Introduction

The university does not currently have a policy specifically regarding AI and student usage. Because there is no one-size-fits-all approach to AI, we encourage you to create a syllabus statement on how you want to approach AI in your classroom. Some faculty have decided that they consider it a violation of the academic integrity and consider it a form of plagiarism, while others are embracing it and using it in their classrooms; no matter your stance, set clear guidelines and expectations about usage in your course.

USER NOTE: The syllabi statements on this page were originally created on the UNO campus with the help of the AI Campus Consortium; a cross-campus group representating different academic colleges and units. While originally created for UNO, these examples can be used on any campus and are designed to help get you started in creating a policy for your classroom.

Why & How?

Students are looking for guidance when it comes to how and when they can use AI. In many cases, students are anxious to use AI because they fear faculty are going to assume they are using it to cheat, and they fear repercussions. Creating a syllabus statement with clear guidelines about your acceptance of AI (or lack there of) will help students understand if and when they can use AI in your course.

While we acknowledge the need to ensure academic integrity in your courses, we encourage you to focus on how you can incorporate positive aspects of academic integrity (developing trust and community) in your course and set clear expectations in your syllabus; this will create a positive learning environment and allow you to focus less on policing student behavior and more on teaching/interacting with your students

Figuring Out Where you Stand

You probably already know what your acceptance level is when it comes to student usage of AI in your course(s). Acceptance is a spectrum; where I fall on the spectrum is probably different than where you fall. In order to prepare students for AI in our course(s), we want to make sure we are clear about where we stand and what we will allow. When I think of acceptance of AI, I often think of it as a stop light:

RED - You do not want students to use AI in your course and see it as a violation of academic integrity.
YELLOW - You want to proceed with caution. You are okay with students using AI in some cases, but not others.
GREEN - You are embracing AI and want to integrate AI into your course(s) and assessments.

Figuring out where you fall on the spectrum is the first step in setting a policy for your course(s).

Personalizing Your AI Syllabus Statement

With the help of the UNO AI Campus Consortium, the following syllabi statements have been developed to provide guidance and a starting point for faculty who are deciding how generative AI will be used in their course(s). While these policies are designed to assist, we strongly encourage faculty to personalize the examples and language in the syllabus statement to better match their own course expectations and course content. Examples of how you could personalize the syllabus statement include:

Explaining why AI is permitted or restricted based on your viewpoint.
Providing specific, course-relevant examples of permitted and prohibited uses of AI.
Providing more specific information about permissible and prohibited AI use on individual assignments.
Clarifying consequences for violating the syllabus statement.
Outlining expectations for attributing AI use.
Connecting AI use to course learning objectives, including how it can support or hinder those goals.

Example Syllabi Statements

The examples below provide an example for three different approaches to AI use in courses.

RED: Courses where students are not allowed to use AI.
YELLOW: Courses where students are allowed to use AI in specific, designated ways throughout the course.
GREEN: Courses where students are allowed to use AI without restrictions

Example syllabus statement for course that fall in the RED ZONE

In this class, the use of generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, image generation tools, etc.) to complete assignments is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to, using generative AI to generate your assignment answers, edit or revise your assignments, or to analyze course materials you are asked to consume.

The goal of this course is to think critically, learn to solve problems, and build foundational skills that are important for you in your future careers. Using generative AI will hinder the development of these skills and undermine the learning objectives in this course.

Violating this policy will be treated as a violation of academic integrity and may result in a failing grade for the assignment or course. If you have questions about whether a specific tool or method is permissible, consult with me in advance.

Example syllabus statement 1 for courses that fall in the YELLOW ZONE

Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, image generation tools, etc.) can be valuable for learning, however, it is important that the use of AI tools does not replace learning or the development of foundational skills (e.g. critical thinking). Below are examples of allowed and prohibited uses of AI in this course. If you have questions about whether a specific tool or method is permissible, consult with me in advance.

In this class, the use of generative AI tools is permitted in the following circumstances:

Brainstorming ideas for projects or papers.
Studying for exams by generating summaries and practice questions.
Editing projects or papers to improve clarity and grammar.

The use of generative AI tools is prohibited in the following circumstances:

Drafting entire versions of assignments and turning it in without edits or personalization.
Editing or providing feedback on peers’ work.

