Cengage Launches Gen AI Student Assistant in Beta

Education technology company Cengage has announced Student Assistant, a generative AI tool designed to guide students through the learning process with personalized resources and feedback, now available in beta. The feature will be tested by more than 5,000 higher education students this fall.

In the beta test, the Student Assistant will be embedded in Cengage's MindTap online learning platform for four courses: Principles of Management, Organizational Behavior, Lifespan Psychology, and Principles of Economics. For each course, the AI is trained to prioritize pedagogy and have advanced expertise in a respective discipline, Cengage explained in a news announcement, but is confined to the knowledge in that given course area. The company emphasized that the tool "does not provide answers," but rather "helps students understand concepts, apply learnings and arrive at the correct answers."

"I always have a number of students each semester that ask for tutor services, but as a community college, we don't have tutor services available for economics. The Student Assistant offers an opportunity for every single one of my students to have a private tutor. This not only provides support to them at times when I can't — like the 3 A.M. study push — but also helps narrow down the gaps in their understanding," said Noreen Templin, department chair and professor of economics at Butler Community College. "Often students will come to me because they are confused, but they don't necessarily know what they are confused about. I have been incredibly impressed with the Student Assistant's ability to help guide students to better understand where they are struggling. This will not only benefit the student but has the potential to help me be a better teacher, enable more critical thinking and foster more engaging classroom discussion." 

"We have spent a considerable amount of time talking to students, faculty and other industry stakeholders to ensure we introduce a solution that addresses the challenges facing students and educators in the classroom today and upholds the highest standards of academic integrity," commented Michael E. Hansen, CEO of Cengage Group. "I am thrilled to bring this gen AI-powered tool to market and get it into the hands of students. We know that everyone learns at a different pace and in different ways; the Student Assistant empowers all learners to better personalize their experience, increasing engagement, deepening understanding, improving outcomes, and ultimately, setting them up for greater success."

Cengage said it plans to expand availability for the Student Assistant in Spring 2025. Visit the Cengage site for more information.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine has been recognized with an EDS 2025 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • The Role of Unified Communications in Hyflex Education

    Academic technology and pedagogy have evolved in ways few could have imagined a decade ago. Today, hybrid/flexible (or hyflex) learning environments — a mix of in-person and remote instruction — are the new normal. However, as promising as it sounds, making hyflex work smoothly is no small feat.

  • California Middle School Completes Two New Academic Buildings

    Sunnyvale Middle School in Sunnyvale, Calif., recently announced that construction is complete on two new classroom buildings of two stories each, according to a district news release. The new wing will house seventh- and eighth-grade students and is part of a larger campus modernization project.

  • Image courtesy of MiEN Company

    6 Ways to Pull Off a Major District Construction Project

    Designing and building a large-scale project on a K–12 campus is a monumental undertaking that requires the right blend of ideas, funding, design and execution to get it right. The process also relies on multiple partners, each of which has to handle its respective aspect of the project while also keeping the district’s broader mission and goals in mind.

Digital Edition