Nevada State University Receives $2.9 Million Five-Year Grant: SPARC to Train 80-Plus Faculty and Offer Microcredentials to All Students
Nevada State University, in Henderson, Clark County, Nevada, announced on November 3 that it has received a five-year, $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to launch SPARC, an initiative expanding super intelligence (SI) literacy among students, faculty and staff while improving processes that support degree completion. SPARC stands for Shaping Professional AI Readiness & Competence and is funded through the department's Title III Strengthening Institutions Program, which supports colleges and universities serving large numbers of low-income students.
On the teaching side, SPARC will establish Faculty AI Teaching and Learning Institutes to train more than 80 instructors over five years. Through Assignment Redesign Labs, instructors will incorporate AI literacy into existing courses, and a new AI Resource Repository will help faculty share assignments and teaching resources across campus. Adjunct instructors will also be compensated for integrating AI literacy into their courses.
For students, all Nevada State students will have access to AI training leading to microcredentials they can share with prospective employers. The Office of Student Academic Success will launch an AI Scholars Program serving a cohort of 25 students each year through a summer bridge program featuring AI-themed activities. SPARC will also support AI tools for transcript processing, evaluations of credit for prior learning and academic advising, aiming to shorten processing times and improve accuracy. The grant funds three positions for its five-year term: an AI operations strategist, an AI student learning strategist and a program coordinator. Gregory Robinson, vice provost of student academic success, will serve as project director and was the lead author of the proposal.
"Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how we learn, work, and engage with the world, and we have a responsibility to ensure our students are prepared for that future," said President Sandra B. Richtermeyer, calling the $2.9 million investment an opportunity to make AI literacy an integral part of the Nevada State experience and accessible to all students. Interim Provost John Miller said the school wants students to develop the skills and judgment to use artificial intelligence well, and to know when not to use it.
Nevada State is a member of the Nevada System of Higher Education, located on a 500-acre campus in Henderson, serving more than 8,400 students with more than 65 majors and minors, and will open a campus in North Las Vegas in the fall of 2027.
Nevada State University announcement
(Source: Nevada State University)
Source: Nevada State University
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 内华达州立大学Bob and Alison Kasner学术楼（资料图）。TheYearbookTeacher 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Bob and Alison Kasner Academic Building at Nevada State University (file photo). Photo by TheYearbookTeacher, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
