11 Syllabus Statements
Syllabus Statements
Reference this section to help build a coherent policy on the use of generative AI in your courses. Start with General Statements About AI Usage to communicate the extent to which AI use is permitted overall. If AI is allowed to any degree, review examples of transparency guidelines that describe citation and attribution practices. For additional inspiration, search for statement examples from faculty in your (or a near) discipline in a spreadsheet with entries from various universities.
General Statements about AI Usage
| Degree of AI Integration Permitted | Description | Example Syllabus Statements |
| AI Usage Prohibited | AI tools are not allowed for any assignments. | This course maintains a strict policy against the use of AI software in any aspect of the writing process. Students are expected to rely solely on their own cognitive abilities and academic skills when drafting, editing, and revising assignments. The course policy is in place to uphold the principle of individual academic achievement and to ensure that assessments accurately reflect each student’s independent learning and writing capabilities. This policy aligns with the UM System Student Code of Conduct 200.010.
(MU CWP)
Unless students are explicitly told otherwise, this course prohibits generative AI. Assignments aim to develop your skills. Maintain evidence of your work (drafts, notes, sources) to demonstrate originality. Violations of this policy will constitute academic integrity violations under University rules. (MU AI Ethics Committee).
The use of any form of Generative AI is not permitted in this course. The assignments have been designed to ensure that you personally develop and demonstrate the knowledge and skills associated with the learning outcomes laid out in the syllabus. To ensure that you can demonstrate ownership of the assignments you submit, you are encouraged to maintain clear evidence of your work (e.g., time-stamped drafts and notes; copies and links to source material). Any violation of these rules will be treated as academic dishonesty punishable under University rules. (Paige Ware & Jennifer Culver, Southern Methodist University) |
| Limited AI Usage Permitted | AI tools are allowed for specific assignments or tasks, as designated by the instructor, with proper citation. | Generative AI may be used with prior instructor permission and appropriate attribution. You may use Generative AI tools for productivity in this course. In class, we will cover how Generative AI is used within this discipline, including how to navigate its potential uses and abuses, how and when to attribute sources, and other developing topics. When using Generative AI, follow these parameters:
(Paige Ware & Jennifer Culver, Southern Methodist University)
AI Integration by Assignment: In this course, students are permitted to integrate AI into some of the substantive work of the course. Review individual assignments to determine permissible uses. Unless otherwise noted, you should be able to demonstrate how you contributed to an assignment. [Faculty add specific requirements for AI use. For example: you are required to keep drafts of assignments and generative AI logs that demonstrate how you used AI and what portion of an assignment’s content was generated by AI]. (“Syllabi and Assignment Icons”, Oregon State University)
In this course, AI software is permitted solely for brainstorming and idea generation purposes. Students are allowed to use AI tools to explore creative concepts, develop outlines, and generate initial ideas for their writing assignments. However, the actual writing, drafting, and editing processes must be completed without AI assistance to ensure that the final product reflects the individual student’s skills and understanding. (MU CWP) |
| AI Integration Allowed | AI tools can be used broadly with ethical guidelines and proper citation. | We encourage the use of AI software in this writing-intensive course, allowing students to leverage these tools for drafting and editing their assignments. However, students must provide transparent notes regarding the AI’s suggestions and corrections. This policy aims to foster collaboration between students and AI while emphasizing the importance of maintaining academic integrity and acknowledging external assistance.
(MU CWP)
Transparency: Generative AI may be used in this course. Proper citation is expected for all sources, however. Using generative AI tools in assignments requires following the attribution and transparency guidelines outlined in class. Failure to follow these guidelines will constitute an academic integrity violation under University rules. (MU AI & the Learning Environment Task Force Report)
Human-in-the-Loop: Generative AI may be used in this course. The content you submit is your responsibility. AI-generated content can be inaccurate, offensive, and biased. Be sure your work accurately reflects your understanding and avoids these pitfalls. (MU AI & the Learning Environment Task Force Report)
Generative AI will be integrated into this course. Assignments in this course have been purposefully designed to integrate Generative AI in support of the learning objectives. In class, we will discuss how Generative AI is used within this discipline, including how to navigate its potential uses and abuses, how and when to attribute sources, and other developing topics. (Paige Ware & Jennifer Culver, Southern Methodist University) |
Transparency Guidelines
Where AI usage is permitted to any degree, instructors may want to provide transparency guidelines pertaining to proper citation and attribution. Examples of such guidelines are below.
| Citation Format | Example Statement |
| In an Appendix | In this course, students shall give credit to AI tools whenever used, even if only to generate ideas rather than usable text or illustrations. When using AI tools on assignments, add an appendix showing (a) the entire exchange, highlighting the most relevant sections; (b) a description of precisely which AI tools were used (e.g. ChatGPT private subscription version or DALL-E free version), (c) an explanation of how the AI tools were used (e.g. to generate ideas, turns of phrase, elements of text, long stretches of text, lines of argument, pieces of evidence, maps of the conceptual territory, illustrations of key concepts, etc.); (d) an account of why AI tools were used (e.g. to save time, to surmount writer’s block, to stimulate thinking, to handle mounting stress, to clarify prose, to translate text, to experiment for fun, etc.). (ChatGPT and Generative AI Tools: Sample Syllabus Policy Statements, UT Austin Center for Teaching and Learning)
Students should acknowledge the use of AI as follows: “I acknowledge the use of AI in completing this assignment and would like to provide a brief explanation of how I utilized AI, specifically ChatGPT, as a tool to support my work. For this assignment, I employed ChatGPT to [describe the specific purpose or task]. To do so I crafted the following prompts: [List prompts used]” (Course AI Guideline Note, UNC Charlotte Center for Teaching and Learning) |
| In-Text | When you submit your assignment, I expect you to clearly attribute what text was generated by the AI tool (e.g., AI-generated text appears in a different colored font, quoted directly in the text, or use an in-text parenthetical citation).” (ChatGPT and Generative AI Tools: Sample Syllabus Policy Statements, UT Austin Center for Teaching and Learning) |
| In a Reference list (e.g. according to a style guide) | “Designers commonly use AI-content generation tools in their work. In this course, using AI-content generation tools is permitted and will be a normal and regular part of our creative process when it is used according to the below criteria. In this course, neglecting to follow these requirements may be considered academic dishonesty.
(1) For each assignment, you are required to include a paragraph that explains what AI content- generation tool you used, the dates you used it, and the prompts you used to generate the content according to the MLA style guide. (2) During critique, it is important to describe the precedents you used and how any source content was transformed. When showing or presenting images or other content you generated using an AI-tool, cite that image or content following the MLA style guide. If you need help referencing your creative work, contact me to collaborate.”
Cite any AI tools you use properly, following the citation style specified by the instructor. Provide the name of the AI tool, the date of access, the URL of the interface, and the specific prompt or query you used to generate the output. For example: Bing. “recent high quality instructional materials for teaching algebra to college students.” Accessed August 1, 2023. https://www.bing.com/chat. (Developing an AI Syllabus Statement for Your Course, NC State) |
Statement Examples by Discipline
This resource of example syllabus statements was created by Lance Eaton and originally shared through the POD Network. To access Lance’s Google Sheet with these statements as well as additional ones from MU and other institutions, please click here (log in with your MU account to access). Download to sort by course or discipline.
