Dear Patriots,
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the importance of digital literacy cannot be overstated. As your Chief Information Officer, I am committed to ensuring our institution remains at the forefront of technological advancements, equipping our community with the skills necessary to thrive in the digital age.
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PatriotAI Vision and Impact Goals
PatriotAI is intentionally designed as an experimental platform with four primary goals:
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- Democratize access to AI tools across our diverse campus, equipping students with the skills they’ll need to thrive in the future of work
- Promote digital literacy in an AI-driven world, enabling personalized learning with tailored content and targeted coaching
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Foster innovation in teaching, learning, and research with increased access to new technology—designed to accelerate societal impact by empowering our community to solve real-world challenges
- Enhance productivity in academic and administrative functions by saving staff time spent writing, researching, editing, and analyzing
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A Shared Vision: Thank you to the AI Task Force
I want to extend my deepest appreciation to the members of the AI Visioning Task Force, whose insight, creativity, and dedication were instrumental in shaping this initiative. Their contributions helped design and test the PatriotAI agents as well as establish our AI Usage Guidelines. This shared governance model reflects the values and priorities of our university.
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What the Patriot Platform Offers: Introducing PatriotAI
At the core of the Patriot Platform is PatriotAI, a suite of six specialized AI tools—called agents—that provide secure, university-managed access to large language models. These agents represent our first lineup of AI tools designed to enhance learning, instruction, research, and student life across campus:
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Patriot Chat: A general-purpose conversational assistant for everyone at George Mason. Ask Patriot Chat about anything—from quick facts to complex questions—and receive reliable, insightful answers while ensuring your privacy and data security.
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DocuMate: A scholarly document analysis assistant that helps summarize academic texts, extract key concepts, formulate research questions, and conduct cross-document comparisons—ideal for students, faculty, and researchers.
- PatriotPal: A virtual assistant for students, offering accurate and helpful information about administrative procedures, academic policies, and student services at George Mason.
- NourishNet: A compassionate resource connector focused on addressing student food insecurity. NourishNet guides students to food access programs both on campus and in the community, while maintaining a stigma-free, supportive experience.
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CourseMate: A student learning assistant that helps students understand lecture content, analyze research articles, interpret textbook materials, and prepare for exams with clarity and confidence.
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SyllaBright: A course design assistant that helps faculty develop and refine educational materials, including syllabi, learning objectives, assessment planning, and adapting content for multilingual and diverse learning contexts.
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Responsible Innovation: AI Usage Guidelines, Support, and Engagement
As we integrate AI into our digital ecosystem, we’re committed to using it responsibly. Our University AI Usage Guidelines outline expectations for ethical use, data privacy, and academic integrity. We encourage all members of our community to review these guidelines.
Through the launch of PatriotAI, we will learn, adapt, and grow based on your feedback and experiences. To help you get started, see PatriotAI FAQs. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact us at patriotai@gmu.edu.
Thank you for your continued partnership as we build a smarter, more connected university experience—together.
In Community -
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Dr. Charmaine Madison
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Information Technology Services
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M365 Storage Project: ITS is beginning to implement new storage quotas to manage growth within our Microsoft 365 (M365) environment. Starting Monday, July 7, the new quotas will be enforced incrementally on all existing OneDrive accounts, MS Teams workspaces, and SharePoint workspaces. Once complete, changes to existing Exchange (email and calendar) accounts will follow. Users whose storage exceeds the new quota limits will be assigned a new quota just above the amount currently in use. For quota information and updated project details, see the M365 Storage Roadmap.
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LMS Update: Canvas is now the default LMS for George Mason University. This is a final reminder that access to Blackboard ends Tuesday, July 15. After this date, all content in Blackboard courses and organizations will become permanently inaccessible. Before July 15, log into Blackboard to review your content. For help downloading content, visit the Blackboard retirement resources. Review the Canvas Use Guidelines to see if your content qualifies for a Canvas site. Non-semester Canvas sites are called Community Courses (previously Blackboard Organizations). If your Blackboard site was not already migrated to Canvas, review manual course migration options. If your Blackboard Organization contains documents linked on a university website, please review the WebDocs solution for options and best practices. Visit the LMS Transition Website for additional details. For questions or support, contact lms@gmu.edu.
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- Zoom Security Reminder: ITS has implemented a new security measure requiring all Zoom meetings to use a waiting room, passcode, or authentication for entry. If you currently have a Zoom meeting with no security measure in place, a waiting room will automatically be added.
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Encryption Update: ITS recently rolled out an encryption update to all George Mason-Managed Windows and Mac devices to improve system security across the university. The change occurred in the background and did not impact system applications or external drives. To learn more about managed devices, see ITS Computer Standards.
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Sunshine and Screen Time: Digital Wellness
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| Don't Get Burned: Summer Cybersafety
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Join the Office of University Branding for a Branded Products Educational Seminar on Thursday, July 31, located in George's at the Johnson Center on the Fairfax Campus. Two 90-minute sessions will be facilitated in partnership with licensed vendor Pat Dome. Register by Monday, July 28. Anyone who purchases George Mason-branded products should attend.
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George Mason has launched Mason Career Academy, a new online learning resource that is free for current students, faculty, and staff to develop new skills. Mason Career Academy offers access to more than 90 online micro-credential courses and industry-recognized certifications in fields such as data analytics, cybersecurity, project management, and information technology support. Learn more.
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- Mason 101 is a one-time workshop that covers information about the university’s history, organization, resources, and the future of the institution. Sign up for an upcoming session this July or August on masonleaps.gmu.edu.
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