Indiana University expanded access to AI literacy by making its GenAI 101 skills course fully free and open to anyone, with no tuition or application required. The course completion earns an AI skills badge from IU’s Kelley School of Business, aiming to remove barriers created by credential costs or limited training availability. The university framed the move as a workforce readiness response: with corporations and agencies demanding AI fluency, IU said it would be a disadvantage for learners who lack access to AI training. IU also cited employer plans to increase AI investment and expectations that AI and information processing technologies will transform business roles by 2030. The decision effectively treats AI competence as a public-good offering, not a premium product—matching the institution’s stated mission to support economic mobility. For higher education leaders, the key development is replication risk: public universities may be pressured to follow suit as AI upskilling becomes a hiring baseline rather than an elective skill.