From Policy to Practice: Building an AI-Literate Workforce Through Accredited Higher Ed

September 17, 2025, 1:00-2:00 EDT

With continued AI directives emerging from the White House and growing state-level mandates, apprenticeship programs and higher education institutions face a clear imperative: prepare learners – and faculty – for an AI-shaped workforce.

This one-hour webinar explores what current AI mandates mean for traditional higher ed and how Reach University, the first and only nonprofit institution to require AI and computer science literacy for all apprenticeship degree undergraduates, is answering that call. Together, we’ll explore what AI literacy actually means, Reach’s approach and outcomes, and how you can train your faculty and apprenticeship practitioners to integrate AI fluency into your curriculum and programs – today.

Key Takeaways:

• Context of current federal/state AI literacy mandates for higher ed
• An understanding of how to define AI literacy and what it entails
• A case study and curriculum demo from Reach University’s groundbreaking CS 300 course
• Practical strategies to equip faculty and staff through Reach’s upcoming CS 333 faculty training course - free and available to all peer IHE faculty and workforce leads this Fall ‘25. 

Speakers include:

• Dr. Holly Smith, Executive Director & VP of Apprenticeship Degree Design, NCAD
• John Colborn, Executive Director, AFA
• Dr. Emily Thomforde, Chair of Computer Sciences, Reach University

Audience: Provosts, deans, apprenticeship providers, employers, funders, and workforce policy leaders

Join us to see how AI fluency can – and must – be built into the future of work.