At UVA’s Darden School, using AI isn’t cheating. It’s part of the assignment

November 17, 2025

The UVA Darden School of Business is “diving all the way” into using AI in its courses to give students the advantage of studying with AI and practical knowledge of its uses in business. (Illustration by John DiJulio, University Communications)

MBA students in the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business received guidance on the first day of their strategy course this quarter that probably sounded unusual, even somewhat radical: Generative AI is fully welcomed here.

Students are using ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot or any chatbot they prefer to conduct research, complete work and take exams in the course, which is required of all 359 first-year students at the graduate business school.

“We’re diving all the way in,” said course head Jared Harris, the Samuel L. Slover Research Chair and one of the academic directors of Darden’s Institute for Business in Society.

Harris said AI use in the course goes one step beyond: Generative AI is not only welcome, it’s required. Students will use a new “AI discussion agent” called Classroom Artificial Intelligence Studio for Engaging You, or CAiSEY, to meet a small percentage of course requirements.

A candid portrait of Jared Harris teaching in a classroom setting.

Jared Harris, the Samuel L. Slover Research Chair and one of the academic directors of Darden’s Institute for Business in Society, says the Darden School decision to include AI in its course reflects the future of business. (Photo by Caroline Mackey)

CAiSEY’s programming includes realistic, voice-based conversations about course material, including interactions that Harris describes as “polite but adversarial” to challenge students’ assumptions and analyses.

The tool will better prepare students for in-class case discussions and test their arguments and analytical logic. After each conversation, the student receives tailored, automated feedback summarizing the interaction and pointing out strengths and weaknesses.

“It simply reflects the world they’re living in now, and they will be expected to be AI-literate in summer internships and beyond,” Harris said. “That’s why it’s incumbent upon us as faculty to be able to incorporate AI as a learning tool. So, our surprise message on the first day of class was: ‘Have at it!’”

Students in the first-year course are expected to embrace AI not only in their general preparation for classroom discussion, but also to converse with CAiSEY on five of the 14 cases they work on during the semester.

Professor Dan Wang of the Columbia Business School created CAiSEY and is simultaneously piloting its use in a similar course at Columbia.

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Harris and colleagues spent several months learning how MBA students use chatbots and better understanding the expectations of employers regarding AI as a tool for new hires. They concluded that students not only use AI but also expect it to be taught. And employers want new hires ready to put AI to work from day one on the job.

Harris and other professors addressed the challenges of using AI while assuring students learn independently and follow UVA’s honor code.

“We are asking for full transparency. If you use it, tell us what you used it for and how you used it. Which chatbot did you use? Be willing to share your prompts and results,” Harris said. “Explain how you verified AI’s output for hallucinations, and how your own thinking improved what the AI produced. We want to get better at this together.”

Portrait of UVA Darden School of Business Vice Dean Yael Grushka-Cockayne

UVA Darden School of Business Vice Dean Yael Grushka-Cockayne is an academic director of the LaCross Institute and special adviser to the UVA provost on AI. (Contributed photo)

Although AI is coming into the classroom, Darden’s discussion-driven Socratic method of teaching remains squarely in the driver’s seat.

“It’s crucial that students develop mastery about the subject, not just about how to write a ChatGPT prompt,” Harris said. “In the age of AI, it will be more important than ever to add human value and insight on top of anything AI may be providing as an input. That analytical mastery remains the focus of the course – strategic thinking and action.”

AI is also being introduced elsewhere in the curriculum. In professor Brian Moriarty’s core Leadership Communication course, all first-year students interact with an AI “speech coach.” 

The interaction records student videos and provides immediate feedback on skills. Students can create their own custom generative AI interfaces to practice conversational interaction, preparing for job interviews or other situations.

Darden is leading the University’s efforts to advance ethical AI research and exploration through the LaCross Institute for Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Business, established in 2024 with a historic gift from UVA alumni David and Kathy LaCross.

Vice Dean Yael Grushka-Cockayne, an academic director of the LaCross Institute and special adviser to the UVA provost on AI, said Darden’s growing momentum “lets us embed responsible AI across the curriculum and into practice.”

“Society is begging for intellectual debates and advanced thinking on what is now made possible by AI and how it should be delivered upon,” she said.

Media Contacts

McGregor McCance

Darden School of Business Executive Editor

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