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Environmental Scan
AI Landscape by Region
Spring 2025 baseline · June 2026 update
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Southwestern College

Region: San Diego / Imperial

At a glance

Southwestern College's Academic Senate established an AI Ad Hoc Committee in October 2025 with a mission to research AI's role in teaching and learning and develop formal policy by March 2027; the committee includes faculty from online teaching, the Region 10 Community of Practice, and AAC&U's AI Institute. Deliverables include an optional syllabus statement, a faculty AI toolbox launching Fall 2026, and professional development sessions during staff development days in Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. The college also formed an Inauthentic Enrollment Mitigation Taskforce to combat AI-driven bot enrollments that affected roughly 1,600 of 26,000 students.

Updated Scan Findings

8 new 🆕· 8 source-verified findings from the updated web scan
AI-Engaged People, Processes & Timelines · 2
  • 🆕Academic Senate AI Ad Hoc Committee established. The Southwestern College Academic Senate created an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ad Hoc Committee whose mission is to 'research and make recommendations on Artificial Intelligence and to shape how SWC will use AI as a teaching and learning tool,' with a timeline to begin 10/20/2025 and end 5/31/2027. Voting members include faculty teaching online, a faculty member from the Region 10 Community of Practice, and a member from AAC&U's Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕AI professional development planned for staff development days. Per the AI Ad Hoc Committee charter, 'At least one Professional Development activity will occur during staff development days for Fall 2026, and Spring 2027,' with ongoing AI professional development opportunities planned starting Fall 2027. 2026 · high confidence — source
AI Policies · 2
  • 🆕Formal AI use policy in development (target March 2027). A goal of the Academic Senate AI Ad Hoc Committee is to 'Create a formal Policy and Procedure for AI use for faculty and student roles'; the charter states a new policy and procedure on AI will be approved by the Academic Senate no later than March 2027, with a review of existing policies that need updating completed no later than May 2027. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕Optional AI syllabus statement being created. Among the AI Ad Hoc Committee's deliverables is to 'Create an optional syllabus statement on AI use' for faculty; this is a forthcoming, not-yet-published deliverable as of the committee charter (committee begins 10/20/2025). 2025 · high confidence — source
AI Courses, Tools & Resources · 4
  • 🆕Faculty AI toolbox planned for Fall 2026. The AI Ad Hoc Committee charter commits that 'An initial toolbox will be developed for faculty use in Fall 2026' covering how to use AI in the classroom, teach students to use AI ethically, and address AI use in student assignments, with a more comprehensive toolbox available no later than May 2027. 2026 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕Inauthentic Enrollment (AI bot) Mitigation Taskforce. Southwestern College launched an 'Inauthentic Enrollment Mitigation Taskforce that meets regularly' in response to AI-driven fraudulent ('bot') enrollment; a district report cited by Voice of San Diego found around 1,600 of the college's 26,000 enrollees were bots, and officials dropped suspected bots en masse and required them to prove they were real. 2025 · high confidence — source
  • 🆕Online Data Science & Artificial Intelligence career-training course. Southwestern College's career-training portal offers an online, self-paced 'Data Science & Artificial Intelligence' course (third-party/ed2go-style continuing education) teaching Python programming, machine learning, data analysis, automation, and SQL querying to build AI-powered applications; a companion 'Python for Machine Learning & Data Science' course is also offered. undated · medium confidence — source
  • 🆕AI bot/financial-aid fraud documented by student newspaper. The SWC student newspaper (The Sun, May 5, 2025) reported fraudulent AI-generated 'fake students' enrolling to collect financial aid, blocking real students and inflating enrollment; President Mark Sanchez initially cited 'around 400 bots' while reporting suggested the figure could be far higher, and VP Rachel Fisher said the district was working to collect additional information. 2025 · medium confidence — source

Spring 2025 baseline

AI-Engaged People, Processes & Timelines

V2030: PeopleV2030: PolicyV2030: Systems
Team/Lead: Southwestern College/ Senate/ PD Coordinator
  • April 2023 Academic Senate approved the use of ChatGPT in campus computer labs
  • August 2023 Professional Development Coordinator Jonathan Henderson said faculty has discretion on ChatGPT matters, though the college is likely to develop policy defining breach of academic integrity.
  • Henderson said that regardless of how SC plans to regulate ChatGPT, students should be given the benefit of the doubt that they will use AI ethically.

AI Policies

V2030: PolicyV2030: PeopleV2030: Systems
Team/Lead: Southwestern College

AI Courses, Tools & Resources

V2030: ResourcesV2030: PeopleV2030: Systems
Team/Lead: Southwestern College

Entities from the knowledge graph

college: Southwestern Collegeinitiative: Professional Development Department Workshop on Chatbot Learning and Teachinginitiative: Three Powerful AI for Professional Trainingorganization: Southwestern College Academic Senateorganization: Professional Development Departmentorganization: George Washington Universityperson: Jonathan Hendersonperson: Ryan Watkins

Links & artifacts

AI-Engaged People, Processes & Timelines · 1
AI Policies · 1
AI Courses, Tools & Resources · 1

Contacts at this college

Name / RoleEmailPhone
JH
Jonathan Henderson
Professional Development Coordinator
jhenderson@swccd.edu
RW
Ryan Watkins
Professor of Educational Technology
LD
—
ldowns@southweterncc.edu