Students

Your first responsibility is to uphold academic integrity, per the OU Student Code of Conduct. Your individual instructor and the specific assignment determine the rules for using GenAI in your coursework.

Rule #1: Ask Your Instructor

• Default Policy: Always assume that the use of generative AI is prohibited unless your instructor explicitly allows it in the syllabus or assignment instructions.
• When in Doubt, Ask: If the syllabus is unclear, or if you want to propose a way to use GenAI on an assignment, talk to your instructor before you start.
• Course-Specific Rules: Understand that GenAI use may be prohibited in one course, permitted with acknowledgment in another and even required in a third. It’s also possible that one course may allow varying levels of permitted GenAI from one assignment to the next. Your compliance is based on the rules for that specific course.

Rule #2: Acknowledge and Cite

If you are permitted to use a GenAI tool for an assignment, transparency is required.

• Document Use: Be prepared to document how you used the tool. This includes:
• The name of the tool (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot Chat).
• What you asked it to do (your original prompt).
• What you did with the output (e.g., used it for brainstorming, edited it for clarity, used an outline).
• Cite Appropriately: You must cite GenAI whenever you use its output in your work, whether for text, code or images. Consult the latest guidelines for your citation style (e.g., AP, APA, MLA, Chicago) on how to properly attribute GenAI.
• To ensure transparency and maintain academic integrity, it is recommended practice to save all chat transcripts from GenAI tools used for assignments. Be sure to retain the full record, including all prompts, inputs and outputs, should your instructor request it.

Rule #3: You are Responsible

You are the author, and you are accountable for everything you submit.

• Fact-Check Everything: GenAI tools can "hallucinate" - they often present false or misleading information, invented facts or fabricated citations with high confidence. You must critically evaluate and verify all information, sources and data from a GenAI tool against reliable, external sources.
• Check for Bias and Accuracy: GenAI models are trained on large datasets that can contain and perpetuate societal biases. Review the output for any harmful, unfair or inaccurate biases.

GenAI offers incredible potential to enhance your learning, but only when used to supplement your effort, not replace it. Over-reliance on GenAI can hinder your development of essential critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Always check with your instructor first before using a GenAI tool in any of the following suggested ways:

The Core Principle: Protect Your Learning. If you let an GenAI do the heavy lifting of critical thought, you are sacrificing the opportunity to develop the skills that will be crucial for your degree and future career.

Using GenAI responsibly extends beyond the classroom. Protect yourself, your data and the OU community by understanding the limitations and risks of these tools.

Data Privacy and Security

The key difference between using OU's institutional AI tools (like a university-licensed Copilot or Gemini) and personal/public tools (like free ChatGPT or a personal Microsoft/Google account) is Data Privacy and Security.

• OU Institutional Tools: Your data and chat history are private and not used to train the underlying AI model. This makes them secure and compliant for use with OU-related assignments and non-confidential internal data.
• Personal/Public Tools: Your data may be used to train the public models, meaning your conversations are not private or secure. They are unauthorized for use with any confidential, personal or sensitive university data.

In short: Always use the institutional version for academic work to protect your information and maintain compliance.

Publicly available GenAI tools often use your conversations and inputs to train their models.

• DO NOT enter confidential, restricted or sensitive University or personal information into these tools. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Personally Identifiable Information (PII) like your OU ID number, address or social security number.
• Financial or health records.
• Proprietary research data or confidential information from your work or internship.
• Course materials, drafts or internal communications that are not already public.
• Course materials, such as assignments, instructions and forum posts, should not be uploaded or input into a GenAI tool without faculty consent.

Critical AI Literacy

Generative AI is a technology that is constantly evolving. Develop your AI Literacy to be a confident and ethical user.

• Understand Limitations: Know that these tools are predictive models, not authoritative knowledge bases. They generate responses based on patterns in data, which is why they sometimes invent facts or perpetuate biases.
• Be a Critical Evaluator: Treat GenAI output as a first draft or a source to be treated with suspicion, just like an unverified website. Your critical judgment remains the most important part of the academic process.

Next Steps

• Review the academic integrity policy provided in each of your course syllabi.
• Experiment with different AI tools to understand their unique strengths and weaknesses.
• Use GenAI to enhance the phases of your work that don't directly assess your core learning (e.g., brainstorming, outlining, light editing).