Developing a syllabus statement for AI

It is good teaching practice to be clear and transparent about the purpose, task, and criteria for assignments and learning activities. This includes communicating with students about what is and is not allowed regarding the use of AI in classes and for course assignments. We recommend that you include an AI statement in the syllabus and discuss it with your students on the first day of class.

AI use allowed in your class

Include a detailed statement on AI use. Clearly define what assignments involve AI and how AI can be used. You may consider co-creating course guidelines for the acceptable use of generative AI with your students. Redesigning assignments thoughtfully to integrate AI is crucial to maintain academic rigor and integrity.

AI use not allowed in your class

Clear AI policies and definition of inappropriate use should be provided. Plans for ensuring academic integrity in assessment need to be in place. You may need to rethink how you assess student learning.

AI syllabus statements

AI syllabus statement examples

Faculty views toward acceptable use of AI are influenced by course and assignment learning goals, amongst other factors, and fall loosely into 3 categories: permitted or encouraged, allowed for some assignments or for some purposes, and not allowed.

 

Generative AI use is permitted or encouraged [Sample statement]

In this course you are welcome to use generative artificial intelligence/large language model tools (such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.). Using these tools aligns with the course learning outcomes/student goals [insert the course learning goal(s) that use of AI aligns with].

Please be aware that many AI companies collect and store personal information. Please do not enter your confidential information as part of a prompt.

Also, please note that some of these large language models may “make up” or “hallucinate” information. These tools may reflect misconceptions and biases of specific data. Students are responsible for checking facts, finding reliable sources for, and making a critical examination of any work that is submitted.

All use of AI tools or content must be acknowledged or cited. If you do not acknowledge or cite your use of an AI tool, what you submit will be considered a form of cheating, as outlined in Academic Integrity Policy (UAM 6,502). 

Please make sure to use the appropriate guidelines for acknowledging/citing generative AI in your assignments. 

Additional Considerations

 

Generative AI use is allowed for certain purposes and/or assignments [Sample statement]

This course assumes that all work submitted by students — which includes all process work, drafts, brainstorming artifacts, final works — will be generated by the students themselves, working individually or in groups as directed by course assignment instructions. This policy indicates the following constitute violations of academic honesty and “cheating”:  any unauthorized use of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT), as outlined in the University's Academic Integrity Policy.

Some assignments may allow for the use of the authorized use of such tools, but will be expressly described in the assignment instructions. For the purposes of those assignments, specific instructions will be provided on the use of generative AI tools regarding the type of work being allowed (i.e. brainstorming, drafts, final works, etc.). Please email the instructor for any questions or concerns.

 

Generative AI use is not allowed [Sample language] 

For the purposes of  this course, any and all uses of generative artificial intelligence (AI)/large language model tools (such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, etc.) will be considered a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy (UAM 6,502), specifically the prohibition against cheating or submitting work that is not your own. 

This applies to all assessments in the course, including case studies, written assignments, discussions, quizzes, exams, and problem sets. 

The following actions are prohibited:

  • Submitting any part or all of an assignment statement or test questions as part of a prompt to a large language model AI tool.
  • Incorporating any part of an AI-written response into a submitted assignment or assignment component.
  • Using AI to summarize or contextualize reading assignments or source materials.
  • Submitting your own work for this class to a large language model AI tool for iteration or improvement.