Colleges and universities worldwide face a new challenge in balancing AI integration with delivering academic foundations at the higher-education level that are both ethical and factual. As AI’s role in our society continues to grow, Felician University recognizes that being hesitant in adopting AI fosters a mindset that can inhibit the evolution of more efficient clinical research practices. That is why Felician’s partnership with Intraverbal AI is different, as it’s not just your average search engine or chatbot, but an intelligent assistant powered by verified, pre-existing research to develop client-facing treatment and assessment plans tailored to fit their individual needs. 

Professional Connections That Lead to Educational Transformation 

Prior to the development of the partnership, Dr. Brian Conners, Dean of the School of Education, was a professional and personal acquaintance of Dr. Adam Ventura, CEO of Intraverbal AI, and was familiar with his ongoing work in the AI landscape. Looking to advance Felician’s Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Master’s in Behavior and Autism Studies program and stand out among competitors, Dr. Conners saw an opportunity for Felician and Intraverbal AI to collaborate in a way that could mutually benefit both entities through promoting ethical, data-driven practices in behavioral health. Within a week of their initial conversation, Dr. Conners and Dr. Ventura designed a partnership model that would bridge behavioral science and artificial intelligence to transform the way future behavior analysts apply technology to their practice. 

Set to launch in the Spring semester of 2026, ABA graduate students will set the bar higher in their academic outcomes, fostering collaborative research with peers and professors to conduct real-world studies on behavioral health practices. Through Intraverbal’s database of over 40,000 ABA scholarly articles and a goal bank of 1.2 million clinical goals and outcomes, with more being added over time, students can input their specific case challenges and receive verified feedback to ensure the ethicality and validity of their fieldwork. 

Felician’s ABA professors began their Intraverbal AI training this fall, noting how the platform can best support their students as they gather research for conferences, presentations, and their own scholarly publications in the future. By adopting this technology, Felician’s faculty aids in the University’s strategic plan goal to ensure 100% of our faculty and staff are confidently trained to use and integrate AI tools into their curricula by 2028.  

“Felician University’s ABA program is committed to instilling the foundational pillars of our science while expanding access to personalized, virtual tools that enhance learning, supervision, and real-world application through our partnership with Intraverbal AI,” said Dr. Theoni Mantzoros, ABA Program Coordinator. 

How It Works: AI Policies and Possibilities for ABA Students 

Integrating Intraverbal into our ABA curriculum may help students balance their coursework, leaving a lasting impact on how they manage their time academically, professionally, and personally. For example, a student can upload a diagnostic assessment, let AI process and summarize key details, and then receive a draft of an insurance-ready report after review by BCBA peers. This process, which could otherwise take several hours or even days, highlights the benefits of Intraverbal AI as a tool that supports and streamlines report creation while keeping human insight central throughout each step of the analysis process. 

To promote ethics and compliance when using AI tools, all BCBA peer reviewers are insurance industry professionals with experience reviewing treatment plans and assessments. Each reviewer has completed extensive hours of AI-generated treatment testing to ensure paperwork structures are accurate and approval-ready, reducing denials and formatting issues. Additionally, by fully adhering to HIPAA guidelines, the system automatically removes a client’s protected health information before it’s accessible to a peer reviewer. When a student uploads a full behavioral assessment with a client’s personal details, it will remain anonymous to the reviewer, while the user still sees the full context of the document. 

Once students fully integrate Intraverbal AI’s capabilities into their coursework, they can then personalize the program to their instructional needs. Intraverbal’s generator tool fosters a seamless process for creating custom protocols based on one’s preferred teaching style or learning environment, allowing users to target growth areas for clients with motor limitations, limited vocal language, and social or adaptive skill deficits in a fraction of the time. 

Paving the Way for AI Integration in Higher Education  

Felician’s newfound partnership with Intraverbal AI will serve as a roadmap for integrating AI into higher-education curricula. As one of Intraverbal’s first university collaborations, their goal is to use the platform to develop their own research-based feedback and studies that test its readiness for handling graduate-level coursework. Ultimately, Intraverbal AI hopes to translate this partnership into meaningful outcomes for ABA students and learners worldwide who aspire to lead with compassion and integrity throughout their practice. 

“Through the integration of AI in the curriculum, we hope to give our students a competitive edge in the field as both practitioners and researchers,” said Dr. Conners. “Our goal in the School of Education is to be at the forefront of advancements in training to ensure our students come out prepared to enter the workforce with the tools, technology, and knowledge to be cutting-edge and competent future professionals in their field.” 

Speaking on the importance of the collaboration, Dr. Ventura shared, “Felician University and Intraverbal AI share a vision to empower the next generation of behavior analysts to master both behavior science and technology. Together, we’re equipping students to lead the charge in shaping how AI is used, ethically, intelligently, and boldly in our field.”