This academic term, faculty at York University can share information about their courses and support student success more efficiently through new, innovative artificial intelligence technologies introduced by University Information Technology (UIT).
Instructors and professors can upload a course’s syllabus and content to AI Course Assistant, a generative AI (GenAI) tool available within the eClass learning management system. Students can interact with the tool's chatbot to ask questions about assignments, deadlines and even course content. Students receive instant answers, reducing the need for faculty to repeat course information available in the syllabus.
“The goal with AI Assistant is to cut down on some of the stresses faculty typically have in answering students’ common questions and make it easier for students to get the information they need quickly,” says Patrick Thibaudeau, director of IT innovation and academic technologies within UIT.
Thibaudeau and his team built the tool using technology developed for a pilot project by professors Donald Ipperciel of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and Pooja Vashisth of the Lassonde School of Engineering. Instructors can upload course materials in diverse file formats – text and PDF documents, spreadsheets, presentations, images, audio and video. They also can add a Microsoft Word document of typical course questions and accompanying answers that the tool scans for information. Thibaudeau says AI Assistant produces extremely accurate replies, and as instructors continue to add information to it, its results will continue to improve.
One feature of AI Assistant designed particularly to benefit student learning is AI Learning Companion. Functioning as a private tutor and study coach, the tool allows students to generate quizzes of 10 multiple choice questions to assess their knowledge on different course topics. Students can also tailor the difficulty level to match their learning needs.
The tool is designed to progressively challenge students: the more answers they get right, the harder the questions become. Professors can also create customized quizzes for students within AI Learning Companion that include short-answer and essay-style questions.
After completing a quiz, students receive results and qualitative feedback, including suggestions for areas that can be improved.
“The tests can be adapted to wherever students are in their learning journey, so that they can advance their knowledge at their own pace,” says Vidur Kalive, AI architect lead within UIT.
Another AI tool UIT is working on is Instructional Design Ideas, which will help faculty design courses by creating educational materials based on course content such as a syllabus, lecture notes, discussion topics, reading recommendations, learning activities, assignments and tests. Thibaudeau and Kalive have demonstrated a prototype to various instructors from diverse Faculties and are using that feedback to refine the tool. They plan to launch it within eClass in May 2026.
These AI technologies are powered by York University’s Automated University Response Assistant (YU AURA) platform, which means all uploaded content is confined to York’s computer servers, ensuring privacy.
“They are all being developed ethically and responsibly within the York bubble, which helps faculty members feel at ease about using them,” Kalive says.
Thibaudeau and Kalive are collaborating with Student Services, the Teaching Commons within the Office of the Vice-Provost Teaching & Learning and other York units to raise awareness about available AI tools. UIT offers guidelines and a template that professors and instructors can use to shape the language and format of their syllabi to be compatible with machine-learning techniques. Details on how to add and use AI Assistant and AI Learning Companion are available through an online guide.
As AI technology continues to impact teaching and learning in higher education, Thibaudeau says it’s vital for York to embrace its potential in a way that centres the pedagogical expertise of instructors.
“We have an incredible opportunity to use AI to enhance the way education happens at York,” Thibaudeau says. “It can allow instructors to focus on their core work of teaching while cutting down on some administrative stresses and inefficiencies and support the way students learn.”
With files from Sharon Aschaiek