In April and May, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) hosted its 2026 Spring Institute on a topic on the tips of many members’ tongues these days: how (and whether) artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to aid programs and advance advising for students. This four-part professional development series was designed to help college access and attainment practitioners better understand key concepts, build fluency with generative AI, and take steps toward creating tools of their own. Along the way, members got experience evaluating these platforms and thinking about how to use them responsibly and integrate them into the daily work of supporting students.
The AI in College Access series yielded nearly 500 registrants. Those who attended each of the four sessions received an AI in College Access certificate from our e-learning program. The four 90-minute sessions spanned: AI foundations, responsible and ethical use, and tools like NotebookLM, GPTs, and GEMs. Attendees were also able to workshop and show off their prototypes.
NCAN members can view the recordings and materials for Spring Institute at NCAN’s Learning Center. Non-members can, too, for a fee (or your organization can always join NCAN!)
The sessions were facilitated by Adam Garry, founder and president of StrategicEDU Consulting who engaged NCAN’s audiences with tools and examples of AI use in a variety of fields while making space for members to engage with each other around domain-specific examples.
The series was designed as a progressive curriculum, with each session building on the one before it. Session one established shared language and foundational AI literacy and helped participants map AI capabilities to their specific roles, whether in direct advising, program design, data and reporting, or partnership management. Rather than treating AI as a monolithic concept, the session asked a more practical question: where, specifically, could this change how your work gets done?
Session two tackled the harder questions. Responsible and ethical AI use is particularly high-stakes in college access, where algorithmic bias, data privacy, and equitable access to technology intersect directly with student outcomes. Participants examined how to evaluate AI tools against their organizational values, and explored the real tensions between efficiency and equity.
Sessions three and four turned toward helping attendees better understand specific platforms and use cases for each. Attendees had the chance to develop tools of their own and to do some show and tell with each other around what they had built.
Attendees Responded Positively and Want More Training on AI
Feedback across the series reflected the range of experience participants brought with them. Attendees who came in with deeper AI familiarity pushed for more hands-on practice and field-specific use cases. Those newer to the topic valued the structured frameworks and time to process. This tension between practitioners ready to run and those still finding their footing is real across our field, and it shaped how sessions evolved.
This is, admittedly, a tricky topic for NCAN to program. Members bring in widely varying levels of buy-in and background knowledge around AI, and of course the melting pot nature of NCAN’s membership means that organizational models and preference also differ. Even so, 96% of attendees who completed their exit survey said they plan to make changes to their professional practice based on their Spring Institute learnings.
What came through consistently was attendee appetite. Attendees wanted more: more concrete college access scenarios, more time with prompting techniques, more opportunity to see AI tools in action and test them against real advising challenges. NCAN takes the demand for practical application is a signal that the field is ready for this conversation to go deeper. As part of the requirements for receiving the E-Learning certificate, attendees were asked what NCAN should next program in this area, and that feedback will surely inform future programming.
Why This Matters for the Field
Generative AI is not waiting for the college access and attainment field to catch up. Students are already using it. Employers are building it into their workflows. College access and attainment organizations are developing the knowledge, organizational policies, and tools to effectively and responsibly use AI to support students and families.
NCAN previously surveyed NCAN members on their perspectives and needs for AI. One finding from that survey is that members would feel a lot more comfortable if they had training opportunities to learn from experts and each other.
That's what NCAN set out to build this spring. The certificate series is one part of a longer arc: developing shared language, surfacing thorny questions, and giving practitioners the tools to lead AI adoption in their organizations.
Stay tuned for future AI-related programming from NCAN, including blog posts, toolkits, roundtables, webinars, and more.