Why Copilot First?

Microsoft Copilot is Daytona State College’s approved, preferred Generative AI (GenAI) solution for faculty and staff.

Copilot was selected to provide powerful AI capabilities while protecting College data, systems, and users. Other GenAI tools may be supported in limited cases, but Copilot is always the starting point.

Bottom Line

  • Copilot is the College’s GenAI standard
  • Alternate tools require justification, isolation, and approval
  • This approach enables innovation while protecting institutional data and users

Why the College Uses Copilot First

Enterprise‑grade security
Copilot operates within the College’s Microsoft 365 environment and follows institutional security, privacy, and compliance standards. College data is not reused or repurposed outside approved systems.

Built into everyday tools
Copilot works directly in Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint—eliminating the need to upload content to external AI platforms.

Lower institutional risk
Many public AI tools retain prompts, reuse data, or provide limited visibility into how information is handled. Copilot significantly reduces these risks.

Vetted and supported
Copilot has been reviewed through College governance, is supported by IT, and is included in College‑wide AI planning and guidance.

What If Copilot Doesn’t Meet My Needs?

The College recognizes that some instructional, academic, or research use cases may require alternate GenAI tools. These are supported as exceptions, not defaults.

Examples include:

  • Teaching AI concepts using specific platforms
  • Controlled experimentation or evaluation
  • Research‑specific AI workflows

How Alternate GenAI Tools Are Handled

Isolation is required
Approved alternate tools must be isolated from standard College computers:

  • Web tools: accessed only through a College-approved, secured, managed browser
  • Installed tools: hosted in a College‑approved cloud virtual machine

Case‑by‑case review
Requests are evaluated based on:

  • Use case and academic or business need
  • Why Copilot is insufficient
  • Security, privacy, and compliance risk
  • Cost and overall value

Department‑funded
Any additional licensing or infrastructure costs are the responsibility of the requesting department.

How to Request an Alternate Tool

Submit a request through the IT Service Portal with:

  • The GenAI tool requested
  • A clear use case and justification
  • Acknowledgement of isolation and cost requirements

Approval is not automatic and may be time‑limited.

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