Customize Your AI Syllabus Statement

Faculty Considerations for Syllabus Statement Customization

To customize your syllabus statement, consider these points to help you frame the use of AI in your course context.

1.  Anticipate how AI will affect your course, including how you and students may use it.

  • Consider the importance of AI literacy for students, for both professional readiness and academic performance.
  • Become familiar with AI tools’ functionality, such as ChatGPT.
  • Review better use cases for AI integration within your academic discipline.

2.  Become familiar with the Guidelines for Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at USF, including the risks associated with use and the limitations of AI output.

3.  Determine expected student permissions or limitations addressing the use of class lectures, materials, and recordings using AI tools.

4. Envision a general course policy for responsible AI use, allowing for adjustments at the assignment level. (The AI Assessment Scale (AIAS) provides a nuanced framework for integrating AI into educational assessments. USF Instructional Design is available to help you with this work.)

  • Through a lens of equity, determine your general expectations for students' use of AI tools, as well as possible consequences for their use outside your expectations.
    • Be aware that as embedded AI expands into a range of applications, it may not always be apparent to students when or if they are using AI functions.
    • Be aware that when AI output use is cited, it will not be clear how students have incorporated groups of AI output into their final work without an additional explanation of their process.
    • Be aware that prohibiting AI tools use or not providing clear expectations drives their use underground. This presents a significant equity issue, privileging students who have more sophisticated language abilities and/or are savvy AI tools users. These students will more likely ‘fly under the radar’ compared to students with less sophisticated language abilities (often language learners) and/or less familiarity with strategic AI tools use, who will more likely be identified and held accountable.
    • Be aware that in most cases, the use of AI tools will not be traceable in students’ written submissions. This situation can be mitigated by adapting assignments to manage AI use responsibly and accountably.
  • Consider asking students to co-develop the AI policy, engaging them to think critically about its use in the course.

5.  Consider recommendations for generative AI tools to fit your course.

  • Address the explicit and implicit bias [RS & InsideHigherEd] of AI platforms as educational resources, in terms of student access, cost, and source of content and output.  

6.  Review the three syllabus statement options and choose one to use for your syllabus.

  • Identify the purpose of your AI policy and how this information will be communicated to students, both through a syllabus statement and at intervals through the course. https://www.isophist.com/p/developing-your-genai-syllabus-policy
  • Customize your chosen syllabus statement to fit your course.
  • For students, be ready to clearly explain why you have chosen this AI policy and how it will be implemented through the course. Help students become aware of the limitations, bias, and risks associated with AI. As appropriate, consider ways that students can collaborate in course policy development, to address the responsible and ethical use of AI overall.