UVA Darden Goes All-In on Generative AI in Core Strategy
On day one of the core Strategy course this quarter, MBA students at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business were told something clear and direct: use generative AI. ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot-pick your tool. It's welcome for research, coursework, and even exam support.
Course head Jared Harris and the teaching team reworked the class to reflect how students and employers now operate. The message: be AI-literate, be transparent, and think for yourself.
What Changes for Students
- Generative AI use is encouraged across prep, assignments, and exams for 359 first-year students.
- Students are required to engage with CAiSEY (Classroom Artificial Intelligence Studio for Engaging You) on five of 14 cases this quarter.
- Assessments are split: half on command of core concepts, half on in-class discussion performance.
- Full transparency is required. Students must disclose what tools they used, share prompts and outputs, explain how they checked for hallucinations, and note how they improved the output.
Meet CAiSEY: The AI Discussion Agent
CAiSEY holds voice-based conversations that challenge your reasoning and assumptions. It pushes students to pressure-test arguments before they walk into the case discussion.
After each session, CAiSEY provides automated feedback summarizing strengths and practical ways to improve. The aim is simple: show up more prepared, think more clearly, and argue with evidence.
Why Darden Is Doing This
Faculty spent months studying how MBA students use AI and what employers expect. The takeaway: students already use these tools, and companies expect fluency on day one.
That's why the class now includes explicit guidance on responsible use and independent thinking. The work still has to reflect your judgment, not just a chatbot's output.
Guardrails and Evaluation
To keep learning outcomes clear, half the grade is tied to concept mastery and half to Darden's participant-centered classroom performance. You can use AI on exams, and you'll still have to show a strong grasp of the material in your own words.
Darden's Honor Code remains a firm line. Students are expected to be transparent about AI use and honest about their process. For context on the code, see UVA's Honor System overview: honor.virginia.edu.
Built With B-School Partners
CAiSEY was created by Professor Dan Wang of Columbia Business School, which is piloting the tool in its core Strategy course this fall. Early feedback points to stronger absorption of material and higher motivation going into class.
The partnership gives instructors visibility into how students use AI, plus a new way to offer dynamic, personalized practice without adding friction to the course.
Learning Together: Policy, Process, Transparency
The teaching team put forward a Generative AI policy with do's and don'ts, suggested use cases, and clear expectations for verification and disclosure. This year's rollout is intentionally iterative.
Faculty will refine how they assess independent thinking and the smart use of AI. Students, in turn, will learn how to use these tools without outsourcing their judgment.
AI In The Strategy Content Itself
The course asks students to analyze AI's market impact through a new case co-authored by Harris and Darden professor Rory McDonald: "Expertise Disrupted? Consulting Confronts Generative AI" (UVA-S-0477). The case probes how consulting firm models may be affected as AI advances.
AI Across Darden Classrooms
Beyond Strategy, first-year students in Leadership Communication use an AI "speech coach" that records video, flags issues like filler words or pacing, and offers suggestions on structure and persuasion. Students can also create custom GPTs to practice conversations for interviews or other contexts.
In the Professional Advancement elective, students apply similar AI coaching. In the "AI in Marketing" elective, part-time MBA students used a custom chatbot to critique and improve marketing plans for an automaker's driverless trucks.
Ethics, Research, and New Pathways
Darden launched the LaCross Institute for Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Business to advance research and practical guidance on responsible AI. Learn more about the institute's mission and work: LaCross Institute for Ethical AI in Business.
The School also announced a new AI, Data Analytics and Decision Sciences concentration with 25 courses, giving students a direct path to roles employers value.
Practical Takeaways for Managers and Educators
- Set clear rules for AI use: what's allowed, how to verify outputs, and how to disclose usage.
- Assess both concept grasp and live performance to discourage over-reliance on tools.
- Use AI as a "sparring partner" before high-stakes discussions or presentations.
- Keep ethics front and center-students should learn how to use AI responsibly, not just quickly.
If you're building AI skills for your team or class, explore practical options by role: AI courses by job.
Faculty Leading The Effort
Jared Harris and colleagues Yo-Jud Cheng, Young Hou, Michael Lenox, and Anna McKean are driving the new Strategy course model and its focus on AI fluency with strong in-class performance.
About the University of Virginia Darden School of Business
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden's graduate degree programs (Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden's top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 20,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Press Contact
Molly Mitchell
Senior Associate Director, Editorial and Media Relations
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu
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