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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • U.S. president may come down to these counties
    A U.S. map shows narrow margins making the difference in many counties across the nation.

    Topline:

    From 2012 to 2016, more than 200 counties flipped from former President Barack Obama to former President Donald Trump. In 2020, less than half that number changed hands from Trump to President Biden.

    Keep reading... for a guide on the counties to keep an eye on in each of the seven swing states as returns roll in on election night and in the days afterward. These counties will help explain why the next president won.

    In the 2020 presidential election, the country was stretched ideologically and demographically. From 2012 to 2016, more than 200 counties flipped from former President Barack Obama to former President Donald Trump. In 2020, less than half that number changed hands from Trump to President Biden.

    Biden won by bigger margins in cities, and Trump drove up turnout and margins in rural areas. Biden was able to win because of his strength in the suburbs and the shift of white voters with college degrees toward the Democratic Party in the Trump era — something Vice President Harris wants to try to replicate.

    But there’s no guarantee that will happen again, especially as Trump has made efforts to peel off portions of traditionally Democratic groups, like young men, young Black men and working-class Latinos.

    Below is a guide to the counties to keep an eye on in each of the seven swing states as returns roll in on election night and in the days afterward. These counties will help explain why the next president won. (Source for county vote data comes from the U.S. Election Atlas.)

    Jump to a state: Pennsylvania | Wisconsin | Michigan | North Carolina | Georgia | Arizona | Nevada


    Pennsylvania

    19 electoral votes
    2020 margin: D+1.18 (82,166 votes)

    1. Montgomery: The most populous Philadelphia suburban county, Biden netted 40,000 more votes there in 2020 than Hillary Clinton did in 2016. Harris has to try to match that in order to win this important state. Biden saw a 120,000-vote shift statewide in his favor — 105,000 of that came from just the four suburban Philadelphia counties (Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester), which are among the highest educated, wealthiest and most populated counties in the state. Though they voted overwhelmingly for Biden in 2020, Trump can’t ignore them because he’s expected to get a significant share of votes from them, too. Harris would also like to do at least as well as Biden did in Philadelphia proper, where Democrats have seen a slight decline in their vote share since Obama was on the ballot (85% in 2012, 82% in 2016 and 81% in 2020).

    2. Allegheny (and surrounding area): Biden won this county, where Pittsburgh is, in 2020. He netted nearly 40,000 more votes out of Allegheny than Clinton did four years earlier. Harris will need to try to replicate Biden’s performance because in all the counties that touch Allegheny, including Butler where Trump was shot, Trump won handily.

    3. Cumberland: Trump won this central Pennsylvania county with 55%. It’s a mix of suburban and rural and sits just across the river from the state capital of Harrisburg. Biden was able to cut into Trump’s margins, netting 7,000 more votes than Clinton pulled from Trump in 2016. Biden’s 44% in the county in 2020 was the best for a Democrat since 1964. Cumberland has seen a 15% population increase since 2010, has the highest median income outside the Philadelphia collar counties and the seventh-highest college attainment of any county in the state. It’s the county with the highest level of college attainment that went Republican.

    4. Lackawanna: It’s home to Scranton in the northeastern part of the state. Biden was born there and won it by more than Clinton in 2016. But it has been trending away from Democrats in the age of Trump due, in part, to its high blue-collar population.

    5. Cambria: This populated, more rural county in the central western part of the state could give some clues about similar places that are crucial to Trump’s support and turnout level with his base. It’s 90% white and below the national average for college attainment and income. Like other more rural counties, it went by more for Trump in 2020 than 2016, despite him losing the state overall.

    Boomerang counties*: Erie, Northampton

    *Boomerang counties refer to places that went for Obama twice, Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020.


    Wisconsin

    10 electoral votes
    2020 margin: D+0.63 (20,682 votes)

    1. Dane (Madison): This heavily Democratic county, home to Madison and the University of Wisconsin, has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. It accounted for 1 in 6 Democratic votes statewide in 2020, but 80% of the total vote-shift in Biden's favor.

    2. Milwaukee: For Harris to repeat a Democratic win in the state, she’s going to have to drive up turnout in this county. It is the most populous county in the state, is 27% Black, 17% Latino and 5% Asian American. It’s also a critical place for Trump. Milwaukee County gave Trump his second highest vote total of any county outside Waukesha in the Milwaukee suburbs.

