University of Phoenix and OpenAI Partner to Study AI Skills Gap

The University of Phoenix and OpenAI have launched a collaboration to integrate artificial intelligence across teaching, learning, student support, career services, operations, and collaborative research. The partnership focuses on researching the AI skills gap to determine how adoption varies across industry, career stage, gender, and caregiving status.

University leaders Jamie Smith and John Woods stated the research aims to identify if perceived skill gaps are actually "opportunity gaps" resulting from a lack of practice time, specifically for caregivers and working mothers. The initiative utilizes the university's student demographic, where 62% of students are employed and 70% are women, to analyze how AI fluency moves from the classroom to the workplace.

Chief Information Officer Jamie Smith defined AI fluency as understanding the work surrounding the technology rather than just the tools. Provost and Chief Academic Officer John Woods noted that the collaboration builds upon existing AI competencies and faculty training already established at the institution.