The Ohio State University ASC Office of Distance Education

Crafting Policy for Student Use of Artificial Intelligence

Crafting Policy for Student Use of Artificial Intelligence

Human holding technical-looking graphics and the letters "AI" in hands

This document provides guidance on writing policy language to share with your students to inform them how they are and are not allowed to make use of AI tools for completing work in your course. 

The following sections include an introduction to AI, COAM policies, considerations for instructors, citation and acknowledgement of AI Use, and sample statements that can be copied/pasted for your own syllabi or Carmen course pages. Guidance and suggestions appear in regular type, followed by proposed text in italicized format that can be used as sample policy language. 

What Counts as AI and the Use of AI

COAM Policies 

We recommend that you begin by informing students about the Committee on Academic Misconduct's policies about AI use. 

The OSU Committee on Academic Misconduct has provided the following  policy on the use of AI by students in academic courses: 

"All students have important obligations under the Code of Student Conduct to complete all academic and scholarly activities with fairness and honesty. Our professional students also have the responsibility to uphold the professional and ethical standards found in their respective academic honor codes. Specifically, students are not to use “unauthorized assistance in the laboratory, on field work, in scholarship or on a course assignment” unless such assistance has been authorized specifically by the course instructor. In addition, students are not to submit their work without acknowledging any word-for-word use and/or paraphrasing” of writing, ideas or other work that is not your own. These requirements apply to all students — undergraduate, graduate, and professional. 

"To maintain a culture of integrity and respect, these generative AI tools should not be used in the completion of course assignments unless an instructor for a given course specifically authorizes their use. Some instructors may approve of using generative AI tools in the academic setting for specific goals. However, these tools should be used only with the explicit and clear permission of each individual instructor, and then only in the ways allowed by the instructor." 

In accordance with this policy, in our course we will use (and not use) AI in the following ways. If you are not sure if a tool you wish to use is permitted for our course or you wish to use a tool for specific purpose you think does not violate the principles articulated here, please contact me to discuss it first.

Course-level Prohibition of Student Use of AI 

If students may not make any use of AI in your course, we recommend a statement along the following lines:

Because you will best accomplish the goals of this course by undertaking all activities and assessments without AI assistance, you are not permitted to use any AI tools in this course. If you are uncertain about any part of this policy or its application to any assignment or activity in the course, consult with me before proceeding. 

You may also wish to identify the specific tools, features, or assignments that are most likely to cause confusion or potential violations. 

Some of the tools and uses that are most likely to be an issue in this course, and which you should especially avoid include: 

  • [Tools]
  • [Features]
  • [Activities/Assignments] 

Course-level Permission for Student Use of AI 

If you want to permit students to use AI, it is important to provide clear and precise parameters about the kind of use you will permit, in order to avoid misunderstandings. This may vary by assignment and activity, and type of AI tool. (Note: for this step, the TILT framework for assignment design is helpful; focus on the Purpose and Task of the assignment, as well as the Criteria you will use to assess student work.)

When detailing for students when AI use is appropriate, we recommend that you address the following questions: 

  1. Which tools or types of tools?
  2. Which features of those tools?
  3. What assignments and activities?
  4. In what specific ways can they use AI for those assignments and activities?
  5. Are any features, assignments, or activities specifically off-limits for use in your course? 

Once you have determined the kind(s) of use students may make of AI in your course, compose your policy into a clear guidance statement for students. For a specific application of a given tool, we would recommend something like: 

As an exception to the default prohibition on using AI tools for this course, 

You may use [which tool(s) or types of tools]: 

  • [category+ examples + links when appropriate]
  • For the following assignments and activities and in the following ways:
    • [list individually or by group]
      • [clarify permitted uses]
  • However, uses like the following are still not allowed:
    • [clarify improper uses when you worry they will be common] 

Citation and Acknowledgement of AI Use

If you permit students to use AI tools in your course, it is essential to communicate clearly and consistently how such use should be handled both in terms of academic integrity and assignment-specific expectations. 

  • Direct students to follow the individual instructions of AI use.

    We highly recommend that instructors provide a general course statement that directs students to attend to individual assignment instructions for details about AI use. 

    Example language for a course-level policy: 

    AI use in this course varies by assignment. Please follow the AI-use instructions provided in each assignment description. When permitted, you must acknowledge your use of AI tools according to the guidelines below.

  • Provide assignment-level guidance 

    Because appropriate AI use can differ by task or discipline, we highly recommend that instructors include AI-use guidelines within each assignment description.

    These guidelines should: 

    • Specify whether AI use is permitted, limited or prohibited for that particular task
    • Describe how AI may be used appropriately (for example, brainstorming, grammar checking, etc.)
    • Explain why those guidelines are in place, for instance, to ensure authentic skill development, ethical considerations or assessment practices

    Example language for an assignment prompt: 

    For this reflective essay, you may use AI tools such as ChatGPT for brainstorming ideas but not for drafting or editing. This limitation is designed to support your development of personal voice and reflective writing skills.

  • Acknowledge and cite AI contributions

    It is important to inform students that they need to cite anything that comes from AI. Failure to reference AI sourced, non-original work can result in scholastic dishonesty. AI citations should provide clear and accurate information for each source and should identify where they have been used in students’ work. To help students acknowledge AI use, we recommend identifying:

    • The name of the specific AI tool used
    • The purpose of using the tool
    • The extent of AI influence on the final product
    • An explanation of how the human author reviewed and verified the AI output

    Encourage students to include this information in a short statement at the end of their assignment or within the reference section. 

    Example acknowledgement:

    I used ChatGPT (version 5, OpenAI, 2025) to brainstorm examples for paragraph two and to check grammar consistency. I reviewed and edited all content myself to ensure accuracy and originality.

  • External resource: 

    University of Minnesota provides considerations and guidance for citing sources in AI. They also provide comprehensive guidance for citing AI in different formats (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). Check this link for more information provided by University of Minnesota

 

Examples

Other OSU Resources