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OpenAI: ChatGPT Edu
ChatGPT is an AI-powered assistant that can support a wide range of work, learning, and productivity tasks. It can assist with drafting content, summarizing information, brainstorming ideas, developing outlines, analyzing files, creating images, exploring topics, building custom GPTs, and supporting more advanced AI-enabled workflows. George Brown Polytechnic has access to a limited number of ChatGPT Edu licences. These licences provide full paid access to OpenAI’s education-focused enterprise workspace, which includes stronger privacy, security, and administrative controls than unsupported public ChatGPT accounts.
Access to George Brown’s ChatGPT Edu environment is currently limited to key stakeholders, pilot testing groups, and primarily, participants in the AI Innovation Challenge. As with any AI tool, users remain responsible for reviewing outputs, checking accuracy, and following George Brown guidance, policies, and privacy practices.
Why use ChatGPT through George Brown access
Using ChatGPT through George Brown’s institutional environment offers several benefits:
- Safer use for some George Brown work-related content: Because ChatGPT Edu is accessed through George Brown’s institutional environment, employees may use it with some institutional work-related materials that should not be entered into unsupported public AI tools. Users must still avoid entering highly sensitive, confidential, personal, regulated, health, accommodation, legal, labour relations, security, or financial information unless its use has been approved under institutional guidance and privacy practices.
- Enterprise education environment: ChatGPT Edu is built for post-secondary institutions and includes privacy, security, and administrative controls for organizational use.
- Stronger privacy foundation: OpenAI states that business data in ChatGPT Edu, including inputs and outputs, is owned and controlled by the customer, and that business data is not used to train OpenAI models by default.
- Access to advanced tools: ChatGPT Edu includes features such as data analysis, web browsing, file uploads, and the ability to build custom GPTs, depending on workspace settings and permissions.
- Workspace controls: ChatGPT Edu supports administrative controls such as single sign-on, group permissions, and GPT management.
- Responsible experimentation: Limited institutional access allows George Brown to support structured pilots, assess use cases, and build practical guidance for responsible AI adoption.
What you can use ChatGPT for
ChatGPT can support many types of tasks, including:
- drafting emails, messages, outlines, summaries, briefing notes, FAQs, and planning documents
- rewriting text for tone, clarity, structure, audience, accessibility, or plain-language communication
- brainstorming ideas, questions, titles, learning activities, project approaches, workshop topics, or communication plans
- summarizing and analyzing uploaded files, such as PDFs, Word documents, slide decks, spreadsheets, and text-based resources
- comparing documents, identifying themes, extracting key points, or creating structured summaries
- creating tables, checklists, rubrics, templates, agendas, timelines, and implementation plans
- supporting data analysis, including reviewing structured datasets, identifying patterns, creating charts, or generating code-backed analysis where appropriate
- explaining concepts, translating complex topics into plain language, or creating examples for different audiences
- generating images and visual concepts, where appropriate
- supporting research preparation, such as developing search terms, organizing literature notes, or identifying questions for further review
- organizing ongoing work through projects, where available
- exploring workflow design, process improvement, and responsible AI implementation ideas
- creating custom GPTs for specific institutional use cases, where enabled and approved
Feature availability may depend on George Brown’s workspace settings, permissions, and licence availability.
Custom GPTs
ChatGPT Edu includes the ability to build GPTs, which are custom versions of ChatGPT designed for specific purposes. OpenAI describes GPTs as versions of ChatGPT that can combine instructions, knowledge, and selected capabilities to create a more tailored experience.
Custom GPTs can support use cases such as:
- creating a guided assistant for a specific service area or internal process
- supporting frequently asked questions for a program, department, or initiative
- creating a coaching assistant for training, reflection, or skill-building
- supporting workshop activities, scenario practice, or role-based learning
- organizing project-specific guidance, prompts, or reference materials
- helping teams apply a consistent tone, structure, or process to recurring work
- supporting students with practice questions, study prompts, or guided review activities, where appropriate
- helping faculty create examples, discussion prompts, lesson outlines, or draft learning activities
- supporting course-specific navigation of instructor-approved resources, expectations, or learning materials
- creating low-stakes practice environments for simulations, role-play, feedback, or applied scenarios
Custom GPTs should be created thoughtfully and only for appropriate use cases. Before creating or sharing a custom GPT, users should consider the purpose, audience, source materials, data handling requirements, testing needs, privacy risks, and maintenance responsibilities. Custom GPTs that use George Brown-specific content, support institutional processes, or may be shared with others should align with George Brown guidance, privacy practices, and responsible AI expectations.
Use ChatGPT Responsibly
ChatGPT can support productivity, creativity, and learning, but users remain responsible for reviewing outputs, checking accuracy, and using AI in ways that align with George Brown Polytechnic guidance, policies, and privacy practices.
Before using ChatGPT, consider the type of information involved and whether it is appropriate to enter into an AI tool. Avoid entering sensitive, confidential, personal, or regulated information unless its use has been approved under institutional guidance.
For more information, visit Using AI Tools Responsibly.
Accessing ChatGPT
Access to George Brown’s ChatGPT Edu environment is currently limited due to the number of available licences. Priority access is currently focused on AI Innovation Challenge cohorts, key stakeholders, and pilot testing groups.
To request access or express interest in using ChatGPT Edu for a specific institutional use case, contact Shehroze Saharan (shehroze.saharan@georgebrown.ca) with:
- your name
- department or area
- proposed use case
- purpose of the request
- expected users or audience
- brief description of the work you hope to support
Access may be provisioned if licences are available and the use case aligns with institutional priorities, responsible AI guidance, and current pilot capacity.
For opportunities connected to structured AI pilots, visit AI Innovation Challenge to see whether proposals are currently open.
Training & Support
For training, support, and resources on how to use ChatGPT Edu effectively, visit AI Learning, Training and Resources.