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Syllabus Statements on the Use of Generative AI

Many faculty are finding it important to include an explicit statement about whether or not students can use AI in their syllabus. Because generative AI is so ubiquitous now and embedded in programs that students regularly use, students don't always realize that using AI may count as cheating in a course. Providing a detailed explanation of what is allowed and how AI use must be cited/reported (and going over this in class) can prevent misunderstandings. 

Sample Syllabus Statements

Below are examples of different types of policies provided by Eastern faculty. 

A permissive policy:

You may use AI code generation tools, provided that your prompt is included as a comment in your code and clearly labeled as such. Code that uses concepts not covered in class or that does not have an AI prompt will not be accepted. You are strongly encouraged to use AI to explain coding examples. Note that while AI may be used on assignments, ultimately your understanding of the material (without the use of AI) will be evaluated on exams.

A middle of the road policy:

AI tools have advanced dramatically over the past few years. The use of these tools in my course is acceptable under certain conditions. If you plan on using AI tools in an assignment, you should contact the professor for approval prior to using the tool or submitting the work, properly cite the tools used, add a paragraph about how and why you used the tool, and provide the prompts that you utilized. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in a grade penalty and/or a referral to the department chair or academic misconduct committee (for details on the student code of conduct, please see the Student Misconduct Statement).

A restrictive policy:

All work submitted for this course must be your own. Use of generative AI tools is prohibited. If AI is detected in your assignments, it will be treated as academic misconduct. If you have questions about this policy or about academic misconduct, please feel free to contact the professor.

Additional Resources on Developing Syllabus Policies

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