The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (or GenAI) is present in all teaching modalities and levels. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot, and Grammarly are embedded into our everyday software and everyday lives. The same can be said for our students, who have been making decisions about when, how, and why they use GenAI tools to support (or replace) their learning since late 2022.
This reality means that every syllabus in every course requires clear academic integrity and AI use statements. This is especially important for those teaching at an institution that has not yet established AI use policies for their campus or for those teaching at institution that has opted to leave AI use decisions at the program or course level. When they are designed thoughtfully, an AI policy statement in your syllabus is an extension of your personal teaching philosophy and a way to set expectations for learning for your students.
The syllabus has always been a crucial document in higher education courses. It functions as a contract you make with your students, a statement of your values, and a risk reducer to prevent misconduct. For students navigating multiple courses that often have conflicting expectations, course syllabi are a stable point of reference they can rely on.
When it comes to AI, vague or missing syllabus language creates space for student misconceptions, unintentional misconduct, imbalanced enforcement, and potential conflict. A clear syllabus statement about AI reduces that confusion and anxiety and establishes shared norms before problems arise.
Your syllabus is an opportunity to:
- Explain why certain uses of AI align (or conflict) with your learning goals
- Make your values about authorship, agency, transparency, and learning visible
- Acknowledge gray areas surrounding AI and invite students to ask questions
Design Principles for an Effective AI Syllabus Policy
The following principles can help you craft new syllabus policy language or adapt existing language to best support your students as you navigate the use of Generative AI in your course.
Your AI course policy should explicitly reference:
- Institutional academic integrity and AI policies
- Relevant disciplinary or professional ethical standards regarding Generative AI
This tells your students that course expectations are grounded in shared expectations and not your personal preferences. Any course-level AI and/or academic integrity policy should align with institutional guidance provided by your campus. If your institution provides required or recommended syllabus language for AI use, your course policies should adopt and adapt that approved language.
Students need clear examples of what AI use is and is not permitted. Ideally, your examples will tie directly into aspects of your course. The more specific you are, the less likely students will rely on their gut instinct or interpret your examples incorrectly.
Effective policies frame AI as a way to support students as they learn, not as a shortcut! Strong policies also remind students that generative AI requires active user judgement and transparent use. Emphasize the importance of responsible disclosure rather than policing or detecting. This helps students see themselves as partners in maintaining the spirit of academic integrity in your course.
Your AI policy is a chance to remind students that they will always be fully responsible for all aspects of their submitted work. Using AI does not transfer their accountability or authorship to someone else (or something else). This mirrors expectations they will encounter in their various professional fields.
AI tools and norms are constantly evolving, so your policy should acknowledge the existing uncertainty around these tools. Take a moment to invite student questions about use and encourage proactive communication when they are unsure about disclosure. If you are planning to provide additional assignment-level guidance, be sure to signal that for students in your larger policy as well.
Sample Syllabus Language and Resources
You do not need to start from scratch when crafting a policy. While you should always plan to adopt and adapt language from your particular campus, feel free to review other examples across a range of approaches (permissive, moderately permissive, and restrictive) and disciplines:
- Syllabi Policies for AI Generative Tools: This resource is created by Lance Eaton to share and assist other educators in the development of their own AI policies.
- Annotated, abridged syllabus policy examples: Daniel Stanford’s annotated, abridged copy of the AI syllabus policy repository established by Lance Eaton.
Craft Your Own Policy
Interested in crafting your own policy? Try our AI prompts to draft and revise course-level and assignment-level AI Policy language:
This prompt is inspired by Stanford’s Worksheet for Creating Your AI Course Policy. Copy the prompt below and paste it into your preferred Generative AI tool to begin crafting your guidance. Be sure to revise any outputs thoroughly for your personal and institutional context:
“You are helping me draft a clear, learning-centered AI policy for my online course. Please follow these design principles throughout this process:
Align to standards: The policy should align with institutional academic integrity policies and relevant disciplinary or professional standards.
