UC Irvine to lead national effort shaping the future of AI and college writing
By Rachel Sampson
August 26, 2026
August 26, 2026
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Backed by a $10 million federal award, the new WRITE AI Center will help colleges nationwide understand how generative AI can strengthen writing instruction while keeping student learning at the center.
Generative AI has changed the way people write, and colleges and universities are still working through what that means for teaching and learning. How should students use AI? When does it support learning, and when does it get in the way? And how can instructors take advantage of new technology without allowing it to replace the thinking, writing and revision students need to learn? The UC Irvine School of Education will lead a new national effort to help answer those questions. The School has received a $10 million, five-year award from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to establish the National Center for Writing Research to Improve Teaching Effectiveness with Generative AI, or WRITE AI Center. The grant is the sole award made through IES’s national competition for a Research and Development Center focused on using generative AI to improve postsecondary instruction. Led by Mark Warschauer, Distinguished Professor of Education and director and principal investigator of the WRITE AI Center, the Center will bring together researchers, educators, community colleges, higher education organizations and policymakers from across the country. Their work will focus on a question many colleges are already confronting: when, where and how can AI actually improve teaching and learning? |
Mark Warschauer
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“Generative AI is rapidly transforming how people write,” Warschauer said. “Our goal is to help educators use AI to expand access to excellent writing instruction through more personalized support while ensuring students continue to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage with AI responsibly.”
The WRITE AI Center will document how generative AI is currently being used in college writing instruction and create a public resource on commonly used tools and their instructional features. It will also develop training, convenings, and practical guidance to help institutions make informed decisions about adopting AI.
“Being selected to lead this national center reflects the UC Irvine School of Education’s commitment to addressing one of the most important questions facing higher education today,” said Julie Washington, dean of the UC Irvine School of Education. “As AI continues to reshape teaching and learning, our responsibility is to generate the evidence educators and institutions need to make thoughtful, informed decisions that keep student learning at the center.”
A major part of the Center's work will involve PapyrusAI, a platform developed at UC Irvine specifically for teaching and learning.
Rather than generating writing for students, PapyrusAI guides them through planning, revising and strengthening their work while giving instructors oversight on how the technology is used. The Center will study the platform and its impact on student writing, AI literacy, and learning.
Community colleges will play a central role in that research. The Center will work alongside faculty and students to explore whether AI can provide more personalized writing support while complementing, rather than replacing, instructors.
“Students need more than access to powerful technology. They need guidance deciding when, why, and how to use it,” said Tamara Tate, co-principal investigator of the WRITE AI Center. “We’ll work alongside community college faculty and students to develop approaches that support their goals, reflect the realities of today’s classrooms, and keep human agency at the center of writing.”
UC Irvine will lead a partnership that includes MDRC, The California Community Colleges’ Digital Center for Innovation, Transformation and Equity, three California community colleges, the Virginia Community College System and Houston Community College.
“Higher education is at a pivotal moment,” Warschauer said. “By bringing together researchers, faculty, students, institutional leaders and technology developers, we can establish evidence-based approaches that harness AI to support deeper learning and broader educational opportunity, rather than allowing it to become a substitute for students’ own thinking and intellectual development.”
The WRITE AI Center began its five-year program of work on September 1, 2026.
The WRITE AI Center will document how generative AI is currently being used in college writing instruction and create a public resource on commonly used tools and their instructional features. It will also develop training, convenings, and practical guidance to help institutions make informed decisions about adopting AI.
“Being selected to lead this national center reflects the UC Irvine School of Education’s commitment to addressing one of the most important questions facing higher education today,” said Julie Washington, dean of the UC Irvine School of Education. “As AI continues to reshape teaching and learning, our responsibility is to generate the evidence educators and institutions need to make thoughtful, informed decisions that keep student learning at the center.”
A major part of the Center's work will involve PapyrusAI, a platform developed at UC Irvine specifically for teaching and learning.
Rather than generating writing for students, PapyrusAI guides them through planning, revising and strengthening their work while giving instructors oversight on how the technology is used. The Center will study the platform and its impact on student writing, AI literacy, and learning.
Community colleges will play a central role in that research. The Center will work alongside faculty and students to explore whether AI can provide more personalized writing support while complementing, rather than replacing, instructors.
“Students need more than access to powerful technology. They need guidance deciding when, why, and how to use it,” said Tamara Tate, co-principal investigator of the WRITE AI Center. “We’ll work alongside community college faculty and students to develop approaches that support their goals, reflect the realities of today’s classrooms, and keep human agency at the center of writing.”
UC Irvine will lead a partnership that includes MDRC, The California Community Colleges’ Digital Center for Innovation, Transformation and Equity, three California community colleges, the Virginia Community College System and Houston Community College.
“Higher education is at a pivotal moment,” Warschauer said. “By bringing together researchers, faculty, students, institutional leaders and technology developers, we can establish evidence-based approaches that harness AI to support deeper learning and broader educational opportunity, rather than allowing it to become a substitute for students’ own thinking and intellectual development.”
The WRITE AI Center began its five-year program of work on September 1, 2026.
