By Marley Anthony, Assistant Editor

Starting in Spring 2027, the McLane College of Business will be offering a course dedicated to teaching students how to correctly and ethically use and prompt different AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. 

“Each [AI platform] has strengths and weaknesses,” Assistant Professor of Finance Todd Chesebro said. This course will explore these platforms using a lot of hands-on work between students and the AI in a computer lab setting. 

The goal of this course is to get students familiar with prompting the different AI platforms and using them as tools for success in future careers. “I think [students] find they can outpace their peers who are afraid of or were just never exposed to [AI],” Chesebro said. 

 Larry Locke, a professor at the McLane College of Business, has written articles on websites such as Christian Scholar’s Review, reviewing the use of AI in a Christian setting, explaining the discourse and reactions regarding the use of AI, with articles such as ‘Mapping our Way Forward: Avoiding Some of the Pitfalls of Using Generative AI in the Christian University.’  Locke said, “[AI] needs to be used in a pragmatic way, but also God honoring.” Locke makes a strong point to identify the dangers of AI and how to take a “Christ-animated” approach when using AI.

“If you’re going to have a powerful tool, you need to know how to use it,” Locke said. UMHB is aiming for this course to teach students how to ethically use AI platforms, and how AI can bring success without harming a person’s identity.

Right now, students everywhere have more access to different AI platforms than ever before; any student can use AI, but not every student knows how to correctly prompt AI for maximum output. “I feel like [AI] can be straightforward to use on your own, but having a professor’s guidance would make me feel more confident,” Callie Cagle, a sophomore marketing minor said in reference to her AI usage. 

Currently, this course will only be offered as an upper-level elective, open to every major, to gain honest interest and feedback from students. As the course continues to be offered, the goal is to begin to offer the course to freshman and sophomores as a core prerequisite class for students in the McLane College of Business.

For questions about the new AI course opening in the spring, email tchesebro@umhb.edu. For more information on the McLane College of Business, go to umhb.edu/business/home.

Graphic by Hailey Weldon, Public Relations Intern