The Complete Guide to Using AI in the Education Industry in Wilmington in 2025

AI is already changing Wilmington education in 2025: UNC Wilmington's campuswide, “collaborative, intentional, inclusive” response follows a spike in AI-related honor code issues - 47% of UNCW's violations in 2024–2025 involved AI - pushing faculty development and student guidance into the spotlight (UNCW AI initiative addressing academic integrity).

Across the UNC System, colleges are drafting flexible syllabus policies and pilot platforms to treat AI as core infrastructure rather than an optional add‑on (North Carolina universities AI guidance and policies), while local districts hold town halls on AI security and privacy.

For Wilmington educators and staff seeking practical upskilling, Nucamp's 15‑week AI Essentials for Work bootcamp teaches prompt writing and on‑the‑job AI skills to help classrooms and offices adopt AI safely and productively (Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus); the real question for 2025 is how schools will teach smart, ethical use so students benefit rather than just bypass learning.

“It's not a question of if we are going to use AI, but it's definitely a matter of how we are going to be using AI.” - Dr. Carol McNulty, associate provost for undergraduate educational and faculty affairs

North Carolina's AI policy landscape for PK–13 is already organized and practical: NCDPI published the

"Generative AI Recommendations and Considerations for PK‑13 Public Schools"

(a living document released January 2024) and has layered in ongoing supports - regular Wednesday webinars (recorded to watch on demand, with certificates for live attendance), an AI Support Channel on Eventbrite launching March 2025, and curated workshop content and templates from the NC AI Collaborative to help districts build local guidance.

These state resources (including the NC AI Collaborative content licensed CC BY‑NC‑SA) aren't academic abstractions but toolbox items - webinar recordings, policy templates, and summit materials that districts and campuses in Wilmington can adopt or adapt to craft syllabus language, professional learning, and accessibility plans.

The NC AI Summits and cohort work produced a trove of examples (over 400 educators attended the summits), so schools won't be starting from scratch; instead, leaders can lean on ready‑made materials and recorded PD to speed responsible rollout while keeping student privacy, equity, and assistive access front and center.

For a single hub that ties these pieces together, see NCDPI AI resources and guidance for PK–13 schools and the NC AI Collaborative workshop templates and example materials.

Wilmington campuses are turning policy into practice through coordinated programs and partnerships: UNCW pairs a campuswide Community of Practice (a self‑paced Canvas site with 182 enrollments) and a clear Responsible AI guide that frames the Microsoft Copilot rollout, procurement rules, and everyday data‑safety habits for faculty and staff (UNCW Responsible AI guide and Microsoft Copilot guidance), while local and state networks amplify classroom support - coverage of UNCW's threefold approach (collaborative, intentional, inclusive) highlights faculty development and academic‑integrity efforts (WECT report: UNCW AI higher education initiatives).

Academic offerings like the 9‑credit Certificate in Artificial Intelligence Literacy feed that pipeline, and cross‑institutional convenings - such as the NC Community of Practice Zoom series - keep educators sharing practical pilots and templates across the region (NC Community of Practice AI events and Zoom series).

Together these moves - hands‑on courses, governance on purchases, and regular peer learning - create a pragmatic scaffold so Wilmington campuses can adopt AI tools without sacrificing privacy or pedagogy, turning abstract guidance into classroom-ready supports.

“It's not a question of if we are going to use AI, but it's definitely a matter of how we are going to be using AI.” - Dr. Carol McNulty, associate provost for undergraduate educational and faculty affairs

Practical best practices for Wilmington educators boil down to clear guardrails, small pilots, and time‑saving habits that actually stick: adopt the NCDPI EVERY framework (Evaluate, Verify, Edit, Revise, You) as a classroom checklist and build syllabus language that spells out permitted AI use so expectations are explicit (NCDPI AI guidance and EVERY framework); lean on district playbooks like New Hanover County Schools' GenAI stance to prohibit entering confidential or personally identifiable information, routinize tool vetting through district review, and require disclosure when students use AI (NHCS GenAI guidance and policy).