    3. Waukesha: There are 72 counties in Wisconsin, and nearly 10% of all the votes cast for Trump in 2020 came from this one suburban county just west of Milwaukee. A lot is made of the fact that Trump’s margins of victory were significantly smaller in the “WOW” counties (Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington) surrounding Milwaukee in 2020. That was largely the result of far fewer third-party votes pulling from Democrats that year. Trump got nearly the identical percentages in each of the three WOW counties in both 2016 and 2020. The four suburban counties that touch Milwaukee — the WOW counties plus Racine — accounted for 1 in 5 Trump votes statewide. Harris probably has to do at least as well as Biden in these suburbs to win the state.

    4. La Crosse: Clinton got a bare majority in this western Wisconsin county, but Biden expanded the margin here. It could be a sign of how the state goes and how Harris performs with blue-collar white voters — it’s nearly 90% white — and with younger voters. The city of La Crosse within the county is home to three colleges and thousands of students.

    5. Brown (Green Bay): Welcome to Packers Country. In fairness, the entire state is Packers Country, but Brown County is home to Green Bay. This county leans Republican, but Biden cut the margins here — again, mostly because of fewer people voting third party in 2020. Harris can’t afford to get blown out here or in neighboring Outagamie. It also has one of the higher Latino populations in the state.

    Boomerang: Door, Sauk


    Michigan

    15 electoral votes
    2020 margin: D+2.78 (154,181 votes)

    1. Wayne (Detroit, Dearborn): Michigan shifted in Biden’s favor by more than 164,000 votes. A quarter of that was because of this urban county, home to Detroit and Dearborn. It will tell the story of whether Harris was able to turn out Black voters (its population is 38% Black) and how much the war in Gaza hurts Harris. Wayne is home to 100,000 Arab Americans, the largest population of Arab Americans anywhere in the country.

    2. Oakland: This once-reliably Republican suburban Detroit county accounted for Biden’s largest vote shift in 2020. It’s one of the state’s wealthiest, most educated and most populous counties in the state. It also has significant Black and AAPI populations that Harris needs to turn out for her to match Biden’s success. The car industry has long roots here —Stellantis, formerly Chrysler, is headquartered here — but the health care industry is one of the county’s biggest employers and it has also seen a tech boom that has attracted younger and more diverse people.

    3. Macomb: This Detroit suburb is slightly more conservative than its neighbor Oakland, and it gave Trump more votes than any other county in the state in both 2016 and 2020. But Biden was able to slice into Trump’s margin there. It’s the kind of place Trump needs to run up the score and where Harris needs to keep it close.

    4. Washtenaw (Ann Arbor): Staying in the Detroit metro area, no other county gave Biden a wider margin of victory than this one. In fact, no Democrat, including Obama in 2008, won this county with a higher percentage of the vote. Home to the University of Michigan, it’s the most educated county in the state and could indicate Harris’ level of support with younger voters.

    5. Kent (Grand Rapids): This county in the western part of the state could signal which direction Michigan goes. It was once a Republican stronghold, but its growth and the ideological shifts within the parties has moved it more Democratic. It was one of only three counties statewide to go from Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020.

    Boomerang: Saginaw. (Leelanau and Kent also flipped from Trump to Biden.)

    A Trump-Vance campaign sign is displayed in a field on Oct. 25 in Kalkaska, Michigan.
    A Trump-Vance campaign sign is displayed in a field on Oct. 25 in Kalkaska, Michigan.
    (
    Brandon Bell
    /
    Getty Images
    )

    North Carolina

    16 electoral votes
    2020 margin: R+1.3 (74,483 votes)

    1. Wake (Raleigh): It’s the most populous county in the state and one of the fastest-growing in the country. That has meant a huge shift in its politics in favor of Democrats. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won it with 51%. By 2008, Obama got 57% of the vote. Biden in 2020 won it with 63%. His margin of victory — 167,000 — is 25,000 more than all of the votes Bush got in the county in 2000. Biden saw a 100,000-vote shift in his favor in the state; 60% of it came from this county. Harris has to drive up the score here with young voters and the state’s most educated voters and white-collar professionals in other parts of the Research Triangle, like Durham and Orange, home to a host of big-name universities, like N.C. State, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke and Wake Forest.

    2. Mecklenburg (Charlotte): Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. The county has seen a 21% population increase since 2010 and that has helped Democrats make this state more competitive. Like in Wake, Biden gained an almost 60,000-vote shift here.

    3. Union: Just outside Charlotte, this is the highest-populated county that Trump won in the state in 2020. It’s one of five counties that border Mecklenburg, all won by Trump. Watch the margins here. Biden was able to cut into them, and Harris will need to do the same.

