Crafting Syllabus Statements on Generative Artificial Intelligence Use

This guide is intended to help faculty at Colorado State University (CSU) create concise, effective, and purpose-driven syllabus statements about the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their courses. By providing clarity on appropriate AI use, these statements can communicate clear expectations, promote academic integrity, and encourage authentic learning. 

1. Purpose of AI Use Statements

It is important to remember why we have these statements.  

  • They guide: they clarify expectations and help prevent misunderstanding. They don’t necessarily teach, but they do help a student’s learning. 
  • They exist for administrative reasons: when something undesirable occurs (like academic misconduct) in a class, they are what we point to as the stated expectation of the course and, then, justification for our intervention.  

Syllabus statements should aim for clarity and brevity, making expectations transparent and accessible. Students should immediately understand whether they are allowed to use AI and how they are allowed to use it. It is our hope that this guidance will foster trust and authentic learning. 

2. A Step-by-Step Process for Crafting a Concise Statement

Students’ primary concern is understanding the specific rules for your course. A clear, brief statement that a student can understand as quickly as a fast-food menu is most effective. 

An ideal AI syllabus statement should answer four basic questions: 

  1. What is the scope of the policy? Does it cover all course activities or only graded work? 
  2. What is permitted or prohibited? State clearly what students are allowed and not allowed to do. 
  3. Is there a guiding framework? If you plan to use a clarifying resource, a color-coded chart or other guide, reference it here.  
  4. What is the next step for questions? Encourage dialogue by inviting students to talk with you. 

3. Sample Statements: From Policy to Practice

The right statement for your course will depend on your specific learning objectives. Below are several examples you can adopt or adapt. 

Concise & Clear Models

A Prohibitive Statement 

You may NOT use AI when completing any assignments, assessments, or other work for credit in this course. You MAY use it to investigate, study, summarize, etc. course material, concepts, etc. Here is a color-coded framework that we will be using to help make this distinction clearer (Sample Link to Framework). If you have questions about this policy, come talk to me! 

 

A Permissive (Conditional) Statement 

You may only use generative AI in this class in specific ways. I will use a color-coded framework to make it clear HOW you can use AI and WHEN you can use it. You can find that framework here (Sample Link to Framework), and we will discuss how you may use AI on each course assignment or assessment at the time it is introduced. If you have questions about this policy, come talk to me! 

A Statement Allowing Limited & Guided Use 

You are not authorized to use artificial intelligence to produce work for this class except on assignments that I have explicitly identified. On those assignments, you will receive significant guidance on the appropriate use of such technologies. You may not construe this limited permission as approval to use these technologies in any other facet of this course. 

A Permissive Statement Focused on Accountability 

The use of generative AI tools is broadly permitted in this course to help you brainstorm, draft, and revise your work. However, authentic engagement means you are fully accountable for the final submission. You are required to: 

  1. Fact-check all AI-generated content for accuracy. 
  2. Revise all content to ensure it meets assignment requirements and reflects your own understanding. 
  3. Cite your use of the AI tool following the guidance in the CSU Library’s Guidelines for Acknowledging AI Use in Research. 

Submitting inaccurate or unedited AI-generated work fails to meet the standards for academic integrity and will result in a poor grade. 

4. Promoting Digital Multiliteracies

Generative AI provides an opportunity to foster the key literacies outlined in Stuart Selber’s Multiliteracies for a Digital Age. Faculty can emphasize these literacies to help students engage with AI tools responsibly and thoughtfully: 

  • Functional Literacy: Teach students how to use generative AI tools effectively, gaining fluency in their features and applications.
  • Critical Literacy: Encourage students to evaluate AI’s strengths, weaknesses, assumptions, and societal impacts, fostering critical thinkers who assess the costs and benefits of using new technologies responsibly. 
  • Rhetorical Literacy: Guide students to assess when and how to use AI in different contexts, emphasizing audience, purpose, and the need to adapt AI outputs for effective communication. 

By incorporating these multiliteracies into your syllabus statement or approach, you empower students to use AI responsibly while fostering critical engagement. 

5. Further Reading

For faculty looking to expand their understanding of generative AI and how to prepare their courses, here are some helpful resources: 

Final Thoughts

Generative AI offers exciting possibilities for learning but also raises valid concerns about academic integrity and critical thinking, environmental impact, unevenly distributed access,etc. The usefulness of AI to courses at CSU will vary widely as will student and faculty interest in AI literacy. Therefore, it seems unlikely that a campus umbrella policy will satisfy the many needs and concerns that have and will arise. You are urged to use your best judgment and to update your syllabus languages your ideas change. Consider consulting the standards of your disciplinary community as a resource for your own and your student’s thinking about AI use in educational settings. One useful question to ask might be this: “How am I ensuring that the use of AI in my course promotes an approach that reflects the higher order thinking and learning that should derive from a university education?”

Acknowledgments

This resource was coauthored using generative AI (Ram-GPT) under the guidance of Colorado State University employees. The generative AI tool was used to assist with drafting, synthesizing, and organizing content based on the following sources: 

  1. Brown, Joseph. “This Fall, Trim Those AI Syllabus Statements”  
  2. Brown, Joseph. “What Should a Syllabus Statement on AI Look like?” 
  3. Carter, Genesea, Sue Doe & Joseph Brown. “Empowering Students Through Generative AI: Ethical Uses, Policies, and Course Objectives” [Unpublished Powerpoint] 

The final content reflects human review, refinement, and approval to ensure alignment with our professional standards and institutional values.