The new generation of generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, makes it easy to quickly generate content. Students will be tempted to use this content to complete their assignments. When this is done without faculty permission, this can lead both to academic honesty violations as well as robbing students of the learning process.
Champlain College’s academic honesty policy states clearly that:
“The student’s work must match the instructor’s intended purpose for an assignment.”
As faculty, it is important that we be clear as to our intended purpose as well as providing clear instructions around citations and AI-generated content. This better informs students and avoids confusion when there is a suspected academic honesty violation.
The syllabus is the proper place to initially capture this information. It is important that you also review it both at the beginning of the semester and reiterate it when framing or describing relevant assignments.
The language included here is meant to be examples only. Adjust it as needed for your own courses.
A simple catch-all statement that will work for many faculty is (provided by Amanda Crispel, CCM):
“The use of any AI tool, like ChatGPT, must be cited for any assignment where it has been used, and may not be used where specifically not allowed by the instructor.”
For your own courses, you may find that you need something more specific. Here are some examples for different circumstances.
NO USE OF AI TOOLS
“AI Content generation tools (such as ChatGPT, etc…) are not permitted for any work, or phase of work, in this class. Using them may interfere with your progress as an independent thinker and your achievement of the course’s outcomes. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of Champlain’s Academic Honesty Policy.”
LIMITED USE OF AI TOOLS
“During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of Champlain’s Academic Honesty Policy.”
FULL USE OF AI TOOLS
“AI writing tools such as ChatGPT are welcome in this class, provided that you cite when and how you use the tool. You will be provided with examples of how to cite your use of this tool in your writing.”
EXAMPLE CITATION:
“The author generated this text in part with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model using the following prompts: “______” and “_____”. Upon generating draft language, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for this content.”
None of these statements is required. As a faculty member, you may choose to ban AI content generation, use it for specific purposes, or allow it generally. The College does not have a policy banning all use of AI. However, you are encouraged to consider what policy is the best fit for your outcomes, students’ learning and information literacy, and academic integrity. We highly recommend that your syllabus clearly reflect your stance.
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