MonarchMind gives users access to leading large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4o, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama, while operating in a closed, university-managed system. The chatbot can help faculty members design course content and brainstorm curriculum ideas, advisers create personalized student plans, and researchers generate grant proposals and summarize academic papers. It also allows users to toggle between saving chat history and deleting it after use. Even if chat data is stored, the news release said, it is kept securely in-house and not used to train foundation models to protect personal information and intellectual property.
“This platform empowers our faculty and staff with secure, cutting-edge AI tools that streamline workflows, enhance productivity and enrich the academic experience,” Nina Rodriguez Gonser, the university's vice president for digital transformation and technology, said in a public statement. “This is just the beginning of ODU’s AI journey, and we are excited to see how our community leverages this transformative technology.”
MonarchMind is part of an overall push toward AI integration at ODU. Last October, the university selected 10 faculty members to serve in a cohort of AI Teaching Fellows to integrate AI learning into high-demand subjects like health care, education and cybersecurity. By 2030, the school’s 100th anniversary, the university aims to recruit and hire 25 new faculty members with expertise in AI.
Several universities have added education-specific chatbots to their repertoire in recent years, either through partnerships with tech companies or by producing their own models. The California State University system’s recent partnership with myriad tech companies, for example, included access to ChatGPT Edu. The University of Michigan launched its proprietary chatbot, U-M GPT, in August 2023, and even Colby College in Maine created a portal this year similar to MonarchMind.
