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Faculty Guide to Generative AI in Higher Education

This guide discusses generative AI tools (GAITs), with a focus on the ethical use of these tools in academic work. Other major topics include: using GAITs for teaching and learning, incorporating GAITs into graded assignments, and citation guidelines.

Faculty have three paths to chose between:

     1. Ban all GAIT use.

     2. Specify designated allowed use.

     3. Assume and approve use for all assignments.

Regardless of the path chosen, cite!

 

Example Syllabi Statements:

  • For the duration of this course, the use of Generative AI in assignments is strictly prohibited. Assignments are opportunities for personal growth, critical thinking, and applying your acquired knowledge. Your individual effort and creativity are essential in demonstrating your understanding of the course material. Dependence on AI undermines these objectives and compromises the integrity of the learning process. We appreciate your commitment to academic honesty and dedication to upholding this course’s principles by refraining from using Generative AI in your assignments. 
  • In this course, the use of Generative AI is permissible only under specific circumstances, as outlined in the assignment instructions. When AI tool usage is allowed, exercise caution and ensure that you appropriately cite and attribute any content generated through their use. It is essential to strike a balance between leveraging the advantages of AI resources and preserving your individual creativity and problem-solving abilities. Failure to adhere to the specified Generative AI usage guidelines may result in academic consequences. Pay careful attention to the assignment requirements to determine whether AI tools are permitted and follow the instructions accordingly.
  • In this course, you may leverage the benefits of Generative AI tools to enhance your learning experience. AI tools can be utilized to supplement your understanding of course material, conduct research, and explore different perspectives. However, it is important to exercise discernment and ensure that their usage remains within the boundaries of academic integrity. Remember to appropriately cite and reference any AI-produced content to acknowledge the sources. Embrace the opportunity to harness the power of Generative AI while maintaining the principles of honesty and intellectual growth throughout the course. 

From: Tidewater Community College

Blue line brain drawing with computer background. Ethical GAIT use requires citations, just as any source used in an assignment.  Each of the different citation styles have a designated way to cite a GAIT.

You may want students to document the ways in which they used GAITs, or you may want a transcript of the conversations.  

Without citations or other documentation, GAIT use is considered plagiarism, cheating, or academic dishonesty.

Faculty ResourcesAI brain image with lines going to icons around it.

The links below include just a few links to resources for faculty from around the web.  If you need any additional resources, please contact your librarian.

According to the MLA 

"You should

  • cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it 
  • acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location 
  • take care to vet the secondary sources it cites (see example 5 below for more details)"

 

Works Cited Format

"Title of Source." Title of Container, Version, Publisher, Date, URL.

Example Works Cited

“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

In-Text Example

(“Describe the symbolism”)

APA LogoAccording to the APA:

" Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template...

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. … In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat. For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage)." 

Example Citations

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

  • Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
  • Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

The Chicago Manual of Style advises: 

"If you need a more formal citation—for example, for a student paper or for a research article—a numbered footnote or endnote might look like this:

1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.

ChatGPT stands in as “author” of the content, and OpenAI (the company that developed ChatGPT) is the publisher or sponsor, followed by the date the text was generated. After that, the URL tells us where the ChatGPT tool may be found, but because readers can’t necessarily get to the cited content (see below), that URL isn’t an essential element of the citation.

If the prompt hasn’t been included in the text, it can be included in the note:

1. ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.

If you’ve edited the AI-generated text, you should say so in the text or at the end of the note (e.g., “edited for style and content”).

...

But don’t cite ChatGPT in a bibliography or reference list unless you provide a publicly available link (e.g., via a browser extension like ShareGPT or A.I. Archives). Though OpenAI assigns unique URLs to conversations generated from your prompts, those can’t be used by others to access the same content (they require your login credentials), making a ChatGPT conversation like an email, phone, or text conversation—or any other type of personal communication (see CMOS 14.214 and 15.53)." 

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