Messiah AI Tools
Information Technology Services (ITS) maintains a record of AI tools and use cases that have been reviewed and approved for use at Messiah University.
Approval is based on the specific tool, intended use, data involved, and associated risks. A tool's inclusion on the approved list does not mean it is approved for every possible use case.
Yes!
Microsoft Copilot Chat is approved for use and is available through Messiah University's Microsoft 365 environment. Copilot Chat provides institutional security protections and is considered the preferred AI platform for many general productivity, writing, brainstorming, and information-gathering tasks.
Users must still follow university policies regarding FERPA, confidential information, and data security.
For more information, read the Copilot Chat FAQs on the Tech Support Blog.
It depends on the use case.
Certain uses of third-party AI tools have been reviewed and approved for specific academic, instructional, and research purposes, including analysis of de-identified student programming assignments, analysis of anatomical images that do not contain personally identifiable information, aggregated analysis of student writing when appropriate privacy protections are in place, research and instructional support activities using non-sensitive information, and activities involving public, redacted, or synthetic data.
Approval of these use cases does not constitute blanket approval for all uses of third-party AI tools. Users should understand that information entered into external AI services may be subject to the vendor's data handling, retention, and training practices.
Faculty and staff should not enter confidential institutional information, FERPA-protected information, personally identifiable information, or other sensitive data unless a specific use case has been reviewed and approved. When in doubt, consult ITS before using a third-party AI tool with institutional data.
Yes.
Zoom AI Companion is approved for note-taking and meeting support within Messiah University's Zoom environment. Unlike many public AI tools, Zoom AI Companion operates within the University's Zoom tenant and may be used for broader meeting-related use cases when participants are authorized to access the information being discussed.
Because meetings often involve sensitive information, users should continue to exercise good judgment and ensure that information shared during meetings is appropriate for all attendees.
AI approvals are based on context.
The same AI tool may be appropriate for one activity but inappropriate for another because different use cases involve different types of information, privacy concerns, regulatory requirements, and institutional risks.
Approval decisions consider the type of data being entered, whether student information is involved, security and privacy controls, regulatory requirements such as FERPA, potential intellectual property concerns, and the purpose of the activity.
For this reason, a previously approved use case should not be interpreted as approval for all future uses of that tool.
Yes.
Even approved tools may have restrictions regarding student information, FERPA-protected data, personally identifiable information (PII), confidential institutional information, intellectual property, and proprietary university content.
Users remain responsible for determining whether the information being entered is appropriate for the system being used. Approval of a tool does not override university policies or legal requirements.
Possibly.
If Faculty Development Funds are used to purchase software or technology, approval from the Office of Faculty Development may be required.
Faculty should also ensure that any AI software complies with Messiah University's software review and approval processes before purchasing or using the tool for university business.
At this time, Messiah University does not approve AI desktop applications, AI coding agents, AI browser plugins, or similar software that allows direct access to local files, email systems, or other workstation resources on Messiah-owned computers.
Examples include products that read files directly from your computer, write, modify, or delete files on your computer, connect directly to your email account, send emails on your behalf, access local development environments, terminals, or command-line tools, or act autonomously on behalf of a user.
This restriction applies regardless of the vendor. The concern is not a specific company, but rather the level of access granted to the software.
Microsoft Copilot is currently the only approved AI desktop application.
Many AI vendors are moving beyond simple chat interfaces and increasingly encouraging users to connect AI systems directly to their daily work.
Examples of these capabilities include reading local files and folders, modifying documents, accessing email accounts, using calendars and productivity applications, and executing actions on behalf of users.
While these capabilities can improve productivity, they also increase institutional risk.
For example, if an AI system is authorized to send email, there is potential for messages to be sent that were not explicitly reviewed or approved by the user. If an AI system is granted file access, it may be able to view all files within the approved scope. If write access is granted, the system may be capable of creating, modifying, moving, or deleting files. When file access and email access are combined, the potential exposure increases significantly.
Because these technologies continue to evolve rapidly, Messiah ITS has determined that the current risk level is too high for deployment on Messiah-owned devices.
Most web-based AI tools operate within the security boundaries of a modern web browser.
In general, web applications cannot access files on your computer unless you specifically choose to upload them. The AI system only has access to files that you intentionally provide. The AI system cannot browse your file system without your authorization and cannot directly modify or delete files stored on your computer.
This "sandboxed" environment helps reduce the risk of unintended access to institutional data.
While web-based AI systems still require careful handling of student, employee, and institutional data, they typically provide a smaller attack surface than desktop applications or autonomous agents with local system access.
No.
Messiah University's policies require university work to be conducted using approved Messiah systems and Messiah accounts.
Faculty and staff should not use personal AI accounts to process student information, FERPA-protected information, institutional data, confidential university information, or records associated with university business.
Using personal AI accounts for university work may violate university policies and, depending on the information involved, could create FERPA or data security concerns.
Employees should use approved university systems and approved AI tools when conducting university business.