Be specific: The policy should clearly guide student behavior and include examples of what is and is not allowed.
Preserve student agency: Frame AI as a learning aid, not a shortcut. Emphasize transparency and disclosure rather than detection.
Emphasize accountability: Reinforce that students are responsible for their learning, decisions, and submitted work.
Acknowledge the gray: Recognize that AI tools and expectations evolve and invite questions and ongoing dialogue.
Use an interview format to gather what you need. Ask one question at a time, wait for my response, and adapt follow-up questions as needed. Do not ask me to provide course details upfront, elicit them through the interview.
When the interview is complete, draft a concise, syllabus-ready AI policy statement (2–5 short paragraphs) based on my responses and the design principles above.
Begin the Interview
Course context and goals
What is the course title, level (undergraduate or graduate), and discipline?
What are the most important skills, habits of mind, or competencies students are expected to develop?Assignments and assessments
What kinds of work do students complete in this course (e.g., papers, projects, discussions, exams, problem sets)?
Which assignments are most important for demonstrating students’ own thinking or skill development?Alignment with standards
Are there institutional policies, accreditation requirements, or professional or disciplinary norms that should shape how AI is used in this course?
If you are unsure, how is AI generally viewed or used in your field or profession?Your stance on AI in learning
How do you view generative AI tools in relation to learning in this course?
Where might AI use support learning, and where might it interfere with your course goals?Specific boundaries and examples
For each major assignment type:When, if at all, should AI tools be allowed (e.g., brainstorming, outlining, revising, debugging)?
When should AI use be limited or not allowed?
Please provide at least one example of acceptable AI use and one example of unacceptable use.
Transparency and disclosure
How should students acknowledge or disclose their use of AI tools?
What level of transparency feels appropriate for this course?Student accountability
What responsibilities do students retain when using AI (e.g., accuracy, originality, ethical judgment, authorship)?
How does this connect to their development as learners or future professionals?Accuracy and critical evaluation
How should students be expected to evaluate, verify, or question AI-generated content in this course?Privacy and ethical considerations
Are there limits on entering personal, confidential, proprietary, or course-restricted materials into AI tools that students should know about?Acknowledging uncertainty and change
How would you like to communicate that AI tools and expectations may change over time?
How can students be encouraged to ask questions or seek clarification?
Final Step
Using my responses, draft a clear, student-facing AI policy statement suitable for inclusion in an online course syllabus. The tone should be supportive, transparent, and instructional, not punitive, and should reflect the design principles listed at the start.”
Even a strong syllabus policy cannot anticipate every learning context, especially when assignments differ in purpose and format. Providing assignment-by-assignment AI guidance in addition to an AI course policy helps answer practical questions like
- Can AI be used for this assignment?
- For what purpose?
- What must be disclosed?
- How should that disclosure occur?
Copy the prompt below and paste it into your preferred Generative AI tool to begin crafting your guidance. Be sure to revise any outputs thoroughly for your personal and institutional context:
“You are helping me draft clear, assignment-specific guidance on AI use for one assignment in my course. This guidance should complement (not repeat) my existing course-level AI policy and translate it into concrete expectations for this specific assignment.
Use an interview format. Ask one question at a time, wait for my response, and adapt follow-up questions as needed. Do not assume details—elicit them through the interview.
When the interview is complete, produce student-facing assignment guidance that clearly answers:
Can AI be used?
For what purpose(s)?
What must be disclosed?
How must it be disclosed?
The guidance should be written in plain language and suitable for inclusion directly in the assignment instructions.
Begin the interview
Assignment context
What is the assignment (title and brief description)?
What core skill(s) or learning outcome(s) is this assignment primarily meant to assess?Practice of core skills
Have students already practiced these core skills on their own earlier in the course, without AI support?
If yes, how does this assignment build on that practice?Fit between AI use and assessment goals
Would AI use support or undermine what this assignment is meant to assess?
Why?Appropriate stages for AI use
At which stage(s) of the assignment, if any, could AI use be appropriate (e.g., brainstorming, planning, drafting, revising, checking work)?
