AI Tools at NSCC — What We Have & What People Are Using
A plain-language guide to licensed tools, grassroots tools, and why the gaps exist
Three guardrails that shape every AI decision at NSCC
Personal Information (PII)
Student records, HR data, health information. Any AI tool that touches institutional files must handle this responsibly.
Intellectual Property & Copyright
Faculty course materials, institutional IP. What you put into an AI tool may train future models or be shared.
Canadian Data Sovereignty
Data must stay in Canada. Microsoft is the only vendor with a credible answer here — and that answer is "coming in 2026."
Capability comparison — what each tool can actually do
✓ Available
◑ Partial / limited
— Not available
Shaded columns = what NSCC has licensed
| Capability | M365 Copilot ChatAll staff & students (A5) | Copilot Add-on~20 pilot users · ~$30/user/mo | Teams PremiumNot yet · ~$10/user/mo | GitHub CopilotCCN / IT programs only | ChatGPTGrassroots · free / $20 mo | Notebook LMGrassroots · free | Canva AIGrassroots · free edu tier? | Claude.aiGrassroots · free / $20 mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat & Research | ||||||||
| Chat / Q&A (web-grounded) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ◑ | — | ✓ |
| Access your M365 files, email & Teams | — | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Upload documents & ask questions | — | ✓ | — | — | ◑ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Knowledge Bases & Study Tools | ||||||||
| Build a knowledge base from your files | — | ✓ | — | — | ◑ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Audio overview / podcast-style summary | — | ✓ | — | — | — | ✓ ★ | — | — |
| Study frameworks & learning tools | — | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Content Creation | ||||||||
| Writing & drafting assistance | ◑ | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | — | ◑ | ✓ |
| Slide deck generation (PowerPoint) | — | ✓ | — | — | ◑ | — | ✓ | ◑ |
| Visual / graphic design | — | — | — | — | — | — | ✓ | — |
| AI image generation | — | ✓ | — | — | ◑ | — | ✓ | — |
| Meetings & Productivity | ||||||||
| Meeting transcription | — | ◑ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Meeting summaries & action items | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Multilingual meeting recap | — | — | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Data analysis (spreadsheet / Power BI) | — | ✓ | — | — | ◑ | — | — | ◑ |
| Build custom AI agents or bots | — | ✓ | — | — | ◑ | — | — | — |
| Coding & Technical | ||||||||
| Code completion & explanation | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | — | ◑ |
| Agentic / autonomous coding | — | — | — | ◑ | — | — | — | — |
| Governance & Trust | ||||||||
| Canadian data sovereignty | ◑ | ◑ | ◑ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Institutional license available at NSCC | ✓ | ◑ | ◑ | ✓ | — | — | ◑ | — |
★ = best-in-class for this capability · ◑ = partial or limited access · Microsoft data sovereignty in Canada: planned 2026, not yet live · Canva for Education: post-secondary institutions may qualify for free faculty/staff access — verify at canva.com/education
Why we can't broadly roll out Copilot add-on — even if we had the money
Data governance policy
In development · low priority
In development · low priority
→
Data classification schema
Doesn't exist yet
Doesn't exist yet
→
Microsoft Purview
Not licensed
Not licensed
→
Safe Copilot rollout
Blocked
Blocked
→
AI access to M365 data
Teams · Exchange · OneDrive · SharePoint
Teams · Exchange · OneDrive · SharePoint
Full rollout cost: ~$360K/year for Copilot add-on + ~$120K/year for Teams Premium across all staff and students. The governance problem would block it regardless.
Opportunity: Canva for Education
Post-secondary institutions may qualify for free Canva access for faculty and staff (students excluded). This would give faculty access to 25+ AI features including Magic Write, AI image generation, and presentation tools — at no cost. Worth verifying at canva.com/education before the next budget cycle.
Common misconceptions — and what's actually true
✗ "We have Copilot — it can do what ChatGPT does."
Copilot Chat (base A5) is a web chatbot. It doesn't know your emails, Teams, or OneDrive. That requires the paid add-on — and data classification first.
✗ "Let's just use ChatGPT / Notebook LM / Canva instead."
These tools are capable, but they're US-based with no Canadian data residency. Using them with institutional content may breach NSCC's data sovereignty and PII obligations.
✗ "Just turn on the full Copilot for everyone."
Without data classification, Copilot could surface HR files, student records, or legal documents to anyone who asks. The governance work has to come first.
✗ "Notebook LM's audio overview is unique — we can't replicate it."
Copilot Notebooks (in the paid add-on) has a similar audio overview feature. Notebook LM's depth and customization options are better — but it's not the only option.
✗ "Faculty using personal AI tools are breaking the rules."
The policy's guardrails are PII, IP/copyright, and data sovereignty. Using personal tools with non-institutional content isn't prohibited — the risk is when institutional data enters these tools.
✗ "Canva costs money and isn't sanctioned."
Canva for Education may be free for NSCC faculty and staff. The institutional path likely exists — it just hasn't been pursued yet.