Artificial Intelligence Language (Choose One)
For Instructors Using Turnitin
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY and ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Academic integrity is a core value of the University. It is essential to our scholarly and creative work and to our teaching. Students need your support if they are to develop an appreciation of academic culture and the value it places on citation as a means of tracing the history of intellectual contributions to research. The rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence (AI) makes clear communication to students of university-wide and course-specific academic integrity expectations especially important now. Taking small amounts of class time to explain your expectations and their connection to course learning goals can foster student engagement and motivate academic integrity. The Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS) supports faculty in promoting academic integrity and collaborates with schools and colleges to implement our policy for academic integrity developed in consultation with the University Senate. Please contact aio@syr.edu if you have questions.
Please copy and paste the “Required Syllabus Language” below into your syllabus exactly as it is written. The items provided in italics are instructions for faculty and should not be included in your syllabus. You must then choose one “Artificial Intelligence Language” statement that best represents your course needs.
Under the policy, instructors who seek to levy any grade penalty for a student for a suspected violation must first report the violation to the Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS) and wait to assign a final course grade until the suspected violation is reviewed and upheld or overturned.
Required Syllabus Language
As a pre-eminent and inclusive student-focused research institution, Syracuse University considers academic integrity at the forefront of learning, serving as a core value and guiding pillar of education. Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy provides students with the necessary guidelines to complete academic work with integrity throughout their studies. Students are required to uphold both course-specific and university-wide academic integrity expectations such as crediting your sources, doing your own work, communicating honestly, and supporting academic integrity. The full Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy can be found by visiting class.syr/edu, selecting, “Academic Integrity,” and “Expectations and Policy.”
Upholding Academic Integrity includes the protection of faculty’s intellectual property. Students should not upload, distribute, or share instructors’ course materials, including presentations, assignments, exams, or other evaluative materials without permission. Using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course material (e.g., Chegg, Course Hero) to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others, which are then presented as your own violates academic integrity expectations in this course and may be classified as a Level 3 violation. All academic integrity expectations that apply to in-person assignments, quizzes, and exams also apply online.
Students found in violation of the policy are subject to grade sanctions determined by the course instructor and non-grade sanctions determined by the School or College where the course is offered. Students may not drop or withdraw from courses in which they face a suspected violation. Any established violation in this course may result in course failure regardless of violation level.
Academic Integrity Syllabus Language (Choose One)
Syracuse’s academic integrity expectations extend to the fast-growing realm of artificial intelligence (AI) and represent the importance of understanding, exploring, and evaluating emerging technologies.
Artificial Intelligence cases may not be submitted to the Center for Learning and Student Success with AI-detection results as the only evidence of an Academic Integrity Violation.
Consider all course assignments and learning outcomes before choosing between the three artificial intelligence policies below for inclusion in your syllabus. Using and exploring artificial intelligence is an important aspect of understanding, exploring, and evaluating emerging technologies. Providing students scaffolded opportunities to use these tools, when possible, promotes information literacy, self-directed inquiry, and future career professionalism. If possible, provide opportunities for students to explore and practice with AI. Cases that involve suspected academic integrity violations for inappropriate use of artificial intelligence will not be investigated unless the course syllabus contains one of the three artificial intelligence statements provided below. Faculty may not write their own artificial intelligence statement or reference language from any option they did not choose.
Option 1: Zero tolerance for artificial intelligence use
All generative-AI tools are prohibited in this course because their use inhibits achievement of the course learning objectives. This policy applies to all stages of project and writing processes including researching, brainstorming, outlining, organizing, and polishing. Do not use Generative-AI tools to create any content (i.e., images and video, audio, text, code, etc.). If you have any questions about a feature and whether it is considered Generative-AI, ask your instructor.