    4. Robeson: What insulated Trump in North Carolina largely was his strength with white voters without college degrees. It’s the one state of the seven swing states in 2020 where he saw an increase in his vote margin with non-college white voters. But this county, one of the poorest and most diverse in the state, represents what Trump’s team has been able to do in appealing to rural, nonwhite voters. Robeson is 42% Native American, almost a quarter Black, 12% Latino, and had long voted Democratic. Yet Trump flipped it in 2016, then expanded his margin in 2020, winning with 59% of the vote there. He held one of his final rallies of the 2020 campaign in Robeson, pushing his message of the “forgotten” men and women after declaring his support for federal legislation that would recognize the Lumbee tribe.

    5. Henderson: This is one of the more populous Trump-won counties affected by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Trump won a majority of the votes in counties affected by Helene. Turnout there will give some idea how Trump’s vote is affected. Neighboring Buncombe County, home to Asheville, voted heavily Democratic, so Harris’ campaign will be watching turnout closely there, as well.

    Boomerang: None. (Nash and New Hanover flipped from Trump to Biden. Scotland went from Biden to Trump.)


    Georgia

    16 electoral votes
    2020 margin: D+0.23 (11,779 votes)

    Supporters hold signs during a campaign event for Vice President Harris in Pittsburgh on Oct. 10.
    Supporters hold signs during a campaign event for Vice President Harris in Pittsburgh on Oct. 10.
    (
    Ryan Collerd
    /
    AFP via Getty Images
    )

    1. Gwinnett: This county, which was long Republican-held, represents the growing — and diverse — suburbs in the Atlanta area (and in the country) that helped Biden win the state for Democrats for the first time since 1992. It has seen a population boom in the past decade, has a higher-than-average median income than the rest of the country, and it is majority nonwhite. Biden won it with 58%, up from 50% in 2020 and 45% for the Obama-Biden ticket in 2012. Does that pace continue? The growth in the Atlanta area is the main reason Democrats have made the state more competitive. Similarly, pay attention to Cobb and Henry.

    2. Hall: This is one of those populous, heavily Republican metro Atlanta counties Trump won by huge margins in 2020, but he won them by less than he did in 2016. To make up what was such a narrow margin statewide, Trump will look to drive up the score in places like this. Similarly, watch Paulding to the north and west of the city.

    3. Clayton: Just south of Atlanta, this will be a good test of Harris’ ability to turn out Black voters. It’s 73% Black, 15% Latino and is the sixth-most populated county in the state.

    4. Chatham (Savannah): So much attention is paid to the Atlanta metro area because of its size and growth, but watch the margins in places like Chatham, home to Savannah. It’s among the counties Biden won in 2020 by more than Clinton did in 2016. Some notable others: Muscogee (Columbus), Richmond (Augusta), Bibb (Macon), Baldwin.

    5. Columbia: Just outside Augusta, this is one of those Trump-won counties, where Biden shrunk the margins. Others include: Houston (outside Macon), Effingham (outside Savannah), Glynn (Brunswick), Camden, Thomas and Lowndes.

    6. Peach: This low-population county in the south central portion of the state won’t shift the state in a significant way by itself, but it will be a test of whether Harris can turn out rural Black voters to offset Trump’s strength with white, non-college voters. It’s 44% Black, went twice for Obama, but then flipped to Trump in 2016 and 2020, when Trump won it by a slightly higher margin.

    Boomerang: None. And no counties flipped Trump to Biden, either.


    Arizona

    11 electoral votes
    2020 margin: D+0.31 (10,457 votes) 

    1. Maricopa (Phoenix): Biden won the state by just over 10,000 votes, with a 100,000-vote swing from 2016 — 90% of that came from Maricopa, home to Phoenix. It was the first time in decades that Democrats had won the county, and it gave Biden 61% of his votes statewide in 2020.

    2. Pima (Tucson): Biden ran up the score in this traditionally Democratic county. He netted 40,000 more votes here than Clinton in 2016. Similarly, watch Coconino (Flagstaff) and Apache, where Biden ran up the score in these Democratic-leaning counties.

    3. Pinal: Trump won by wider margins in Republican-leaning counties like this one than in 2016. But look to see if that trend continues here and also Yavapai, Mohave, Yuma and Cochise.

    Boomerang: None. But Maricopa was the big flip here from Trump to Biden.


    Nevada

    6 electoral votes
    2020 margin: D+2.39 (33,596 votes)

    1. Clark (Las Vegas): Two-thirds of all the votes in the state come from this county, which is home to Las Vegas. It will tell us whether Trump’s appeals on the economy to working-class Latino voters resonate. It is also home to a significant share of Asian American and Black voters.

