Recorded Webinar: Solving Higher Ed’s AI Challenge: From Student Experience to Campus-Wide Innovation
Watch now on-demand!
Two institutions, two AI assistants, one governed platform. In this HESS Consortium panel, Entrinsik’s Madhavi Chandra moderates a candid conversation with Justin Barkhuff (California Lutheran University) and Charlie Poag (Coker University) on deploying AI the right way on campus.
Coker built Striker and Cal Lutheran built Ask Gumby, both on Informer AI, to give students and staff a single, governed way to get answers from institutional data. The panel digs into what every campus is wrestling with: why they adopted AI, how a unified governed platform avoids the “AI sprawl” of disconnected point solutions, how they won buy-in and budget, and how they protect sensitive student data while keeping the AI useful.
You’ll also hear real usage examples, the metrics that matter for student and staff outcomes, lessons they’d pass on to anyone starting out, and where they’re taking Striker and Ask Gumby over the next 6–12 months.
What’s covered
- Why AI now — the catalyst, and how they landed on Informer AI / Campus Companion
- Avoiding “AI sprawl” with a unified, governed platform
- Winning leadership/faculty/staff buy-in and budgeting for it
- Data governance and guardrails for sensitive student data
- Real examples of students and staff using Striker and Ask Gumby
- Measuring success: the metrics that matter for retention and operations
- Lessons learned and what they’d do differently
- What’s next, plus advice for HESS members getting started
