AI at NICC
Where Innovation Meets Intention
Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) isn’t about replacing the human element—it’s about catalyzing it. Guided by our strategic priorities, we use AI to:
Revitalize Our Culture
Streamline administrative tasks so our teams can focus on what matters most, connecting with our students and each other.
Empower Learners
Provide every student with the AI literacy and tools needed to thrive in a rapidly changing workforce.
Amplify Community Partnerships
Support businesses and communities across our district as they meet the challenges and opportunities presented by AI.
Lead with Intention
Make data-informed, future-ready decisions that sustain the College and our community.
The AI Alliance
The AI Alliance was formed in July 2024 as a cross-functional steering committee dedicated to the strategic implementation of AI. We are driving innovation through the following milestones:
Summer 2024
Launch of the AI Alliance to oversee ethical AI use and tool adoption. The start of research, implementation and an ethical framework established through frequent workshops and training for faculty and staff.
Fall 2024
The establishment of the College’s AI Guidelines.
Spring 2025
Deployment of Google Gemini and NotebookLM for employees. This phase focused on promoting the use of AI tools for brainstorming, research, creative workflows and administrative efficiency.
August 2025
Launch of Google Gemini and NotebookLM for all student accounts, including resources on practical and ethical use of these tools to enhance their learning.
Fall 2025
Received access to the Google AI for Education Accelerator.
Spring 2026
Launch of the Google AI Certifications.
By using NotebookLM, the HR team streamlined the synthesis of complex documentation, effectively creating cohesive summaries for targeted employee groups. This integration significantly reduced the work hours associated with information gathering and review, allowing the team to focus on other initiatives. Consequently, employees benefited from timely, impactful communication delivered in a digestible format.
Sharon Lyons, Director of Human Resources
I needed to put my Fall semester classes on my Google calendar... a routine tedious task. I asked Gemini to do it for me and it put one hundred twenty eight appointments on my calendar, just like that. You just have to lean in and fail fast and realize that you have so much potential and these tools are, again, a catalyst or a magnifier for what you're capable of.
Jordan O'Connell, Humanities Faculty and Chair of Liberal Arts
A Partner in Progress: The Google AI Accelerator
We’ve partnered with Google to ensure the world-class AI training in the Education Accelerator Program is available to our students and employees at no additional cost.
What’s available to NICC students and employees:
Google AI Essentials and Prompting Essentials Courses
Master the art of prompting, productivity and responsible AI use.
Google Career Certificates
Earn industry-recognized credentials in Project Management, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity and more.
Ready to start your journey? Contact the AI Alliance team today to request access to the Google AI course library.
The AI Toolkit
We provide a vetted, secure environment for our students, faculty, and staff to explore AI. By using an NICC account with these tools, your data is protected and never used to train public models. The AI toolkit includes:
Google Gemini
A personal creative partner for drafting emails, brainstorming ideas and generating content in seconds.
NotebookLM
An AI-powered research assistant that grounds its intelligence from your provided sources to create summaries, study guides and deep-dive insights.
Zoom AI Companion
A productive personal assistant that automatically compiles meeting summaries and smart recordings to keep teams organized.
D2L Lumi
Assists faculty with building high-quality quiz banks, interactive content, assignments and discussions in seconds - using their own Brightspace course content, skills and experience. Additionally, D2L Lumi Tutor is an AI-powered academic assistant that provides students with real-time, personalized support directly within their specific Brightspace course content.
Agentic Chatbot
Our evolving campus-wide chatbot designed to streamline student and faculty support. Starting in Brightspace and expanding across more NICC services in the future, it provides instant answers to your most frequent questions.
Microsoft Copilot
An AI-powered productivity companion integrated with Microsoft 365 that helps draft documents, summarize emails and analyze data to streamline your daily workflow.
Our Commitment to Ethics and Security
AI is a powerful tool, and we prioritize transparency and security to ensure this technology serves as a reliable tool for our community. We believe AI should enhance human intelligence, not replace it. NICC follows a "Human-in-the-Loop" philosophy where human oversight is required for all AI outputs.
- Data Privacy: By using institutional accounts and vetted services, we ensure NICC data remains private and secure.
- Academic Integrity and Choice: We support faculty autonomy and the use of clear syllabus statements regarding acceptable AI use. We encourage frameworks to help faculty and students navigate when AI usage is appropriate and when original human work is required.
- Bias and Hallucination Mitigation: We are committed to verifying AI-generated content for accuracy and identifying potential biases.
- Security: We proactively train our community to recognize AI-driven threats, such as deepfakes, through our security partnerships.
Join the Conversation
The AI Alliance is your partner in navigating the future of work. Whether you’re just starting out with AI meeting summaries or scaling a specialized solution, we’re your partners in making it happen.
Partner with us: Reach out to the team at ai@nicc.edu to discuss training opportunities, scope solutions or establish collaborations.
Learn Something New: Subscribe to our Substack to stay informed on the latest AI trends in education and industry.
Follow our Progress: Explore the AI Alliance Portfolio.
Training Opportunities: Look for upcoming sessions on the MyCampus calendar or email ai@nicc.edu to coordinate training for your organization or department.