(a) The college shall develop a Research and Development Unit that is student-centered and focused on the science of learning to ensure that the technology used by the college is working for the communities it is intended to serve.

(b) The Research and Development Unit shall be focused on leveraging current and future learning sciences technology, assessing data metrics within the technological infrastructure to gauge student progress in a course or pathway, informing instructional and support strategies, and improving on the functionality of the underlying technology.

(c) The Research and Development Unit shall focus on using technology, data science, behavioral science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to build out student supports, such as, but not limited to, a virtual help desk which uses technology to respond to commonly asked questions from students at any hour of the day and week.

(d) The Research and Development Unit shall share the data, metrics, and findings with the college’s faculty, administrators, and technologists to inform and evolve better teaching and student support practices.

(e) The Research and Development Unit shall regularly collaborate with the Digital Innovation and Infrastructure Division of the chancellor’s office to ensure integration, interoperability, and, where possible, use open standards.

(f) Insights from the Research and Development Unit shall be shared across the California Community Colleges through existing professional development channels to support campuses in accelerated adoption of demonstrated advancements in teaching, learning, and student supports throughout the system.

(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 33, Sec. 18. (AB 1809) Effective June 27, 2018.)