Gen AI and Your Syllabus
We recognize that some instructors may want to allow, or even encourage, their students to use generative AI technologies, and others may want to prohibit their use. The following suggested statements are intended to help you shape the message you provide to your students on a course syllabus and/or on assignment instructions to reinforce a shared understanding of what is, and is not, allowed. This is an important conversation to have with your students so that everyone is clear about generative AI use in your class. If you are allowing or disallowing AI tools in your course, clarify for the students why you made this decision and how AI assistance supports or, alternatively, negatively impacts the pedagogical goals of the course or assignment.
Can Use Generative AI Tools
In indicating on a syllabus and/or assignment instructions that students may use generative
AI, the instructor should decide to what degree and on which assignments the students
may use these tools. This is similar to indicating to students when they may collaborate,
and to what degree, with their classmates, and when an assignment should be solely
their own work.
Here are some suggested example statements that might be used, combined, or adapted for your course or assignments:
- Students are encouraged to make use of technology, including generative AI tools, to contribute to their understanding of course materials.
- Students may use artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI, in this course as learning aids or to help produce assignments. However, students are ultimately accountable for the work they submit.
- Students must submit, as an appendix with their assignments, any content produced by an artificial intelligence tool, and the prompt used to generate the content.
- Any content produced by an artificial intelligence tool must be cited appropriately. Many organizations that publish standard citation formats now provide information on citing generative AI (e.g., MLA: https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/ ).
- Students may choose to use generative AI tools as they work through the assignments in this course; this use must be documented in an appendix for each assignment. The documentation should include what tool(s) were used, how they were used, and how the results from the AI were incorporated into the submitted work.
Note: Some generative AI applications may require a subscription fee. Please consider offering students a choice to opt-out of using a system if they have concerns about the cost, privacy, security or other issues related to the technology.
If you are indicating that students can using generative AI tools, it is important to include in your syllabus statement two reminders to students about these tools:
- AI can lead to incorrect information and non-existent sources, so it is important that you verify any information you use from an AI tool is correct and cite it.
- Do not input any personal information into AI tools.
Can Use Generative AI in Certain Instances or Specific Ways
It is important to be very specific about the boundaries and limitations of artificial
intelligence use in completing course work, if there are boundaries you want to set.
Please consider the difficulty for students, who are trying to navigate AI rules in
multiple courses before setting up elaborate limitations in your course. However,
there are reasons why you may want, or need, students to engage with generative AI
tools in a specific way or on a specific assignment.
Here are some suggested example statements that might be used, combined, or adapted for your course or assignments:
- Students may use artificial intelligence tools for creating an outline for an assignment, but the final submitted assignment must be original work produced by the individual student alone.
- Students may not use artificial intelligence tools for taking tests, writing research papers, creating computer code, or completing major course assignments. However, these tools may be useful when gathering information from across sources and assimilating it for understanding.
- Students may not use artificial intelligence tools for taking tests in this course, but students may use generative AI tools for other assignments.
- Students may use the following, and only these, generative artificial intelligence tools in completing their assignments for this course: …. No other generative AI technologies are allowed to be used for assessments in this course. If you have any question about the use of AI applications for course work, please speak with the instructor.
If you are indicating that students can using generative AI tools, it is important to include in your syllabus statement two reminders to students about these tools:
- AI can lead to incorrect information and non-existent sources, so it is important that you verify any information you use from an AI tool is correct and cite it.
- Do not input any personal information into AI tools.
Cannot Use Generative AI
In indicating on a syllabus that students may not use generative artificial intelligence,
the instructor should decide to what degree and on which assignments the students
may not use these tools. This is similar to indicating to students when they may,
or may not, collaborate with classmates and to what degree. Note that as AI tools
become incorporated into commonly used systems (e.g., Google docs), it will become
increasingly important to be clear about what functionalities are allowed or disallowed
in your course.
Here are some suggested example statements that might be used, combined, or adapted for your course or assignments:
- The use of generative AI tools or apps for assignments in this course, including tools like ChatGPT and other AI writing or coding assistants, is prohibited.
- The knowing use of generative AI tools, including ChatGPT and other AI writing and coding assistants, for the completion of, or to support the completion of, an examination, term test, assignment, or any other form of academic assessment, may be considered an academic offense in this course.
- Representing as one’s own an idea, or expression of an idea, that was AI-generated may be considered an academic offense in this course.
- Students may not copy or paraphrase from any generative artificial intelligence applications, including ChatGPT and other AI writing and coding assistants, for the purpose of completing assignments in this course.
- The use of generative artificial intelligence tools and apps is strictly prohibited in all course assignments unless explicitly stated otherwise by the instructor in this course. This includes ChatGPT and other AI writing and coding assistants. Use of generative AI in this course may be considered use of an unauthorized aid, which is a form of cheating.
- This course policy is designed to promote your learning and intellectual development and to help you reach course learning outcomes.
This information was created August 2023
Special thanks to the University of Toronto for allowing us to use much of their content.