AI Guidelines for Students

Generative AI is a powerful tool that can assist you in your academic journey. It can help with brainstorming, clarifying complex concepts, summarizing information, and even creating practice questions. However, it is important to understand both its capabilities and its limitations. Please familiarize yourself with these and recognize that, while AI can provide valuable assistance, it is not a replacement for your own effort, critical thinking, and original ideas.

Please be reminded that your instructors determine how or if they will allow students to use these tools in their classes. Please consult with each professor about their individual AI policies and what constitutes an AI tool. They will provide clear guidance on when and how AI tools are permitted in their course work. If you are unsure about the use of AI in a particular class or assignment, always seek clarification from your instructor. Respect the guidelines set by your professors and communicate openly about your use of AI tools.

Here are some best-practice guidelines for using AI tools where appropriate:

Academic Integrity:

• If your professor allows the use of AI tools in their class, please use AI as a supplement to your own work, not as a substitute. Ensure that your final submissions are your own original work, reflecting your understanding and effort.
• Do not use AI to complete assignments that require personal reflection, creative work, or any content that should be uniquely your own unless your professor gives you explicit permission to do so. These tasks are meant to showcase your unique perspective and creativity.

Proper Attribution:

• If your professor allows you to use AI tools to generate ideas, summarize texts, or assist with drafting, always provide proper attribution. Cite the AI tool and any specific outputs used, just as you would with any other source.
• Here are some resources to help you properly cite your sources, but please consult with your professor for their style-guide preferences.
  • APA format
  • MLA format
  • CMS format
  • Purdue OWL

Verification of Accuracy:

• Always verify the accuracy of information provided by AI tools. These tools can sometimes provide incorrect or outdated information, so it's crucial to cross-check facts, data, and references with reliable sources to ensure the correctness and reliability of the information.

Bias, Privacy, and Critical Thinking:

• Understand that training data used to create generative AI models may be inherently biased. Think critically about the results and encourage the use of diverse and unbiased data sets.
• Be cautious of entering personal information and protect data. Do not enter personal or proprietary information into AI tools.
• Engage in critical thinking when using AI. Evaluate the outputs for correctness, bias, and relevance. Consider multiple perspectives and sources to form a well-rounded understanding of the topic.

Clear and Specific Questions:

• If your professor allows you to use AI, ask clear and specific questions to get the most accurate and useful responses. Vague or ambiguous queries can lead to less helpful or misleading information.
• Provide context and background information to help the AI tool generate more accurate and useful outputs.

Continuous Learning:

• As AI technology evolves, so will the expectations and the guidelines. Stay informed about updates and changes to the AI policies at UNCP.
• If you have suggestions or concerns about the use of AI in your courses, share them with your instructors or the academic administration.

There is currently no institutional policy governing the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools at UNCP except for a brief statement in Sec. 1.4 of the Academic Honor Code, which states: “The university recognizes the rights of faculty to limit/regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, Claude, and other Generative AI and AI-assisted tools, as a matter of academic integrity. Any direct violation of an instructor's explicit requirements regarding the use of AI in the production of academic work as stated on either the course syllabus or written assignment instructions distributed and available to all students in the course will be considered a violation of the Academic Honor Code.”

Following these guidelines will help you effectively and ethically integrate AI tools into your academic work, enhancing your learning experience while maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity. Remember, individual faculty determine how or if they will allow students to use these tools in their classes. Please consult with each professor about their individual AI policies and what constitutes an AI tool.

*Please note that a Generative AI tool was used to help create these guidelines: Writer, January 9, 2025, Open AI, https://app.writer.com/organization/864014/team/799768 and modified by author.