Introduction
This article explains how Kean University departments can request the creation of an Official KeanU AI Agent. It outlines required information, departmental responsibilities and what to expect throughout the review, development, testing, and launch process once an agent request is approved.
What Is an Official KeanU AI Agent?
Official KeanU AI Agents are institutionally supported AI assistants created within the KeanU AI platform to assist students, faculty, and staff with recurring, high‑value academic or administrative tasks. Approval for an official agent is based on whether the use case requires an institutionally governed solution, rather than a Personal Agent, and the potential impact at the departmental or university‑wide level.
Official agents:
- Are reviewed and approved by Kean IT
- Follow university governance, privacy, and access standards
- Use curated institutional knowledge and approved data sources
- Are maintained and updated collaboratively with the requesting department
Official agents differ from Personal Agents, which are created and managed by individual users for personal productivity or exploratory use. If a use case can be effectively addressed through a Personal Agent and does not require institutional oversight, an official agent may not be necessary. Read more about KeanU AI Personal Agents : Kean University
Who Can Request an Official Agent
Official agent requests may be submitted by:
- Academic departments or programs
- Administrative offices
- Student‑facing service departments
- University leadership or university task forces sponsoring long-term, institutionally supported initiatives
- A designated department point of contact is required for all requests.
When an Official Agent Is Recommended
- Supports repetitive, high‑volume questions or workflows
- Requires consistent, policy‑aligned information
- Represents an official university or departmental service
- Requires role‑based access (student, faculty, staff, specific department)
- Has an identified need for long‑term ownership and maintenance
Official Agent Request Process
- Initial Request Submission
- Departments initiate an official agent request by emailing [email protected] with the following information:
- Intended purpose and audience
- Example questions or use cases
- Proposed source materials (policies, guides, FAQs, webpages, documents)
- Any access or role‑based considerations
- Attendance at KeanU AI training sessions is required for the designated departmental point of contact. Training is especially required when the department will be actively involved in building or configuring the agent as the subject‑matter expert. https://kean0.sharepoint.com/:u:/r/sites/KeanITTraining/SitePages/evm-participant-modern-topic-filter-easy-enrollment.aspx?csf=1&web=1&e=xygcb3
- Departments initiate an official agent request by emailing [email protected] with the following information:
- Review and Scoping
- Kean IT reviews the request to:
- Confirm suitability for an official agent
- Define scope, complexity, and reusability
- Identify required knowledge sources and data handling constraints
- Determine access levels and governance requirements
- During this stage, Kean IT will request a virtual meeting with the contact person to collaboratively refine goals and expectations.
- Kean IT reviews the request to:
- If Approved as an Official Agent: Development & Testing
- The development approach, responsibilities, permissions, and level of involvement may vary depending on the use case, complexity, and subject‑matter expertise.
- In some cases, departments may take a more active role in building or configuring their agent when they serve as the primary subject‑matter experts. In these scenarios, Kean IT provides guidance, governance oversight, and review to ensure alignment with institutional standards.
- This phase may include:
- Creating or reviewing structured agent instructions aligned to the approved use case
- Connecting approved knowledge sources (e.g., documents, file libraries, vetted web content)
- Configuring agent behavior, tone, and guardrails
- Iterative review and refinement through department feedback
- Before launch, all official agents—regardless of who performs the initial build—must undergo validation, including:
- Functional testing coordinated by Kean IT
- Department review to confirm accuracy, tone, and alignment with official guidance
- Kean IT will establishing appropriate access permissions based on role and scope
- Revisions based on feedback
- Only validated configurations and content are approved for pilot release or broader access.
- Pilot, Launch, and Ongoing Updates
- Depending on the approved use case and scope, an Official KeanU AI Agent may be:
- Released to a limited pilot group for validation before broader deployment, or
- Launched directly to a wider university audience
- All official agent launches are coordinated and executed by Kean IT. Departments do not independently publish or make official agents publicly available.Kean IT manages ongoing post‑launch support, which may include:
- Agent model updates
- Configuration, behavior, or guardrail adjustments
- Updates to knowledge sources and content as institutional information changes, based on guidance from the designated departmental point of contact
- Requesting departments are responsible for:
- Maintaining accurate, up‑to‑date content
- Participating in review or testing when updates are required
- Assigning a primary point of contact
- Notifying Kean IT when policies, procedures, or supporting materials change
- Depending on the approved use case and scope, an Official KeanU AI Agent may be:
Typical Timeline
(Varies by Scope)
While timelines vary based on complexity and departmental readiness, most Official KeanU AI Agents fall within the following ranges:
- Simple, focused agents: approximately 1–3 weeks
- Moderate complexity agents: approximately 3–6 weeks
- Advanced complexity agents: 6+ weeks
Timelines depend heavily on:
- Clarity and completeness of use cases
- Readiness and quality of source content, including pre‑prepared documentation and curated knowledge sources
- Required testing, review cycles, and access controls
Getting Started
To discuss or request an Official KeanU AI Agent, department contact should email [email protected].