The University of Colorado has reached an agreement with OpenAI to provide secure access to ChatGPT EDU for students, faculty, and staff across its four campuses and the system office. Each campus will have its own dedicated ChatGPT environment, aiming to offer equitable access while maintaining privacy and security standards. The agreement is renewable annually.
University officials said this initiative is intended to ensure that all students can use this technology and graduate prepared for current workforce demands. CU President Todd Saliman stated, “Equitable access to this emerging technology is essential for our students and employees. By investing at the system level, CU is helping remove barriers and ensuring that all members of our community can engage with these tools, regardless of discipline or background.”
Access will be available to full-time and part-time students as well as faculty and staff using university email credentials. According to the agreement, OpenAI will not use content from CU’s ChatGPT EDU environments for training its language models.
CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz commented on the security benefits: “Our data shows that generative AI tools, particularly ChatGPT, are already widely used by CU faculty, staff and students. But using institutional data on the public platform can expose students, faculty, staff and the university to security risks. Through this agreement, ChatGPT EDU will offer a secure, institutionally supported alternative that better protects our data and meets users where they already are.”
Users must complete a short training on appropriate use before gaining access. Additional resources will be provided to help integrate the tool into academic, research, and administrative activities.
UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said, “Across UCCS, people are already experimenting with AI, as well as becoming proficient and expert users. Generative AI, natural language processing, machine learning and other AI tools are becoming part of how we teach, learn and work. By offering a secure, institutionally supported option, we’re reducing risk to university data and meeting our faculty, staff and students where they are, while also launching UCCS into the future. This agreement empowers our community to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly.”
The decision follows recommendations from the President’s AI Working Group—a committee of faculty and staff—which reviewed commercial AI options based on principles such as privacy and equity.
The initial licensing costs for 100,000 users total about $2 million per year; these costs will be covered by the system office in the first year. Individual campuses will take over funding their environments in later years.
CU Anschutz Chancellor Don Elliman highlighted potential benefits: “At CU Anschutz, we’re already seeing how thoughtfully deployed AI tools can enhance patient care, expedite scientific research and enrich the educational experience. This program is the next step in our ongoing investment in AI, and we look forward to all it will make possible for our students, faculty and staff every day.”
University leaders also recognized environmental concerns related to artificial intelligence adoption. They indicated efforts would continue toward sustainability goals including reducing energy usage across campuses.
Use of ChatGPT EDU does not change existing university policies regarding academic freedom or data governance requirements; faculty maintain control over classroom use of AI tools.
CU Denver Chancellor Kenneth T. Christensen stated: “We have a responsibility to teach our students proper and ethical uses of technology in order to position them for success in the job market. We also have an obligation to deploy tools that help increase efficiencies for employees in their daily roles so that they have more time to enhance and elevate the educational experience of our students.”
The rollout is scheduled for March 31; additional guidance will be provided by each campus as access becomes available.
