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Best Practice Suggestions

Practices Regarding Plagiarism and Cheating

  • Articulate your Academic Integrity policy on the first day of the semester ("syllabus day") by reviewing on your syllabus a clear statement of your policy and the consequences for violating it. You may find helpful the sample syllabus statements on this website, which includes sample policies on the use of generative AI.
  • Clearly describe the process you will use to identify violations of academic integrity. For example, how will you determine if a violation has occurred? What steps will you follow to make the determination? What are the consequences of violations to the policy? 
  • Integrate exercises into your curriculum to help students understand academic dishonesty. For example, have students complete a sourcing exercise in which they discuss how to quote verbatim, how to paraphrase or summarize, and how to use in-text citations. 
  • Include an assignment that is low-stakes (or ungraded) where students can receive feedback without penalty for violations of academic integrity. Have them re-write improperly presented material in order to correct what would otherwise be considered plagiarism or cheating. 
  • Reinforce your Academic Integrity policy and the penalties for violating the policy before each assignment is submitted through an "honesty pledge." The pledge should detail your academic integrity policy, which students read and sign. Research shows that such pledges are effective at decreasing violations in academic integrity while also improving rapport between faculty and students. 
  • If you are requiring students to take quizzes or exams online, consider having these proctored so that you can know if they open another window while they are taking the exam. 

Practices Regarding AI

  • Talk with your students about AI. Ask them how they have used AI or ChatGPT in the past, how they think these tools affect their learning, and what they think about the ethics of using AI on assignments and exams. Let them know your thoughts and why you have made the decisions you have about the use of AI in your class, especially regarding restrictions you may have put into place.
  • Individual instructors have the freedom to decide if and how AI-generated material is allowed in their courses. Some instructors will opt to use AI as a teaching tool while others will not allow it. You should thus include a statement on each of your syllabi explaining your policy on student use of AI and discuss it during the first week of the semester. State clearly whether AI is allowed for each type of assignment, and if it is allowed, how it should be used.
  • Create as much intrinsic motivation in students as possible, giving them opportunities to pursue questions they feel connected to and are less likely to offload onto AI.
  • Teach students how to employ AI tools in an ethical way, as they are likely to try these tools and we should provide them with guidance.
  • Construct assignments in such a way that students produce preliminary work before the final deadline, when they may be tempted to use AI unethically.
  • Develop a plan for potential instances of misuse of AI.