Case Study: Wichita State University achieves streamlined course design and reduced instructor workload with Anthology’s AI Design Assistant (Blackboard)

Blackboard’s AI Design Assistant: Streamlining and Inspiring Course Design at Wichita State University

Wichita State University, a public research university of more than 23,000 students, wanted to reduce instructor workload and streamline course design while responsibly adopting generative AI. Their Office of Instructional Resources had been developing training and guidelines when Anthology — the provider of their campus-wide LMS, Blackboard — introduced the AI Design Assistant to help scale course development.

Anthology implemented the AI Design Assistant within Blackboard as part of the core license, enabling faculty to turn syllabi into course structures, generate exam questions, and accelerate course building without extra costs. The tool reduced tedious administrative work, inspired subject-matter experts, helped instructors create new assessments each semester and increase formative checks, and was warmly adopted at WSU — with the added benefit that Anthology’s inclusion of the feature avoided passing fees on to students.

Wichita State University

John Jones

Executive Director, Media Resources Center