Prepared by: Shellie Dolan
Shellie Dolan serves as Director of Grants in McAllister and Quinn’s Higher Education Practice. She provides guidance, technical advice, and professional grant writing for clients to pursue external funding opportunities, overseeing grant proposal development from initial concept to submission. Her work has included securing federal funding for community colleges serving disadvantaged and underrepresented student populations. Read more about Shellie.
NSF Programs expand access to artificial intelligence by helping communities, community colleges, and employers to help build the skills, partnerships, and capacity needed to thrive in an AI‑driven economy.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has increased investments in developing the national AI workforce, focused on many of the same key areas as community colleges. NSF’s identified priority areas include:
- Growing human capital, equipping educators and practitioners with the skills needed to contribute to an AI-driven economy.
- Developing institutional capacity to perform AI research and development.
- Developing AI systems that enhance teaching and learning for all.
NSF AI Act Pushes for AI Opportunities for Community and Technical Colleges
Following a $100 million investment last fall to support five National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes and NSF AIVO, a central community hub, the FY2027 President’s Budget proposes sustained or expanded investments in AI and quantum information science. This focus is reflected in the bipartisan NSF AI Education Act of 2026 bill, which includes new NSF-supported AI education resources at community colleges.
NSF has several current programs that support AI initiatives at community colleges:
TechAccess: Building Statewide AI Readiness Hubs:
A new funding opportunity, TechAccess: AI-Ready America, is intended to expand access to AI knowledge, tools, training and capacity-building for an AI-driven economy. The program aims to strengthen coordination around AI readiness in collaboration with community colleges and universities; leverage existing networks and resources to accelerate AI adoption; and address gaps to advance AI readiness. The program will fund coordination hubs for every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, with each hub receiving $1M/year for three years. Coordination Hubs will be selected over three rounds between June 2026 and July 2027.
ATE Grants: Expanding Workforce Pathways in AI and Emerging Technologies
Some existing opportunities have added an AI element, such as the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant, which provides up to $1M over three years to support institutions that award two-year degrees in advanced technology fields. While the ATE program has been known for supporting advanced manufacturing technologies, agricultural and bio- technologies, energy and environmental technologies, engineering technologies, and information technologies, among others, the solicitation now also emphasizes support for skilled technical workers in areas such as AI and quantum information sciences.
STEM K–12: Advancing AI Enabled Teaching and Learning
The STEM K-12 program was created in 2025, combining elements of four previous programs to support research and development to advance STEM teaching and learning in formal and informal settings. With awards up to $750,000 over three years, STEM K-12 seeks proposals that build theory, generate new knowledge, and inform education practices, including the exploration of how AI and other emerging technologies can be effectively leveraged to study and enhance STEM teaching and learning and the national STEM workforce. Proposals may focus on learning or instruction in any STEM field(s) and in a variety of teaching and learning contexts, including formal education (pre-K to 12) and informal learning environments.
CyberAI Corps: Preparing the Next Generation of AI and Cybersecurity Talent
The CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (CyberAI SFS) program is an extension of the long-standing CyberCorps SFS program, enhanced in 2025 to include specialized competencies in AI. Community colleges are eligible subawardees for the Scholarship Track (up to $2.5M over three years) which provides funding to establish or continue scholarship-for-service programs with integrated AI and cybersecurity components (CyberAI) for institutions with strong existing programs in AI or cybersecurity. The Innovation Track (up to $500,000 over three years) supports projects that enhance preparation of AI and/or cybersecurity professionals. Funds can be used to expand existing educational opportunities, curricula, degree programs, educational pathways, methods and interventions, and partnerships among institutions of higher education, government, and employers.
NSF’s Expanding Role in AI Workforce Development
The Trump administration’s Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan recommended the prioritization of AI skill development as a core objective of relevant education and workforce funding streams, to be led by NSF as well as the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, and the Department of Commerce. The strategy recommends the integration of AI skill development into relevant programs, including career and technical education (CTE), workforce training, apprenticeships, and other federally supported skills initiatives. Each of these agencies has released funding opportunities aligned with this policy strategy and are expected to continue adapting existing programs and opening new funding streams for the foreseeable future.
Turning Policy into AI Opportunities for Community Colleges
This clear focus on CTE, workforce training, and registered apprenticeships means that many of these programs will tap into community colleges’ specific strengths and provide support for new programs, AI infrastructure, and professional development for faculty. Staying competitive for this funding will require institutional planning, industry partnerships, and a solid understanding of the AI skills relevant to area job markets, as well as remaining aware of new opportunities as they become available.
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