    2. Washoe (Reno): It has mirrored the statewide vote percentages for both parties in every presidential election since 2004 — and went with the winner each time.

    Boomerang: None. Washoe is the key swing county.
    Copyright 2024 NPR

  • Low snowpack could signal early fire season
    Aerial view of a forest of trees covered in snow
    An aerial view of snow-capped trees after a winter snowstorm near Soda Springs on Feb. 20, 2026.

    Topline:

    California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.

    What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.

    Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.

    California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.

    It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.

    Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.

    But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.

    On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.

    “I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”

    State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs.

    Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.

    “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.

    “Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”

    ‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’ 

    In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.

    “It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”

    Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.

    “That means we can get more work done,” he said.

    It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.

    Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.

    “In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”

    ‘A haystack fire’

    Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.

    Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”

    “Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.

    Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.

    But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.

    How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.

    “This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”

    This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

  • Sponsored message
  • The airport will close in 2028 to become a park
    One white plane lands on the runway. Off to the right, another plan is parked.
    The Santa Monica Airport will close in 2028 and become a sprawling public park.

    Topline:

    The Santa Monica Airport will close in 2028 and become a sprawling public park that city officials say will improve quality of life and boost green space.

    What we know: The city is in the very early stages of planning how to transform the 192 acres into a park. The preliminary report shows some potential amenities of the park, such as gardens, biking trails, art galleries, a community center and much more.

    Background: After a long legal battle between the city and the Federal Aviation Administration, a settlement was reached that ruled that the city could close the more than 100-year-old airport. The park was controversial among residents because of air quality and noise concerns, and was the subject of many legal battles in recent decades.

    What’s next? The city wants to hear from residents. You’re encouraged to review the framework and fill out this survey. Feedback will be accepted until April 26.

  • Certain immigrants no longer eligible
    An adult reaches for a banana on a metal shelve as a child carries a toy rolling grocery basket with groceries inside it. On their left are shelves of canned food and other bags of food.
    Thousands of immigrants, including refugees and asylees, in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.

    Topline:

    Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.

    What’s new: The changes apply to certain immigrants who are here lawfully, including refugees and asylees. It also applies to people from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special visas for helping the U.S. military overseas.

    Why now: The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.

    What’s next: Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.

    Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.

    The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.

    The changes remove eligibility for certain noncitizens, including people with refugee status and victims of trafficking. It also applies to immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special immigrant visas for helping the U.S. government overseas.

     ”These are folks … many of whom have large families that we have a commitment to as a country because we welcomed them and invited them here to find a place of refuge,” said Cambria Tortorelli, president of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a refugee resettlement agency. “They’re authorized to work and they’ve been brought here by the U.S. government.”

    The federal spending bill, H.R. 1, made sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, including food assistance and Medicaid. In signing the bill, President Donald Trump said the changes were delivering on his campaign promises of “America first.”

    Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. The state estimates about 72,000 immigrants with lawful presence will be affected across California.

    CalFresh is the state’s version of the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Undocumented immigrants have not been eligible to receive CalFresh benefits.

    State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.

    Who the changes apply to:

    • Asylees
    • Refugees
    • Parolees (unless they are Cuban and Haitian entrants)
    • Individuals with deportation or removal withheld
    • Conditional entrants
    • Victims of trafficking
    • Battered noncitizens
    • Iraqi or Afghan with special immigrant visas (SIV) who are not lawful permanent residents (LPR)
    • Certain Afghan Nationals granted parole between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023
    • Certain Ukrainian Nationals granted parole between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sep. 30, 2024
  • Students mistrust results and fear job impact
    A close-up of a hand on a laptop computer.
    A student takes notes during history class.

    Topline:

    Nearly every student in the California State University system has used artificial intelligence tools, but most don’t trust the results, are worried about how AI will affect their future job security and want more say in systemwide AI policy.

    CSU AI survey: CSU polled more than 94,000 students, faculty and staff, making it the largest survey of AI perception in higher education. Nearly all students have used AI but most question whether it is trustworthy. Both faculty and students want more say in systemwide AI policies. Faculty are divided about the impact of AI on teaching and research. 

    The results: Educators want a say in how and which AI tools are used. Students across the CSU system want to be included in those discussions. Some professors teach students how to use AI and encourage students to use it, while others forbid its use in the classroom. In addition to clarity around use of AI policies, students in this year’s survey said they want training that will be relevant to their careers. “I want to learn AI tools that are actually used in my industry, not just generic chatbots,” a mechanical engineering student responded. “Show me what engineers are actually doing with AI on the job.”

