EDUCAUSE Joins Comments to Inform Trump Administration's AI Action Plan

On March 14, 2025, EDUCAUSE joined the American Council on Education (ACE) and other higher education associations in submitting comments in response to the Request for Information (RFI) from the Trump administration regarding the development of a proposed "AI Action Plan" for the United States.^Footnote1

The Trump administration issued an executive order (EO) on January 23, 2025, titled, "Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence." The EO sets forth the U.S. policy "to sustain and enhance America's global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security."^Footnote2 To achieve this goal, the EO directs the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs to develop and submit a national AI Action Plan to the president within 180 days of the order.

To comply with the EO, the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) at the National Science Foundation issued an RFI seeking input from interested stakeholders—including academia—on the development of the plan.^Footnote3 The RFI states that the agency is seeking the "highest priority policy actions" to be included in the document, with areas such as education and workforce, research and development, cybersecurity, and data privacy and security among those listed as relevant. Comments submitted in response to the RFI were due on March 15.

The response provided by ACE, EDUCAUSE, and other higher education associations emphasized the critical role of higher education in developing, adopting, and advancing AI. The letter highlights the impact a federal AI Action Plan could have on students, institutions, and the workforce, discussing benefits and potential concerns. Notably, the comment letter cited and used data from the 2025 EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study to demonstrate potential concerns with personal data collection in relation to AI and illustrate the growing support across the higher education community for helping students develop the skills and knowledge to use AI effectively when they enter the workforce.^Footnote4

The letter closed by identifying seven recommendations for the administration to consider when developing the AI Action Plan. The recommendations include convening the Department of Education and interested stakeholders to share best practices, ensuring that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is considered when discussing the impact of AI on student privacy, supporting academic integrity and incorporating AI into curricula, and promoting workforce development in AI through higher education.

The development of the AI Action Plan is ongoing. If the relevant agencies meet the deadline provided in the EO, it should be submitted to the President by the end of July 2025. EDUCAUSE will monitor for updates related to the RFI and the development of the AI Action Plan and will keep members apprised in future articles.

Notes

1. American Council on Education et al., letter to Faisal D'Souza, Technical Coordinator, National Coordination Office, Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, "AI Action Plan," March 14, 2025. Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.↩
2. Executive Order No. 14179 of January 23, 2025, "Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence," Federal Register 90, no. 24 (February 6, 2025). Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.↩
3. National Science Foundation, "Request for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan," Federal Register 90, no. 24 (February 6, 2025). Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.↩
4. Jenay Robert and Mark McCormack, 2025 EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study: Into the Digital AI Divide, (EDUCAUSE, February 2025). Jump back to footnote 4 in the text.↩

Bailey Graves is a Senior Associate at Ulman Public Policy.