Start small - pilot one class with “AI‑assisted planning” so teachers can test automated lesson planning that frees up planning periods for student conferences instead of full course rewrites - and pair pilots with short PD and rubric changes that favor process over product.

Keep equity front and center by providing shared access to approved tools, and use frequent, low‑stakes checks (quick oral quizzes or drafts tied to class discussions) so AI supports learning rather than replacing it.

“Generative artificial intelligence is playing a growing and significant role in our society. At NCDPI, we're committed to preparing our students both to meet the challenges of this rapidly changing technology and become innovators in the field of computer science.” - State Superintendent Catherine Truitt

Curriculum and assessment in Wilmington classrooms are shifting from “if” to “how”: North Carolina's guidance calls for AI literacy to be infused across grade levels and curriculum areas, so schools should align lesson design and assessments to the state's digital‑learning standards (which adopt the ISTE Student Standards) while measuring students' AI skills - prompt literacy, ethical use, and problem‑solving - not just final products; practical supports are already available from ISTE's educator resources and AI lessons to scaffold units and PD (ISTE AI resources and lessons for educators), and the NCDPI guidebook frames classroom uses (from automating admin work to analyzing student performance) and the EVERY framework for responsible practice (NCDPI AI guidebook and EVERY framework).

Convenings and research in North Carolina show the payoff: nearly four in ten teachers expect to use AI this year but only about 20% feel prepared, so assessment designs that pair low‑stakes, formative checks with project‑based evidence (for example, AI‑assisted drafts plus teacher‑scored reflections on process) let educators verify learning while AI handles routine tasks - giving teachers back time to conference with students and ensure equity, such as through AI translation or voice‑to‑text supports referenced in state guidance (Friday Institute AI in K‑12 convening summary).

“This can cut out those mundane, repetitive tasks and allow teachers the ability to really sit with students one-on-one, to really invest in the human relationships that can never be replaced with technology.” - Allison Reid

Tools and vendor guidance in Wilmington should treat AI purchases like any other school‑critical service: vet vendors, require clear data‑use terms, and keep procurement tied to IT review so classroom pilots don't become privacy headaches.

Local guidance already models that approach - New Hanover County Schools requires a District Quality Resource Review Process, forbids entering confidential or personally identifiable information into public GenAI tools, and uses Learn Platform to publish approved tools (NHCS GenAI guidance and procurement); UNCW's Responsible AI guide similarly requires ITS and Purchasing approval and flags data‑classification limits before campus users buy or test tools (UNCW Responsible AI and vendor review).

At the state level, NCDPI and NC AI resources urge districts to prefer purpose‑built, education‑grade vendors, designate a point person for concerns, and factor public‑records and accessibility obligations into contracts (NCDPI AI resources and vendor guidance).

Practical takeaways for Wilmington leaders: require vendors to document how they handle student data, ban PII entry into public models, use institutional accounts (not personal free versions that may train public models), and start with small, approved pilots so teachers get time‑saving classroom benefits without risking privacy or integrity.

Equity and access in Wilmington hinge on two linked priorities: reliable home connectivity and focused professional development so teachers can turn devices into equitable learning, not digital clutter.

North Carolina's outreach highlights the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which can lower a family's internet bill by up to $30 a month and comes with outreach toolkits and county‑level enrollment tracking - practical levers districts can push to close the homework gap (NCDPI: Closing North Carolina's Digital Divide and the Affordable Connectivity Program).

But access alone isn't enough: the new Digital Promise Digital Equity Framework frames why districts must pair consistent devices and broadband with coherent systems, leadership, and teacher competencies so every classroom actually benefits (Digital Promise: Digital Equity Framework for States and K–12 Systems).

Practical implications for Wilmington: run ACP outreach alongside short, standards-aligned PD on prompt literacy and assistive tools; prioritize contracts and pilots that ensure accessibility; and track both connectivity and digital‑skill gains so an extra tablet translates into measurable learning.