    Nearly every student in the California State University system has used artificial intelligence tools, but most don’t trust the results, are worried about how AI will affect their future job security and want more say in systemwide AI policy.

    That’s according to results of a 2025 survey of more than 80,000 students enrolled at CSU’s 22 campuses, plus faculty and staff — the largest and most comprehensive study of how higher education students and instructors perceive artificial intelligence.

    Nationwide, university faculty struggle to reconcile the learning benefits of AI — hailed as a “transformative tool” for providing tutoring and personalized support to students — and the risks that students will depend on AI agents to do their thinking for them and, very possibly, get the wrong information. Educators want a say in how and which AI tools are used. Students across the CSU system want to be included in those discussions.

    Some professors teach students how to use AI and encourage students to use it, while others forbid its use in the classroom, said Katie Karroum, vice president of systemwide affairs for the Cal State Student Association, representing more than 470,000 students.

    “Both of these things are allowed to coexist right now without a policy,” she said.

    Karroum said that faculty practices are too varied and that what students need are consistent and transparent rules developed in collaboration with students. “There are going to be students who are graduating with AI literacy and some that graduate without AI literacy.”

    In February 2025, the CSU system announced an initiative to adopt AI technologies and an agreement with OpenAI to make ChatGPT available throughout the system. The system-wide survey released Wednesday confirms that ChatGPT is the most used AI tool across CSUs. The system will also work with Adobe, Google, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft and NVIDIA.

    Campus leaders say the survey and accompanying dashboard provide much needed data on how the system continues to integrate AI into instruction and assessment.

    “We need to have data to make data-informed decisions instead of just going by anecdote,” said Elisa Sobo, a professor of anthropology at San Diego State who was involved in interpreting the survey’s findings. “We have data that show high use, but we also have high levels of concern, very valid concern, to help people be responsible when they use it.”

    Faculty at San Diego State designed the survey, which received more than 94,000 responses from students, faculty and staff. Among all responding CSU students, 95% reported using an AI tool; 84% said they used ChatGPT and 82% worry that AI will negatively impact their future job security. Others worry that they won’t be competitive if they don’t understand AI well enough.

    “Even though I don’t want to use it, I HAVE TO!” wrote a computer science major. “Because if I don’t, then I’ll be left behind, and that is the last thing someone would want in this stupid job market.”

    Faculty are divided about the impact of AI on teaching and research. Just over 55% reported a positive benefit, while 52% said AI has had a negative impact so far.

    San Diego State conducted its first campuswide survey in 2023 in response to complaints from students about inconsistent rules about AI use in courses, said James Frazee, vice president for information technology at the campus.

    “Students are facing this patchwork of expectations even within the same course taught by different instructors,” Frazee said. In one introductory course, the professor might encourage students to use AI, but another professor teaching the same course might forbid it, he said. “It was a hot mess.”

    In that 2023 survey, one student made this request: “Please just tell us what to do and be clear about it.”

    Following that survey, the San Diego State Academic Senate approved guidelines for the use of generative AI in instruction and assessments. In 2025, the Senate made it mandatory that faculty include language about AI use in course syllabi.

    “It doesn’t say what your disposition has to be, whether it’s pro or con,” Frazee said. “It just says you have to be clear about your expectations. Without the 2023 survey data, that never would have happened.”

    According to the 2025 systemwide survey, only 68% of teaching faculty include language about AI use in their syllabi.

    Sobo and other faculty who helped develop the 2025 survey hope other CSU campuses will find the data helpful in informing policies about AI use. The dashboard allows users to search for specific campus and discipline data and view student responses by demographic group.

    The 2025 survey shows that first-generation students are more interested in formal AI training and that Black, Hispanic and Latino students are more interested than white students. At San Diego State, students are required to earn a micro-credential in AI use during their first year — another change that was made after the 2023 survey.

    Students in this year’s survey said they want training that will be relevant to their careers. “I want to learn AI tools that are actually used in my industry, not just generic chatbots,” a mechanical engineering student responded. “Show me what engineers are actually doing with AI on the job.”

    The California Faculty Association, which represents about 29,000 educators in the CSU system, said in a February statement that faculty should be included in future systemwide decisions about AI, including whether the contract with OpenAI should be renewed in July.

    “CFA members continue to advocate for ethical and enforceable safeguards governing the use of artificial intelligence,” the CFA said in the statement, asking for “protections for using or refusing to use the technology, professional development resources to adapt pedagogy to incorporate the technology, and further protections for faculty intellectual property.”

    EdSource is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.