As part of a series that addresses the integration of artificial intelligence across Colorado State University, The Institute for Learning and Teaching hosted a hands-on workshop titled, “Beyond the Prompt: Leveling Up AI in your classroom” Jan. 27. Led by TILT Senior Instructional Designer Chris Geanious, the workshop — which is the first of 15 during the semester — explored AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot and CSU’s very own CSU-GPT.
In partnership with Microsoft Azure, CSU-GPT, is designed to offer a safe and secure way to explore generative AI for students, staff and faculty. In contrast to public AI platforms, CSU-GPT — powered by NebulaOne — stores data in the university’s Microsoft Azure tenant, therefore ensuring the data won’t leave CSU.
University leaders, including CSU President Amy Parsons, have commented that initiatives such as CSU-GPT position the university to be an emerging leader in the landscape of AI.
“The AI landscape is changing fast, but at CSU, we don’t see that as a reason to hesitate; it’s a reason to lead,” Parsons said at the October 2025 symposium where CSU-GPT was launched. “AI has potential to transform just about everything we do, from unlocking new ways to solve global challenges to supporting our daily workflows. This event and the launch of CSU-GPT are ways we are getting this technology into our students’ hands.”
RamGPT, a second AI chatbot, was set to be released this spring. RamGPT is a system of agents that act as a resource for students to get more information about CSU. However, RamGPT is currently on hold due to budgetary constraints and the inability to fill positions, Geanious said.
To launch these initiatives, CSU paid Microsoft $120,000 in 2025 and will pay $142,000 in 2026 and 2027, CSU Associate Vice President of Communications Tiana Kennedy told The Denver Post.
“In response to that (growing interest), TILT has wanted to have a presence on the CSU campus and be a leader in terms of how best to utilize generative AI and teaching in learning,” Geanious said.
In the session, Geanious reviewed Microsoft Copilot and CSU-GPT, while guiding both online and in-person faculty to learn to use the tool in a classroom setting. The workshop highlighted CSU-GPT’s ability to create agents based on uploaded material. Agents can be used for both private and community-based purposes, allowing users to interact with uploaded material through different task and question prompts.
In the workshop, the agent tool was promoted for use in academic settings. For example, agents can be used for tutoring or course administration.
Attendees ran through a practice with pre-provided documents to create a tutor for a hypothetical introduction to biology class. When asking questions related to the course, the agent pulls answers directly from the document, preventing issues like AI hallucination.
Sessions will be led by various people and hosted frequently throughout the rest of the semester. Future topics include AI literacy, creating accessible content with AI and more.
All events in the series can be found on the TILT calendar and may be attended in person or via Microsoft Teams.
Reach Chloe Rios at news@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
