Are you using AI in course work? Check out these tips
Meet the Academic Integrity Office and learn about how they can support you. Below, Allyson Miller of the AIO shares five key tips for students who are thinking of using AI in their coursework.
Over the past few years, TMU’s Academic Integrity Office (AIO) has seen an increase in reports of academic misconduct.
Students facing tight deadlines might be tempted to look for ways to simplify or streamline assignments, including using generative AI or AI editing tools.
And, if you just aren’t clear on how to use these tools legitimately, it could lead to academic misconduct.
“We’re seeing cases come through where students are being suspended for incidents related to technology, so the Academic Integrity Office wants to ensure every student understands and adheres to academic integrity policies here at TMU,” says Allyson Miller, director of the Academic Integrity Office. “We want our students to succeed.”
Miller says most students can go their entire academic careers without a run-in. But as more technology becomes available, for example, generative AI like ChatGPT and editing tools like Grammarly, students may find themselves confused about what proper or legitimate use is.
Miller spoke with TorontoMet Today about five important things to consider when considering using ChatGPT or other generative AI tools.
Sharing this advice is meant to set TMU students up for success, says Miller, and help you to develop AI literacy and responsible usage skills.
The tips include the following:
- Unless explicitly stated by the instructor, students should assume that using AI to complete assessments is prohibited. If students use AI to complete assessments, instructors may consider it a misrepresentation of personal performance and/or plagiarism or cheating.
- Ask EVERY instructor what the rules are for each class – for every online tool. For some professors, this will mean generative AI tools like Co-Pilot, Gemini and ChatGPT are a no-go, and for others, it may also mean that AI editing, proofreading and translation tools like Grammarly and DeepL are prohibited, Miller says. “The big message is really ‘Not your words? Not your work.’”
- Generative AI often creates false citations and misrepresents the content of the sources. If you include those false citations and misrepresentations in your work, that’s academic misconduct. Authorship is ownership – if you submit it, you’re responsible for it, and it’s your responsibility to verify the facts.
- Instructors value YOUR voice, and you should value it too. Don’t give over to machines what is uniquely your own.
- Generative AI can help you understand topics you’re struggling with, but if you use it to study, your knowledge may not reflect the way the content is being taught in your course, which can result in a poor or failing mark.
“Part of our institutional responsibility at the AIO is to protect students by giving them all the information they need to make smart decisions around the use of these tools,” says Miller. “Since the pandemic, when classes were moved online, the office has seen a spike in academic misconduct, and we believe some of these cases can be avoided entirely by making students aware of what they should be asking their professors about from the outset of class.”
Not doing so could result in potentially serious consequences, including a zero grade on the assignment, a failing grade in the course, disciplinary suspension or even disciplinary withdrawal or expulsion.
“We want to build a culture of academic integrity across the university," says Miller, "because the value of the student's degree is directly proportional to the integrity of the institution.”
TMU’s (PDF file) Policy 60: Academic Integrity states that academic misconduct is "any behaviour that undermines the university’s ability to evaluate fairly students’ academic achievements, or any behaviour that a student knew, or reasonably ought to have known, could gain them or others unearned academic advantage or benefit (Section 3.1).” Visit the AIO website to learn what might constitute academic misconduct.
Students who want to make sure they’re in compliance with Policy 60 are encouraged to reach out to the AIO with any related questions.
The AIO ensures that TMU’s Policy 60 is carried out in a fair, neutral and transparent way and to provide educational resources to the university community regarding academic integrity and misconduct. The AIO provides guidance and support to students and decision makers and ensures that all parties are aware of their rights and responsibilities.
For more information, visit the Academic Integrity Office website.
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