One vivid test: a single approved classroom pilot that pairs district-provided hotspots with two afternoon PD sessions can turn a teacher's evening battle with grading into scheduled one‑on‑one conferences - small program design that proves equity isn't an abstract goal but a weekly classroom reality.

“We believe school and system leaders can use our Digital Equity Framework not only to transform current teaching and learning, but also future-proof their schools for the evolving digital landscape.” - Dr. D'Andre Weaver, Chief Digital Equity Officer, Digital Promise

Academic integrity in Wilmington is under fresh pressure as easy-to-use AI and commercial study services reshape how students complete work: UNCW's Honor Code now explicitly lists “using AI sites like ChatGPT to complete work and passing it off as your own” as academic dishonesty and lays out reporting, hearing, and sanction procedures for violations (UNCW Academic Honor Code and procedures).

Local trends mirror national patterns - research shows high baseline rates of cheating behaviors among students, and UNCW saw a jump from 120 confirmed cases in fall 2019 to 184 in fall 2020 as courses moved online, with commercial services like Chegg (Chegg Study listed at $14.95/month with about 3.7 million subscriptions) implicated in many incidents (Port City Daily report on UNCW cheating uptick).

National integrity surveys underscore the scope - large shares of students admit to cheating or plagiarism - so Wilmington institutions must combine clear syllabus language, robust reporting channels, and vendor cooperation to keep AI as a learning aid rather than a shortcut (ICAI academic integrity facts and statistics).

“It's safe to say this has been the year of Chegg related to the increase [of] on-line course modalities.” - Mike Walker, UNCW Dean of Students

Case studies from Wilmington show how policy, pedagogy, and practical pilots can align: UNCW's campus‑wide Community of Practice - a self‑paced Canvas program with 182 enrollments - pairs a clear Responsible AI playbook (procurement rules, Copilot guidance, data‑safety steps) with discipline‑level redesigns that weave information literacy and AI tasks into assignments across film, nursing, computer science, and education, so faculty aren't just policing misuse but teaching smart, assessable use (WECT report on UNCW AI initiatives; UNCW Responsible AI guide and Copilot guidance).

The Information Literacy Faculty Fellows showcase dozens of concrete course projects - multi‑stage prompts, scaffolded research papers, and AI‑aware rubrics - that translate governance into classroom practice (UNCW Information Literacy Faculty Fellows project examples).

The payoff is stark: total honor‑code cases dipped while the share tied to AI rose, a vivid reminder that nearly half of recent violations are AI‑related and that tools must be coupled with clear instruction and assessment to turn risk into learning.

“It's not a question of if we are going to use AI, but it's definitely a matter of how we are going to be using AI.” - Dr. Carol McNulty, associate provost for undergraduate educational and faculty affairs

Next steps for Wilmington educators and leaders are practical and immediate: lean on NCDPI's living guidebook and Wednesday webinar series as the backbone for policy and PD, pilot small, syllabus‑explicit uses of AI that follow the EVERY framework, and require vendor vetting and ITS/Purchasing approval so tools meet privacy and procurement standards; see the NCDPI AI resources and guidance for webinars, templates, and the AI Support Channel to get started (NCDPI AI resources and guidance for PK–13 schools).

Use district playbooks like New Hanover County Schools' GenAI guidance to ban PII in public models, codify citation and disclosure expectations in syllabi, and adopt “AI‑resistant” assessment design while offering approved, equitably distributed tools (New Hanover County Schools GenAI guidance and stance).

Invest in short, job‑embedded PD - upskill classroom and operations staff with focused programs such as Nucamp's 15‑week AI Essentials for Work bootcamp to build prompt literacy and practical workflows - and start with one or two district‑approved pilots that pair PD, safeguards, and measurable equity outcomes (for example, district hotspots plus afternoon PD to free teachers for conferences) so policy turns into proven classroom gains (Nucamp AI Essentials for Work syllabus and course details).

“Generative artificial intelligence is playing a growing and significant role in our society. At NCDPI, we're committed to preparing our students both to meet the challenges of this rapidly changing technology and become innovators in the field of computer science.” - State Superintendent Catherine Truitt