daily work.
Yes. University systems with multiple component institutions - such as the UT System, A&M System, Texas State System, Texas Tech System, or multi-campus community college districts like Alamo Colleges or Dallas College - can enroll under a single enterprise agreement.
Enterprise enrollment includes a system-level compliance dashboard that shows aggregate completion data across all components, plus individual dashboards for each component institution. Each campus can have its own designated compliance contact with access only to their campus data. A dedicated account manager at Evolve AI Institute handles the setup and supports annual renewals.
Contact us at tim@evolveaiinstitute.com or use the enterprise inquiry form to discuss your system's specific needs and receive a custom quote.
Yes. Accessibility is a core design requirement of this platform, not an afterthought. The platform targets WCAG 2.2 Level AAA conformance - the highest standard of web accessibility. For higher education institutions subject to ADA Title II obligations, this is a critical consideration.
Specific accessibility features include: full keyboard navigation with no mouse required, high-contrast text (7:1 contrast ratio for normal text), descriptive alt text on all images, ARIA landmarks and labels throughout, built-in text-to-speech listen feature on every content page, logical heading structure, accessible form labels, and compatibility with JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack screen readers.
A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) based on the ITI VPAT 2.5 format is available upon request for procurement and ADA compliance documentation purposes. Contact tim@evolveaiinstitute.com to request a copy.
Enroll Your Institution Today
Individual enrollment is available immediately. For institution-wide and system-wide enrollment, contact us to discuss enterprise pricing and setup.
Questions? Email tim@evolveaiinstitute.com - we support purchase order procurement and can provide all required vendor documentation.