Publications and Research
Document Type
Book Chapter or Section
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
This case study examines how the City University of New York (CUNY) developed guidelines for the use of generative artificial intelligence (genAI) in the creation of open educational resources (OER). CUNY is the nation’s largest urban public university, with 26 campuses distributed across New York City’s five boroughs. CUNY includes 7 community colleges, 11 senior colleges (3 of which are comprehensives), and 8 graduate, honors, and professional schools. Since the 2017-2018 academic year, CUNY’s OER Initiative has received $4 million a year of state funding to support the creation and use of OER across the university system. The OER Initiative is run by the Office of Library Services (OLS), a division of the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) at CUNY’s Central Office. OAA oversees CUNY’s University policies and manages assorted university-wide programs, like the CUNY OER Initiative. OLS is a relatively small unit within OAA that manages university library systems, negotiates and purchases university-wide electronic databases and journals, supports campus cataloging operations, and supports open scholarship and education through CUNY’s institutional repository and the OER Initiative.
Comments
This article was originally published as a chapter in AI + OER Case Studies: A DOERS Project edited by Kathy Essmiller. This case study anthology describes projects and experiences exploring the intersection of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and open educational resources (OER). The case studies highlight promising practices and emerging policies across higher education systems, consortia, and institutions.