An independent research preview · covering the California Community Colleges
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Environmental Scan
AI Landscape by Region
Spring 2025 baseline · June 2026 update

The Environmental Scan, made filterable

Spring 2025 baseline — 8 regions, 122 colleges, 4 entries, 14 notes · updated scan (latest: June 2026) adds 16 source-verified findings (8 new). Every entry is tagged with one or more Vision 2030 domains: People · Policy · Systems · Resources.

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San Mateo County Community College District

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Engaged People
  • 🆕District AI Community of Practice launched (fall 2025). SMCCCD established a district-wide AI Community of Practice (ai.smccd.edu) in fall 2025, coordinated by the District Teaching and Learning Committee (a subcommittee of the District Academic Senate). The framework was approved at the September 2025 Academic Senate meeting; fall 2025 faculty survey results identifying four priority areas were presented at the October 2025 senate meeting. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕Guidance and Ethics Committee within the AI COP. The AI Community of Practice includes a Guidance and Ethics Committee tasked with developing a guide, presentation, and professional development module on the ethical issues raised by generative AI tools, weighing both potential benefits and concerns. Named leads include Jennifer Howze-Owens (COP launch), Sarah Harmon (DTLC plagiarism/AI guidance), and Allison Hughes (AI-resistant assignments). 2025 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕Standalone DTLC Guidance on Plagiarism and AI (Version 1, March 2026). The District Teaching and Learning Committee published a dedicated guidance site (guidance.ai.smccd.edu) with Version 1 released March 2026, providing faculty guidance, guides, webinars, and tool resources for navigating AI's impact on teaching and learning. 2026 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕AI COP webinars and conference programming (2026). The AI Community of Practice lists current professional development including an 'Addressing the Challenge of Agentic AI' webinar on Jan 30, 2026 (1:00-2:30 p.m. online) and promotes the 'AI and Academia 2026: Navigating the Future' conference (March 19-21, 2026, Costa Mesa). Flex Day presentation slides and videos are archived for faculty. 2026 · high confidence — source
  • Inaugural AI/VR/AR MiniConference (Jan 2024). SMCCCD hosted its first 'Leveraging AI' Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality Conference on Jan 11, 2024 at Skyline College, featuring faculty/student sessions and a keynote by Santa Clara University's Maya Ackerman on AI and creative expression. Winter 2024 · high confidence — source
  • Critical information literacy / AI literacy guide. Skyline College's Information Literacy Program guide addresses AI and Critical Information Literacy, helping learners evaluate AI-generated content for credibility, bias, transparency, and authorship and examine the social/ethical/power structures behind AI technologies. undated · medium confidence — source
People
Team/Lead: SMCCCD/District/Vice Chancellor McVean/ Professor Sarah Harmon, Chair, District Academic Senate Teaching and Learning Committee & Distance Ed Advisory Committee
  • Work underway at District level.
  • Jan 2024 District Spring Convocation
  • AI/AR/VA Mini Conference
  • References group attending the state online teaching conference
PeoplePolicy
Team/Lead: SMCCCD/Canada/Professor Sarah Harmon, Chair, District Academic Senate Teaching and Learning Committee & Distance Ed Advisory Committee Spanish/Linguistics, OER/ZTC Coordinator
Policies
  • District Academic Senate Plagiarism and AI Guidance. The District Academic Senate adopted 'Plagiarism and Artificial Intelligence Guidance' (approved Dec 9, 2024; last updated Jan 8, 2025) stating the three colleges' existing academic integrity policies cover unauthorized AI use when clarified via syllabi/assignments, and prioritizing assignment design over detection. It warns AI detection tools are 'significantly more unreliable than plagiarism detection tools' and should be used 'with extreme caution or not at all.' 2025 · high confidence — source
  • Syllabus statement guidance and Stoplight AI framework. District guidance recommends faculty include 'clear and transparent statements about the role and implications of AI' in syllabi using compassionate (not punitive) language; Skyline College's CTTL repository provides a 'Stoplight AI Framework' (Red/Yellow/Green) with sample syllabus language and a Google Doc policy template. 2025 · high confidence — source
PolicyResources
Team/Lead: SMCCCD/District/Academic Senate
  • DTLC Guidance on Plagiarism and Artificial Intelligence
  • The guidance document admits that we do not have all the answers; it provides links to research and articles about the topic.
  • It will be a webpage that is routinely updated by the DTLC; this is a draft of the information that will be going onto the webpage.
  • Last updated on 8 January 2025.
Resources
  • 🆕Student access to Google Gemini and NotebookLM. SMCCCD provides students access to Google Gemini and NotebookLM through their My.SMCCD.edu student email (Google Workspace) accounts, with step-by-step access tutorials; NotebookLM features include summaries, study questions, and podcast-style audio overviews of uploaded materials. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕District-provided AI tools for faculty (Gemini, NotebookLM, Canvas AI, Apple Intelligence). The AI COP Tech Tools page documents district-provided/supported AI tools including Gemini (with a '50+ Ways to Use Gemini in Higher Education' resource), Google NotebookLM (ITS guidance), Canvas AI tools, and Apple Intelligence on Mac; ITS works to procure in-demand AI tools and provide support. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕Skyline College CTTL Faculty Repository AI page. Skyline College's Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning maintains a faculty AI repository (last updated May 12, 2026) with the Stoplight AI framework, AI-resistant assignment strategies, prompt-writing and syllabus-language resources, a UDL Coach PlayLab AI tool, and curated use-case readings. 2026 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕Google AI Certificates / training referenced for faculty. The AI COP Faculty Gateway references 'Google AI Certificates & Training' as a partnership opportunity and links to statewide California Community Colleges AI resources; SMCCCD's three colleges are among the 116 CCC colleges covered by the systemwide Google-CCC AI partnership announced fall 2025 (free Gemini for Education, NotebookLM, and Google Career Certificates). 2025 · medium confidence — source
  • Skyline College CISA 210 Introduction to Applied Artificial Intelligence. Skyline College's 2025-2026 catalog lists CISA 210 'Introduction to Applied Artificial Intelligence' (3 units), a project-based foundations course covering machine learning, neural networks, robotics, computer vision, natural language processing, and algorithm analysis. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • College of San Mateo Machine Learning and AI Certificate of Specialization. College of San Mateo's 2025-2026 catalog offers a 12-unit Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Certificate of Specialization (CIS 400 Probability for Computing, CIS 401 Intro to Machine Learning, CIS 402 Intro to Artificial Intelligence), preparing students for roles such as AI engineer, product manager, and AI ethicist. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • Skyline College Library AI research guide. Skyline College Library maintains an Artificial Intelligence research guide (last updated Apr 28, 2026; created by librarian Jason De Castro with Ame Maloney) covering AI fundamentals, generative AI/ChatGPT, a glossary of GenAI terms, databases, and tools for students and faculty. 2026 · high confidence — source
  • Turnitin AI report included in district license. District guidance notes that as of Fall 2024 Turnitin's AI report is included in SMCCCD's Turnitin license, while cautioning faculty that AI detection is unreliable and should be used sparingly. (Detail surfaced via search summary of the Academic Senate guidance page; exact wording not independently re-fetched.) Fall 2024 · low confidence — source
ResourcesSystemsPeople
Team/Lead: SMCCCD
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