Charter Oak to host a secure 'AI pod' after board cleared $2 million strategic reserve investment

Charter Oak State College plans to deploy a custom, secure "AI pod" after the board approved use of $2 million in strategic reserves for artificial-intelligence solutions, the college's provost told the committee on March 6.

The provost explained the approach: after executing a contract (which must be cleared by the attorney general's office), Charter Oak will enter a 90-day discovery period with the RFP-selected vendor, LearningMe, to identify prioritized AI solutions. The college expects to develop two to three AI solutions per year over the duration of the investment, hosting custom models and tools on an institution-controlled server to reduce long-term subscription costs.

"AI is not intended to take jobs over at Charter Oak," the provost said, stressing a human-in-the-loop model in which AI handles transactional tasks while faculty and staff focus on transformational work and final sign-off.

The provost also said some proprietary or trade-secret elements of future work may require executive- session or nondisclosure protections and will not be discussed in public meetings. The college's plan includes a 90-day discovery, prioritization based on data-quality and institutional pain points, and an emphasis on faculty development to embed AI-enabled competencies across programs.

The committee received the update as an informational item; implementation steps and any contract details will return later for necessary approvals and oversight.