Washington, D.C. — The Kogod School of Business at American University today announced funding from Google.org to support an innovative research initiative focused on assessing AI-related learning outcomes in business education.

The effort will focus on developing and validating practical assessment frameworks and tools to assess both AI-specific competencies and subject-matter mastery in learning environments where students have wide access to generative AI technologies. The project positions Kogod among the first business schools globally to tackle one of higher education’s most urgent and unresolved challenges: how to evaluate outcomes of learning about AI and learning with AI.

“Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping how students learn, how faculty teach, and how employers evaluate and utilize talent,” said David Marchick, Dean of the Kogod School of Business. “The funding received by Google.org, a leader in AI and education, reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that innovation in AI is matched by rigor in learning assessment. Kogod has been at the forefront of integrating AI into business education, and this grant allows us to help define the standards the field will follow.”

Establishing a New Standard for AI-Integrated Education

As business schools worldwide race to incorporate AI into their curricula, few have addressed the complex question of how to measure learning when AI tools are part of the educational process. The Google.org-funded initiative directly addresses this gap by:

• Developing methods to assess AI literacy, fluency, and competency, aligned with emerging AI literacy frameworks.
• Creating approaches to measure discipline-specific learning outcomes in AI-enabled environments where students routinely use generative AI
• Producing validated frameworks and tools that institutions can adopt across programs and disciplines
• Sharing findings through publications, conferences, workshops, and open resources to support broad dissemination of best practice and drive sector-wide impact

First Movers in AI Assessment and Business Education

Kogod has emerged as a national leader in AI-integrated business education, embedding artificial intelligence across degree programs and emphasizing ethical, strategic, and applied AI use. This initiative further distinguishes Kogod as a first mover—not only adopting AI early, but shaping how its educational impact is evaluated. Bloomberg BusinessWeek called Kogod the first “AI- first business school.”

The project’s findings and tools will be made openly available to encourage broad adoption and maximize their influence across higher education and industry.

About the Kogod School of Business

For more than 70 years, American University's Kogod School of Business has redefined what business education looks like — preparing future business leaders to thrive in careers on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, at nonprofits and in government agencies, in startups and at Fortune 500 companies. With a strong focus on AI, Kogod ensures graduates harness technology’s potential to solve real-world business challenges, earning Kogod recognition from Poets & Quants as Best in Class for Artificial Intelligence. Kogod’s approach to learning fosters the entrepreneurial mindset and provides students with the skills, resources, and mentorship they need to succeed in any industry.