At which stage(s) should AI not be used?Purpose of allowed AI use
If AI is allowed at any stage, what specific purposes is it intended to serve (e.g., idea generation, feedback on clarity, code debugging)?
What purposes are explicitly not allowed?Disclosure expectations
What level of disclosure do you expect for this assignment?
What exactly should students disclose about their AI use (tools used, prompts, stages, extent)?Method of disclosure
How should students disclose their AI use (e.g., short statement, appendix, reflection, citation, prompt log)?
Where should this disclosure appear in their submission?Common misconceptions
What might students incorrectly assume about AI use on this assignment that you want to clarify explicitly?Connection to the syllabus policy
How does this assignment-level guidance connect back to your course-level AI policy?
Are there any course-wide rules or principles you want to reinforce here?Assessment and feedback
How will AI use (or non-use) factor into how the assignment is evaluated or discussed in feedback, if at all?Opportunities for questions
Before submitting, how will students have an opportunity to ask questions or seek clarification about AI use for this assignment?
Final step
Using my responses, draft concise, student-facing AI guidance for this assignment that:
Clearly states whether AI can be used and for what purpose
Specifies what must be disclosed and how
Anticipates common misunderstandings
Aligns with my syllabus AI policy
Reinforces student responsibility and learning goals
The tone should be clear, supportive, and instructional, not punitive.”
References
- Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning. (2024, December 11). GenAI syllabus statements: Supporting transparent conversations with students. The Ohio State University. https://drakeinstitute.osu.edu/news/2024/12/11/genai-syllabus-statements-supporting-transparent-conversations-students
- Inside Higher Ed. (2025, May 20). Experts weigh in: Is everyone cheating in college?https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/academics/2025/05/20/experts-weigh-everyone-cheating-college
- Inside Higher Ed. (2025, November 11). Faculty should lead AI usage conversations on college campuses. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2025/11/11/faculty-lead-ai-usage-conversations-college-campuses
- Legatt, A. (2025, September 3). AI is everywhere in higher ed. Where’s the AI governance? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivalegatt/2025/09/03/ai-is-everywhere-in-higher-ed-wheres-the-ai-governance/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- North Carolina State University, DELTA. (n.d.). Develop an AI syllabus statement. https://teaching-resources.delta.ncsu.edu/develop-an-ai-syllabus-statement/
- Annotated, abridged syllabus policy examples [Google Sheets]. (n.d.). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CfYfFe3Zp3vP2bioAM5MrW0yk1857R2SYJnKojD15tQ/edit
- Syllabus policies for generative AI tools [Google Docs]. (n.d.). https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RMVwzjc1o0Mi8Blw_-JUTcXv02b2WRH86vw7mi16W3U/edit
- Syllabus policy examples [Google Sheets]. (n.d.). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lM6g4yveQMyWeUbEwBM6FZVxEWCLfvWDh1aWUErWWbQ/edit
- Stanford, D. (n.d.). The best AI syllabus policies I’ve seen. Substack. https://danielstanford.substack.com/p/the-best-ai-syllabus-policies-ive
- Stanford University Teaching Commons. (n.d.). Creating your course policy on AI. https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-guides/artificial-intelligence-teaching-guide/creating-your-course-policy-ai
- Stanford University Teaching Commons. (n.d.). Worksheet for creating your AI course policy [PDF]. https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj27001/files/media/file/worksheet-for-creating-your-ai-course-policy.pdf
- University of Texas at San Antonio. (n.d.). Sample syllabus statements for student use of generative AI in coursework. https://utsa.screenstepslive.com/a/1904327-sample-syllabus-statements-for-student-use-of-generative-ai-in-coursework
- University of Washington Center for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Sample AI syllabus statements. https://teaching.washington.edu/course-design/ai/sample-ai-syllabus-statements/
- What is the Purpose of a Syllabus? (n.d.). McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, Princeton University. https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/node/2541
