California's largest education institution sets five boundaries for student use of AI.Author and source: Duojing
On July 22, the Sanford College of Education at National University, California’s largest teacher preparation institution and one of the top ten education schools in the United States, officially launched the RAISE 5 framework (Rules for AI Scholastic Engagement).
This framework is the first to categorize the extent of generative AI involvement in student assignments into five levels, ranging from complete prohibition to full openness. Instructors can clearly define for students the specific stages and scope where AI may be used, based on course objectives and assignment types.
It is understood that RAISE 5 has already been developed and piloted at the Sanford College of Education and will gradually be extended to more disciplines at National University, providing guidance for K-12 teachers and higher education instructional designers. As California’s largest teacher certification institution, National University aims to establish a clearer, more unified set of guidelines for AI application in the classroom.
AI has entered the classroom, but school policies haven't caught up.
From the perspective of the national university, the reason for launching RAISE 5 is not the artificial intelligence technology itself, but the fact that classrooms have changed.
“Every future teacher we train will step into a classroom where students are already using artificial intelligence,” said Robert Lee, Dean of the Sanford School of Education. As California’s largest teacher preparation institution, the school has a responsibility to test, observe, and understand the impact of AI on teaching and learning at scale, and to help future teachers learn how to teach alongside AI—not just how to use a new technology.
This assessment aligns with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in education. According to a global survey by the Digital Education Council in 2025, 86% of students are already using AI in their learning processes, with 54% using it weekly and nearly a quarter using it daily. A 2026 survey by JFF (Jobs for the Future) found that nearly 70% of learners reported that AI has been integrated into their coursework.
However, in contrast to students rapidly adopting AI, the development of related policies at universities remains relatively lagging. News reports cite data showing that only about one-quarter of U.S. universities have established formal AI usage policies. Meanwhile, 95% of university instructors worry that students will become overly reliant on AI, and 84% believe this will undermine students’ critical thinking and hinder their deep engagement with course material.
Beyond the classroom itself, artificial intelligence is also transforming future talent development needs. News reports indicate that generative AI is reshaping the labor market, with some traditional entry-level positions being affected, while an increasing number of jobs now require workers to possess the ability to collaborate effectively with AI. Meanwhile, existing research shows that unstructured use of AI, without clear guidelines and direction, may undermine learners’ judgment, critical thinking, and ability to synthesize complex information.
Against this backdrop, the Sanford College of Education at the national university has launched RAISE 5, aiming to establish clearer, more consistent guidelines for AI use in classrooms for both teachers and students. The school believes that as artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly common tool in teaching and learning, the key question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to use it appropriately across different courses and learning tasks.
02 From Fully Open to Fully Prohibited: How RAISE 5 Defines the Boundaries of AI Use
RAISE 5 categorizes the use of generative AI in the classroom into five levels. Instructors can select the appropriate level based on the course and assignment objectives, and clearly communicate the permitted scope of AI use to students when assigning tasks.
Level one has the highest level of openness, allowing students to use generative AI throughout the learning process—including for concept exploration, information analysis, research support, prompt design, and the creation of images, media, and other content—where AI-generated material may also be included as part of the final assignment, provided that all AI-generated content is properly cited.
Level 2 allows AI to participate in collaborative creation. Students can work with AI to complete tasks such as writing, image creation, information organization, and infographic design; any content produced with AI assistance must be properly cited or acknowledged.
Level 3 permits the use of AI only in the learning preparation phase, such as topic exploration, resource gathering, brainstorming, practice question generation, and creation of visual aids. The final submitted work must primarily reflect the student’s own thinking and writing.
Level 4 further restricts AI usage to language optimization tasks such as grammar, spelling, sentence structure, vocabulary, and punctuation, and prohibits any involvement in content creation.
Level five completely prohibits the use of AI, including all stages such as planning, drafting, and editing, and allows only basic word processing functions like traditional spell-checking that do not generate content.
In addition to defining five levels, RAISE 5 requires instructors to clearly specify the permitted AI usage level when assigning tasks and mandates that students properly label content generated with AI assistance. The national university believes the framework’s focus is not simply to restrict AI, but to align its use with course objectives, learning processes, and academic integrity standards.
Starting with teacher training institutions, RAISE 5 will expand to more teaching environments.
After the release of RAISE 5, the National University plans to apply the insights gained from the pilot program at the Sanford College of Education to expand to more academic programs across the university, and to provide guidance for a broader range of K-12 teachers, higher education instructors, and instructional designers.
As California’s largest teacher certification institution, Sanford College of Education’s selection as a pilot site for this framework is no accident. The college has long been dedicated to teacher preparation, training a large number of future educators each year. National University states that as future teachers enter classrooms, their students are already using artificial intelligence; therefore, teachers must not only understand AI tools themselves but also know how to guide students in using AI responsibly within the learning process.
Dr. Mark Milliron, President and CEO of the National University, stated that artificial intelligence is not the first technological shift education has faced. From writing and the printing press to email and the internet, technology has continuously transformed how knowledge is transmitted and created. AI’s impact is even broader, so educational institutions must promote the adoption of this technology while safeguarding judgment and growth within the learning process.
According to the national university's introduction, the RAISE 5 framework will be continuously updated to adapt to the evolving capabilities of generative AI while preserving the integrity of the learning process. The insights gained during the pilot phase by the Sanford School of Education will serve as a foundation for the university’s future expansion of this framework across various disciplines.
Currently, about 6,800 graduates from national universities each year enter fields such as nursing, education, autism therapy, cybersecurity, and mental health counseling—industries that are being impacted by artificial intelligence technologies. The university aims to help students develop the ability to collaborate with AI during their studies through RAISE 5, preparing them for future careers.
As generative AI enters higher education settings, universities both domestically and internationally are gradually establishing guidelines for AI use, though most currently focus on academic integrity, disclosure of usage, and course-level self-management. For example, U.S. universities generally leave the scope of AI use to instructors, who require students to disclose how AI was involved; in contrast, Chinese universities primarily issue guidelines on proper usage and academic integrity, emphasizing that AI can support teaching and research but cannot replace students’ independent thinking or original work output.
In comparison, the National University RAISE 5 further refines AI usage requirements into specific course tasks, clearly defining five levels of AI involvement in the learning process, providing teachers and students with more concrete guidance for designing assignments and understanding the boundaries of AI use.