Option 2: Some Artificial intelligence use
Based on the specific learning outcomes and assignments in this course, artificial intelligence is permitted on the following: [insert specific assignment, quiz, or exam names or permitted source-based AI tools (e.g., Grammarly) here]. See each assignment, quiz, or exam instructions for more information about what artificial intelligence tools are permitted and to what extent, as well as citation requirements. If no instructions are provided for a specific assignment, then no use of any artificial intelligence tool is permitted. Any AI use beyond that which is detailed in course assignments is explicitly prohibited except when documented permission is granted.
Option 3: Open Artificial Intelligence use
Based on the assignments in this course and our specified learning outcomes, the full use of artificial intelligence as a tool, with disclosure and citation, is permitted in this course. Students do not need to ask permission to use these tools before starting an assignment or exam, but they must explicitly and fully indicate which tools were used and describe how they were used.
Academic Integrity Online
For courses that include online assessments (tests, quizzes, etc.), maintaining academic integrity can be a challenge. The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) and the Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS) have developed some useful resources to help faculty develop effective online assessments. Some faculty have had success using Zoom as a proctoring tool for timed examinations. University Counsel has determined that using Zoom or other webcam-based proctoring approaches is not a violation of student privacy rights. Please let students know in advance if you plan to use any online proctoring methods. Instructors may wish to supplement the syllabus statement on academic integrity (above) with additional information on the conduct of online assessments. For example:
“All academic integrity expectations that apply to in-person quizzes and exams also apply to online quizzes and exams. In this course, all work submitted for quizzes and exams must be yours alone. Discussing quiz or exam questions with anyone during the quiz or exam period violates academic integrity expectations for this course.”
Instructors may also wish to include a statement warning students of the potential risks of using websites that that charge fees or require uploading of course materials to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others. For example:
“Using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course material (e.g., Chegg, Course Hero) to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others and present the work as your own violates academic integrity expectations in this course and may be classified as a Level 3 violation, resulting in suspension or expulsion from Syracuse University.”
Syllabus Statement, Guidelines and Consent Forms for Instructors Who Use Turnitin
In order to comply with University policies and federal and state law, including privacy and intellectual property law, instructors who plan to use the software program Turnitin for detection of potential plagiarism are required to notify students in advance of their intent to do so. Furthermore, instructors are required to use one of the two submission methods listed below. Failure to adhere to these policies may be taken into consideration when faculty interviewers review suspected academic integrity violations.
- Students submit their own papers or other assignments directly to Turnitin via Blackboard so that both student and instructor can view the results, OR
- Students sign a statement* giving consent for submission of their papers to Turnitin.
Instructors who use Turnitin should also include a syllabus statement informing students that they plan to use Turnitin and describing how they will use it. The example below is designed for courses in which the instructor allows students to submit their papers to Turnitin before the instructor does so. Instructors should tailor their syllabus statement to specify how they will use Turnitin in each course.
“This class will use the plagiarism detection and prevention system Turnitin. You will have the option to submit your papers to Turnitin to check that all sources you use have been properly acknowledged and cited before you submit the paper to me. I will also submit all papers you write for this class to Turnitin, which compares submitted documents against documents on the Internet and against student papers submitted to Turnitin at Syracuse University and at other colleges and universities. I will take your knowledge of the subject matter of this course and your writing level and style into account in interpreting the originality report. Keep in mind that all papers you submit for this class will become part of the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.”
*The consent statement should be signed and dated and should include language authorizing the instructor to submit student papers or assignments “to the plagiarism detection and prevention system Turnitin.” The consent statement should make clear that submitted student work will be compared to other student papers as well as to Internet documents and will become part of the Turnitin.com reference database, for example:
“By signing below, I give permission for the submission of all work I turn in for [COURSE NAME] to the plagiarism detection and prevention system Turnitin, which compares submitted documents against documents on the Internet and against student papers submitted to Turnitin at Syracuse University and at other colleges and universities. I understand that all assignments submitted for this class will become part of the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.”
To view the policy in its entirety, please visit: Academic Integrity: Expectations and Policy.