Generative AI Attribution

Attribution is always required for AI use in this course. For any assignment in which you use AI, please use the provided table to exhaustively document how you used AI, what tool you used, and how the final product is a representation of something you created. AI use in this table should always be in alignment with the permitted uses above.

Unauthorized use of AI or failing to give the requested attribution may be a violation of academic integrity. For more information, refer to the Student Code of Conduct.

Generative AI Attribution
How did you use generative AI? (e.g. brainstorming, drafting, polishing, etc.)	What tool did you use? (e.g. ChatGPT, Dall-E, etc.)	How did you edit the output, or how is the final product a representation of something you created?	Please provide the conversation link if applicable.
Ex: Brainstorming	ChatGPT	Revised AI-generated ideas to better meet the learning objective.
Ex: Editing	Grammarly	Improved the grammar, but the contents of paper were still my own.

This table was created with inspiration from UNC’s Office of the Provost content on student generative AI usage guidance

Example syllabus statement 2 for courses that fall in the YELLOW ZONE

Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, image generation tools, etc.) can be valuable for learning, however, it is important that the use of AI tools does not replace learning or the development of foundational skills (e.g. critical thinking). Throughout this course, it will be clearly stated if and how AI is allowed or prohibited in each assignment. If you have questions about whether a specific tool or method is permissible, consult with me in advance.

Generative AI Attribution
Attribution is always required for AI use in this course. For any assignment in which you use AI, please provide a paragraph that answers the following questions:
Please share all the ways you used generative AI on this assignment (e.g. brainstorming, drafting, polishing, etc.), What tool did you use (e.g. ChatGPT, Dall-E, etc.)?, How did you edit the output, or how is the final product still a representation of something you created? Please provide the conversation link if applicable.

Unauthorized use of AI or failing to give the requested attribution may be a violation of academic integrity. For more information, refer to the Student Code of Conduct. As long as you submit these questions and are using AI in accordance with this policy, there will be no violation of UNO’s academic integrity policy.

Example syllabus statement for courses that fall in the GREEN ZONE

Generative AI can be a great collaborative tool that enhances your learning experience. The goal of allowing generative AI in this course is to develop important skills while still maintaining academic integrity. Some successful ways of using generative AI as a partner in this course include:

Generating summaries, practice questions, or explanations for studying.
Drafting initial versions of assignments. Human edit and improvement is required.
Brainstorming ideas for projects or papers.
Editing and polishing drafts to improve clarity and grammar.
Seeking guidance and suggestions when stuck on a problem.

While generative AI is allowed and can be helpful throughout this course, there will be assignments that require your own thought, personal reflection, or ask you to use skills that AI cannot produce well. AI will not be good at:

Giving your personal opinion.
Providing accurate research articles.
Generating detailed, error-free responses

It is crucial that you are thoughtful about your integration of AI into your work and always think critically about the output generative AI gives you, as it is known to produce biased, incomplete or inaccurate information.

Throughout this course, you will be responsible for ensuring your final submissions contain accurate information and reflect your own understanding and efforts.

Generative AI Attribution

While I am open to you using AI on assignments in this course, it is important that you are transparent in your use and provide proper attribution to the tools. For any assignment in which you use AI, please use the provided table to exhaustively document how you used AI, what tool you used, and how the final product is a representation of something you created. Failure to give proper attribution may be considered a violation of academic integrity

Generative AI Attribution
How did you use generative AI? (e.g. brainstorming, drafting, polishing, etc.)	What tool did you use? (e.g. ChatGPT, Dall-E, etc.)	How did you edit the output, or how is the final product a representation of something you created?	Please provide the conversation link if applicable.
Ex: Brainstorming	ChatGPT	Revised AI-generated ideas to better meet the learning objective.
Ex: Editing	Grammarly	Improved the grammar, but the contents of paper were still my own.

This table was created with inspiration from UNC’s Office of the Provost content on student generative AI usage guidance

NOTE: If you're wanting to create your own or you want to see what others are using for their syllabi? Check out Lance Eaton's working google doc, Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools or this Padlet that focuses on University Policies on Generative AI. The syllabi shared below are Creative Commons 4.0 By & Share Alike; feel free to use them in your own courses (and cite) or adapt them to fit your needs.