Possible Policies for GAI in Classrooms*
Below are some potential approaches for guiding the use of GAI (generative artificial intelligence) in the classroom that professors may choose to adapt for their own purposes. These approaches are divided into six different categories; the categories reflect the different areas of concern professors may have about GAI. Since some professors may be more concerned with different aspects/consequences of GAI, they may choose to emphasize those aspects over others.
For instance, some professors may be more concerned with the ethics of using GAI, while others might be more concerned with ensuring transparency surrounding its use. (Transparency would require students to cite and/or annotate whenever they use GAI in their work.) Still others might be more concerned with setting specific guidelines as to how it can be used, while others may want to prohibit its use entirely. Different tones are also presented; some reflect a soft approach to student use, while others a more consequence-focused approach.
The suggested language provided in the following sections is meant to help generate ideas for possible approaches to classroom policies. It is not meant to be definitive, just a starting point.
The six categories include:
Important Reminder to Include in All Classroom Policies:
All policies should remind students that policies governing the use of GAI will differ from class to class, so they should not assume that what may be acceptable or unacceptable use in one class will apply to another. Potential language could be:
“This policy applies to this class only. Please check with instructors of your other classes to see what their AI policies may be. The guidelines for this class do not automatically apply to other classes.”
*The suggested policies contained in this document were gleaned from the document: “Syllabi Policies for Generative AI Tools”. It contains policies from university professors across the U.S. and was compiled by Lance Eaton. It is open to everyone to view, to submit their own policy ideas, and to use/adapt the policies included. You can view the entire document at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RMVwzjc1o0Mi8Blw_-JUTcXv02b2WRH86vw7mi16W3U/edit#heading=h.1cykjn2vg2wx
