Georgia College and State University mandates AI prompt engineering for business students, aiming to prep them for workforce demands.
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — As artificial intelligence reshapes classrooms nationwide, some colleges are cracking down on its use. But at Georgia College and State University, one course does the opposite — requiring students to master AI tools to pass.
In the business school, students are required to take Professional Writing and AI Prompt Engineering, a course focused on mastering prompt design and evaluating AI-generated work. Professor Ward Risvold, who leads the class, said the goal is to prepare students for the demands of the workforce.
“One of the things we’re proudest of here is that we’re the first university in the United States to require prompt engineering for business majors,” Risvold said. “That’s quite a feather in our cap and we’re very proud of that.”
Students must submit their entire conversations with AI platforms such as Claude and Google Gemini. Prompts can stretch to four or five pages. Risvold evaluates them for logic, structure and clarity.
“To get effective professional output, you need to have a much more elaborate structure,” he said. “AI writes more fluently than you do. It doesn’t write better.”
Junior Ally Glicker said the class reshaped her career plans.
“It completely shifted me to being into AI and just being interested in how it can be used in the business world,” she said. “With the help of AI I can honestly execute anything that I hope to in a shorter amount of time.”
Risvold stressed the course is not about replacing students’ critical thinking, but sharpening it.
“When something else produces your text, your name is still going on it,” he said. “You have to own it, edit it, and read it critically. You can’t just assume it’s wonderful because it was fast.”
AI in early learning
At the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy, Associate Director Amanda Rutter is focused on much younger learners — birth to eight years old. She said AI tools are showing up in classrooms through reading apps and games, but they cannot replace a teacher.
“Artificial intelligence cannot replace those human aspects — play-based learning, hands-on experiences, children using all of their senses,” Rutter said. “There’s a different cadence and annotation when a teacher is reading. We get to model those reading skills to children, and that cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence.”
Rutter said while the technology can support teachers, especially when one adult is responsible for many students, it should never stand in for human connection. “It’s a tool, but shouldn’t be the only way that children are taught,” she said.
