Most syllabus AI policies fail in the same three ways: they state a principle instead of naming activities, they have no checkable enforcement, and they make honest disclosure feel as risky as concealment. This template fixes those three things. It is a starting point written by people who build assessment software, not legal advice.

The template

Using AI in this course. Generative AI tools are part of the working environment you are entering, and this course does not pretend otherwise. What follows is specific so that you can comply without guessing.

Permitted, no disclosure needed: spelling and grammar correction; translation to help you read a source; asking a model to explain course concepts to you; using a model to generate practice questions for yourself.

Permitted, with a one-line note at the end of your submission: brainstorming and outlining; generating example code or text that you then substantially modify; using a model as a study partner while preparing. The note says what you used it for. It does not affect your grade, and I would rather read an honest note than wonder.

Not permitted: submitting model-generated prose, code, or analysis as your own work; using a model during an assessed conversation, quiz or exam; generating citations you have not personally verified.

How this is checked. You may be asked to talk through any work you submit: what you chose, why, and what you tried that did not work. Being able to account for your own submission is the standard in this course, and it applies to every student equally rather than only to work that raised a flag.

If you are unsure. Ask me before the deadline. A question asked in advance is never an integrity issue. A question asked afterwards sometimes is.

Notes on adapting it

• Change the permitted list per assignment type if they genuinely differ. A coding assignment and a reflective essay rarely want the same rules.
• Keep the last two paragraphs whatever else you cut. The enforcement line and the ask-me-first line do most of the work.
• If you cannot check the rule you are writing, either make it checkable or reframe it as a norm you are asking for rather than a rule you are enforcing. Students can tell the difference.
• Say what disclosed use costs. If it costs nothing, say that explicitly, because students will assume otherwise.

Can I use this policy in my course?

Yes. Copy it, adapt it, no attribution needed. Check it against your department and institution rules, which override anything here.

Should an AI policy ban AI entirely?

You can, and the practical question is whether you can check it. A ban you cannot verify teaches students that the rules are theatre, which erodes compliance with the rules you can verify.

What is the most important line in an AI policy?

The one that says how compliance is checked. Everything else is a statement of intent; that line is what makes the rest real.