The great Bob Dylan once said, “The times — they are a-changin’,” and nothing reflects that more in our modern age than the integration of artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Azure into our day-to-day lives. Because of this, many higher-education institutions, including Southern Utah University, have had to adjust their plagiarism and academic integrity statements to reflect these new technologies and the effect they can have in the classroom.
According to SUU Policy 6.33, which lays out the rules for academic integrity at the university, “Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.” Covered by this policy are all types of academic dishonesty applicable to the university, including cheating on exams, copyright infringement and plagiarism.
But with the recent boom in AI technology, where does it fit into this policy? SUU has stated, “At SUU, it is up to each faculty member and department to determine how, why, and when AI tools can be used as part of a student’s coursework. CTI [Center for Teaching Innovation] encourages faculty to discuss examples of appropriate uses of AI-generated materials and what uses would be considered a violation of SUU Academic Integrity policy.” In addition to this, they give three examples of what faculty members’ stance on AI could look like, which can be found here.
Ultimately, it is up to the student to make sure they are aware of their professor’s stance on the use of these technologies as they begin their new semester. Professor guidelines and expectations on AI can be found in each course’s syllabus.
Author: Aidan Mortensen
Photo Courtesy of Southern Utah University
Editor: Anna Mower
news@suunews.net
