The Golden State Sets the Gold Standard

California Isn’t Waiting, It’s Leading

California is setting the national standard for what’s possible in education. With the announcement of a systemwide partnership between California Community Colleges and Nectir, we’re witnessing the largest rollout of educational AI in history, delivering personalized support to 2.1 million students and staff across 116 campuses.

For higher ed leaders nationwide, this is much more than an experiment. It’s a blueprint for thoughtful, scalable innovation, and a signal that the future of learning is arriving faster than anyone predicted.

How One Year of AI Adoption Changed the Conversation

This historic expansion builds directly on a year-long pilot, where 260 instructors embraced Nectir’s AI learning assistants alongside 8,000+ students at 84 campuses. In between all the numbers, the results are a story of possibility:

• Faculty experience: 86% rated teaching with Nectir as “excellent” or “very good.”
• Recommendation rates: Nearly half of pilot instructors gave Nectir a perfect 10/10 recommendation.
• Student impact: Early analyses suggest strong improvements in student learning and course engagement, with detailed outcome data to come.

What Instructors Learned and Why It Matters

Faculty voices shaped every part of this pilot’s success. Instructor encouragement proved essential: In chemistry classes at Foothill-De Anza, student academic AI adoption surged from 18-30% before Nectir to 73% when teachers actively introduced and supported the technology. 63% said instructor encouragement was a key factor in their decision to use AI tools.

As Professor Robert Cormia (Foothill-De Anza College District) shared:

“AI can be a game-changer in addressing equity goals, but successful adoption depends on faculty showing students how to use these tools responsibly. I strongly believe that all students should utilize AI to reach their full potential as students and have access to oracles of knowledge and reasoning engines. The pilot with Nectir AI presents an opportunity to put powerful learning tools in every student’s hands, but it’s up to us as educators to ensure those opportunities are fully realized. That's how AI ultimately supports everyone.”

Student Perspective: AI in Practice and Real Results

Students didn’t just use Nectir as a homework tool, but also leveraged it for understanding, confidence, and peer advocacy. In Foothill-De Anza’s pilot,

• 69% of students found AI helpful for academic work.
• 67% used AI specifically to better understand lectures and course material.
• 48% of students reported that AI made them better students overall.
• 37% of students shared their positive AI experiences with peers in other classes, creating organic spread beyond the initial course.

At Palomar College, students described how Nectir’s approach challenged them to think deeply and question both sources and algorithms.

Why California’s AI Rollout Is a Defining Moment

This partnership is setting a new bar for tech accessibility and responsible innovation at scale. By putting AI in the hands of every student and faculty member — not just a few — California is shaping how the next generation learns, teaches, and achieves.

Nectir AI now supports unlimited assistant creation, full LMS integration, ongoing training, and a dedicated help center for all campuses. And crucially, it keeps instructor control, privacy, and practical support at the heart of every rollout.

What’s Next for AI in Higher Ed

With early results pointing to real gains in engagement, equity, and achievement, California’s approach is already attracting attention from leaders across the country. As outcome data continues to roll in, the lessons learned here will help guide the next phase of national adoption and set new standards for best practices and impact.

If you’re ready to explore what a safe, scalable, educator-driven AI solution can do for your campus, it’s time to learn more about Nectir’s approach.

‍Book a demo with our team to see how systemwide AI can transform teaching, learning, and student success at every level.

‍

For further reading, check out our exclusive with Axios: Exclusive: AI tutors coming to California Community Colleges.