"This project is about more than introducing new technology. It’s about removing barriers so our students, faculty, and staff can focus on learning, teaching, and collaboration."
The Transformation
California Lutheran University (CLU) is redefining how higher education institutions can responsibly scale artificial intelligence. In partnership with Entrinsik, CLU integrated Informer’s AI Assistants into their MyCLU Digital Experience Platform, providing students, faculty, and staff with real-time, personalized insights across academic, operational, and administrative functions. Within the first
year, CLU achieved a 70% reduction in financial-aid follow-ups at orientation, a 75% decrease in unpaid graduation fees, and earned the 2025 Tambellini Future Campus Award for Impact on Learning Outcomes and Experience. The Tambellini Group recognized CLU for not only improving outcomes today but for building a sustainable, scalable model other institutions can follow.
At the heart of this transformation is Ask Gumby, CLU’s campus-wide AI assistant powered by Informer AI. Ask Gumby now serves more than 4,400 students, faculty, and staff. Embedded directly in the MyCLU portal and mobile app, it connects securely to ERP, SIS, and LMS systems to deliver role-aware answers and workflow automation without adding new systems or headcount.
The Challenge
Like many institutions, CLU faced the growing demand for AI innovation but with clear constraints: limited staffing, complex governance requirements, and a campus already managing multiple systems. The goal was to embed AI into existing workflows, enhance learning and operations, and scale responsibly without expanding staff or compromising data integrity.
Common pain points included:
- Disconnected tools and fragmented user experiences
- The risk of AI sprawl: multiple unintegrated chatbots creating new silos
- Manual, repetitive administrative work consuming staff time
- Data privacy and FERPA compliance concerns
- Limited resources to experiment responsibly with AI
- Pressure to modernize under tight budgets
The Solution: Ask Gumby Built on Informer AI
CLU and Entrinsik created Ask Gumby not as a standalone chatbot, but as part of an Enterprise AI Platform that could scale across the entire institution without creating AI sprawl. Built on Informer AI, Ask Gumby serves as the unified interface for students, faculty, and staff. Rather than deploying multiple
disconnected AI tools, CLU built a single governed platform on top of their existing Informer Business Intelligence infrastructure. Ask Gumby uses existing data pipelines, reports, and permissions, so AI works inside the systems people already use.
Key elements of the approach include:
- Trusted BI Foundation: Ask Gumby uses the same governed data powering CLU’s dashboards and reports. No separate data warehouse. No duplication. Security policies and access controls are inherited from existing BI infrastructure.
- Specialized Governed Assistants (SGAs): Think of these as expert AI agents, each trained on specific campus functions like financial aid, registration, or course scheduling. This design minimizes hallucinations and maintains security boundaries, ensuring answers stay accurate and contextual.
- One UI for All Users: Whether student, faculty, or staff, everyone interacts through the same interface embedded in MyCLU and the mobile app. Responses are automatically filtered by authentication and role-based permissions.
- Built-In Governance: Every interaction honors CLU’s existing rules for data access, privacy, and intellectual property protection.
- Integrated by Design: Embedded in MyCLU and connected through APIs to ERP, SIS, and LMS systems. Users don’t have to learn a new tool or leave their workflow.
Ask Gumby is backed by a pool of Specialized Governed Assistants, each with defined knowledge, skills, and permissions. It’s how we keep answers accurate, contextual, and secure.
Madhavi W. Chandra, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, Entrinsik
At Cal Lutheran, our AI journey started by defining what a responsible higher-education AI solution should be. Entrinsik quickly stood out as the right path forward. Together, we’ve built a model that others can follow.
Justin Barkhuff, Director of Enterprise Applications, California Lutheran University
Results: Measurable Impact
CLU’s implementation of Informer AI, including Ask Gumby and the enhanced MyCLU platform, has produced tangible outcomes across student experience, operational efficiency, and institutional recognition.
- Award Recognition: Recipient of the 2025 Tambellini Future Campus Award for Learning Outcomes and Experience, recognizing CLU’s leadership in responsible, results-driven AI adoption.
- Dramatic Time Savings Through Automation: Administrative processes have been significantly streamlined:
- Student-worker scheduling that once took four to six hours now takes minutes.
- The Registrar’s enrollment confirmation process reduced from days of work spread across several weeks to a few hours spread across a few days.
- Unified Access and Governance: A single secure entry point now delivers data-driven answers and insights inside MyCLU, eliminating tool sprawl and reducing support tickets
- High User Satisfaction: MyCLU, enhanced with AI, maintains a 96% satisfaction rating campus-wide. Among all software applications at CLU, MyCLU’s daily usage is second only to email.
- Improved Student Support:
- 70% reduction in financial-aid follow-ups during orientation.
- 75% decrease in unpaid graduation fees following launch of an AI-driven digital Commencement Checklist.
- Form completion rates jumping from 10-20% to 85-95% by switching from email to MyCLU’s embedded notifications.
- Faster, more accurate responses to routine inquiries, freeing staff to focus on complex, high-touch support.
What’s Next: Teaching, Learning, and Automation at Scale
CLU is expanding Informer AI beyond campus operations to enhance teaching and learning.
- AI Tutors and Instructor Assistants: Students receive Socratic-style tutors embedded inside the LMS, providing personalized learning support. Instructors gain AI Assistants that summarize class interactions, generate quizzes, and surface engagement insights without adding to their workload.
- Instructor Insights and Student-Success Automation: Weekly summaries highlight trends, identify at-risk students, and automatically route action items to advisors. This proactive approach helps close intervention gaps before they become retention issues.
- Future Integration: Ask Gumby will extend through Informer GO, Entrinsik’s mobile and desktop app (currently in beta), to provide governed access anywhere: on campus, at home, or on the go.
"Entrinsik has proven to be more than a vendor. They operate as a true extension of our IT team. Ask Gumby is the realization of a vision we’ve held for years, delivering answers that are secure, accurate, and grounded in institutional truth."
