This page provides examples you can adapt to articulate your expectations for whether and how students may use AI in your course. Stating your expectations in both the syllabus and assignment instructions helps students avoid unauthorized use of AI.
Sample course-level AI policies
Since there is no university-wide AI policy, discussing your expectations in the syllabus and on the first day of class can help promote academic integrity and clarify how your course might differ from other courses students may be taking at the same time.
Below you will find two basic types of AI-related course policy: conditional use, which defines how students are allowed to use AI; and prohibiting any AI use. You will also find guidance for co-creating a policy with your students.
A conditional use policy stipulates when and how students may use AI in the course. This approach structures AI use so that it supports, rather than undermines, student learning. Adapt the sample syllabus language below for your teaching context.
Generative AI tools can be valuable aids for learning when used thoughtfully, but they can also impede your development of critical thinking, reasoning, and communication skills. In this course, AI use is permitted in specific assignments and activities to help you learn how to leverage these tools professionally while building your own capabilities. Pay attention to assignment instructions for information about whether and how you may use AI. Using AI in other ways will be considered academic misconduct; if you have any questions about this policy, please contact me.
Remember: AI results can be biased and inaccurate. It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you use from AI is accurate. Additionally, many AI tools will use your data for other purposes, so be careful not to share copyrighted materials, original work, or personal information.
A policy prohibiting AI use stipulates that students may not use AI in the course and offers some explanation as to why. Remember: While instructors have the right to prohibit the use of AI tools, no technology can reliably identify unauthorized student use of AI. Adapt the syllabus language below for your teaching context.
The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop your creativity, critical thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Using AI tools may limit your capacity to develop these skills and to meet the learning goals of this course. For these reasons, all work submitted for this course must be your own. Any use of AI tools will be considered academic misconduct. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact me.
Inviting students into the process of defining your course’s AI policy can deepen their understanding of, and commitment to, the policy. Community agreements are statements that guide how members of a classroom community (students, instructors, teaching assistants) aspire to work and interact with each other. While it is possible to start from scratch when developing community agreements, you can also expedite the process by sharing a draft with students and inviting them to offer suggestions for revisions.
Sample assignment-level AI use policies
Articulating your expectations regarding AI use in assignment instructions helps foster a culture of academic integrity by providing students with more clarity about what is permissible. Here is some sample language you can adapt to state your expectations for students’ use of AI in assignments:
Articulating when and how students may use AI in an assignment structures their use of AI to support learning and academic integrity. Adapt the language below to fit your assignment.
In this assignment, you may use AI tools to [insert tasks]. AI tools may not be used to [insert tasks]. If you use AI to complete this assignment, you must briefly (1–2 sentences) identify the tool you used and describe how you used it, and how you evaluated, modified, and verified any AI-generated content or information. Failure to disclose AI use will be considered a violation of academic integrity standards. Here is an example of how I would like you to disclose your use of AI: [insert example here].
Remember: AI results can be biased and inaccurate. It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you use from AI is accurate. Additionally, many AI tools will use your data for other purposes, so be careful not to share copyrighted materials, original work, or personal information.
In this example, Hsinmei Lin (Lecturer, UW Bothell) sets the context for the role AI should play (and shouldn’t play) in her assignment:
“The goal of this two-fold assignment is for you to go through the critical thinking process of how to create an original research topic on your own. Instead of using AI to brainstorm for you, you will be the researcher who is an insider of the concept of culture (you’ve read quite a few readings and engaged in deep conversations on the concept already!) and has the full control to create a research project that interests you personally and/or professionally. Once you decide on your research topic, you will create a research question that will later be reviewed with UW Copilot as your research partner to continue to develop and revise the question to meet the requirements.”
There are often good reasons to prohibit students from using AI in particular assignments. To promote academic integrity, explain to students why not using AI in the assignment benefits them. Remember: While instructors have the right to prohibit the use of AI tools, no technology can reliably identify unauthorized student use of AI. Adapt the language below for your assignment.
This assignment is designed to help you develop your ability to [insert learning goal or skill here (e.g., analyze/apply/articulate)]. Because AI tools can replace rather than support this learning process, their use is not permitted for this assignment. If you are uncertain whether a specific tool or technology qualifies as generative AI or whether its use is permitted, please consult with me before using it.
Drafting your own AI-related course policies
If the sample policies above don’t fit your teaching context, you may prefer to craft your own policies. Consider the following as you begin the process of drafting your own policy:
- How: How will students be allowed to use AI tools in your course? What steps should students take to document their AI use?
- Why: What is behind your expectations? How do your expectations relate to students’ learning?
- Consequences: How will you respond if students do not comply with your expectations?
- Questions: How should students reach out if they have questions about your expectations?
- Data and Privacy Concerns: Currently, the only free UW-supported generative AI tool for students is UW’s version of Microsoft Copilot, which provides added data and privacy protections. Instructors who require the use of other AI tools are encouraged to communicate data and privacy safety information to students.
Academic integrity and AI
Students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity. The University communicates with students about the importance of knowing and understanding the expectations of both the University and specific instructors regarding academic standards (see for example the UW Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct’s Academic misconduct page). If you have prohibited the use of AI-based tools and suspect that a student has engaged in academic misconduct, you can make a report to your campus Student Conduct office (Bothell, Seattle, Tacoma).
Learn more about how to create a culture of academic integrity