Statements in Your Syllabus
It’s virtually impossible to ban AI outright. Today, AI is incorporated into common productivity tools, built-in to mobile phone operating systems, and promoted as the top result in some search engines, meaning AI could be used without the common LLM-based conversation many of us automatically think of when we hear “AI.” Incorporating a statement about the proper use of AI in your course syllabus is incredibly important.
Quinnipiac University does not have a set policy regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence, which means that professors can establish the standards for using and/or prohibiting AI in class or on assignments.
Refer to the syllabus examples below for guidance in crafting a statement. Please consider sharing your syllabus statement with us to include on this page as a resource for others.
Academic Integrity
Office of Academic Integrity
The Office of Academic Integrity serves as the central office for all academic integrity administration, in all Quinnipiac colleges and schools except for the School of Law and Netter School of Medicine.
Contact Christine Voth, Coordinator of Academic Integrity with any Academic Integrity related questions or concerns.
Academic Integrity Policy
Unauthorized use of generative AI is a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy. If a professor has prohibited the use of AI tools for assignments, doing so falls under the category of “unauthorized possession or use of devices or materials.” Failure to cite AI sources or document the use of generative AI according to assignment instructions constitutes plagiarism according to the Academic Integrity Policy, as it involves “presenting as one’s own any work that has been prepared in whole or in part by someone other than oneself”.
If a professor has reasonable grounds to suspect a student has been using AI on an assignment, then under the Academic Integrity Policy’s “must report” standard, they need to file an academic integrity report form detailing their evidence.
Reasonable grounds include:
- assignment material that differs in syntax and vocabulary from the student’s usual writing style
- wildly off-topic or nonsensical content
- incorrect content or citations
- dramatic changes in the caliber of student performance
Other signs of academic dishonesty can include:
- format changes in text size, font, and color
- in-text hyperlinks that are not appropriate to the assignment or cited
- use of sources students are unlikely to have accessed on their own
- out of date sources, data, or arguments
- unusual phrasing or spelling
View the full Academic Integrity Policy →
SafeAssign is available to use within Blackboard. Learn more about SafeAssign →
Academic Integrity Reports
Submitting a report provides a safety net for the instructor and the student and allows the Office of Academic Integrity a proper foundation to mediate a joint resolution. Instructors should avoid preemptive punitive measures and instead allow for the official process, which includes the student’s right to respond, to be completed. If the violation occurs on the final exam or final paper, instructors should submit a grade of “I” [Incomplete] until a case has been filed and adjudicated.