Teaching & Learning
- The university indicates that AI use in coursework is governed at the course level by faculty within the university AI policy framework
- Faculty guidance recommends setting acceptable and unacceptable uses in syllabi, and it allows AI use in assignments when instructors provide clear rules, require documentation, and preserve student originality and critical thinking
Faculty remain responsible for setting course-level AI policies within the framework of the university’s Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academic Contexts policy.
✅ Set Clear Guidelines – Define acceptable and unacceptable uses of GenAI for coursework, assignments, and exams. Include this information in the syllabus and go over it on day one.
● Allow students to use GenAI tools with clear guidelines on how to document and critically evaluate GenAI-generated content.
✅ Use GenAI as a Co-Creator – Allow students to collaborate with AI on brainstorming, drafting, and refining ideas while ensuring human oversight and originality.
- The university does not set a single blanket rule for AI in exams in the provided sources; instead, faculty are expected to define exam and assessment rules
- Faculty guidance recommends assessment design that promotes originality and independent problem-solving, and specifically advises against unrestricted AI use in exams and assignments
Faculty remain responsible for setting course-level AI policies within the framework of the university’s Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academic Contexts policy.
To ensure that AI supports student learning rather than undermining it, instructors must design assessments that foster critical thinking, originality, and ethical use.
✅ Set Clear Guidelines – Define acceptable and unacceptable uses of GenAI for coursework, assignments, and exams. Include this information in the syllabus and go over it on day one.
�� Permit Unrestricted Use of GenAI in Exams & Assignments – Implement policies for
its usage in take-home assessments, ensuring students demonstrate independent
problem-solving.
- The university requires incoming students to complete baseline AI instruction before starting coursework
- The provided faculty guidance supports AI use for learning support such as adaptive feedback, practice questions, and personalized learning, while emphasizing that students should understand AI limitations and verify generated information
AI Fundamentals is a required, non-credit course for all incoming Georgia Southern students starting Spring 2026. It is completed online, takes 60–90 minutes, and must be finished before beginning coursework.
Students must successfully complete the AI Fundamentals course before beginning academic coursework.
✅ Leverage GenAI for Personalized Learning – Utilize GenAI to provide adaptive feedback, generate practice questions, and support different learning styles.
✅ Encourage AI Literacy – Teach students how GenAI works, its capabilities, limitations, and ethical implications.
�� Assume GenAI Outputs Are Always Accurate – Teach students to verify
AI-generated information and recognize biases or errors.
- It emphasizes understanding over reliance and states that students should not use AI instead of writing code themselves
- The provided guidance allows AI-assisted coding and debugging in STEM contexts, but only as a support tool rather than a substitute for student work
✅ Encourage AI-Assisted Coding & Debugging – Allow students to use GenAI tools like GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT for debugging and improving efficiency, while emphasizing understanding over reliance.
�� Allow AI to Replace Critical Thinking in STEM – Students should use GenAI as a tool,
not as a substitute for solving equations, designing experiments, or writing code.
Research
- The document itself models disclosure of AI assistance and states that final edits, analysis, and conclusions remained with the human authors
- The university's faculty guidance discusses AI use in research report writing and manuscript-style drafting as something that should be governed by clear guidelines and academic integrity expectations
✅ Set Clear Guidelines for GenAI in Research & Lab Work – Define how students can ethically use GenAI in scientific research, report writing, and lab analysis to maintain academic integrity.
This paper was drafted with the assistance of ChatGPT, a GenAI language model. The tool was used to generate ideas and to refine sentence structure. All final edits, analysis, and conclusions were made by Georgia Southern’s AAC&U AI Institute Team and the FacultyCenter.
- The university permits AI use for research data analysis involving human data only under strict platform and approval conditions
- Human subjects data, except publicly available data, may only be entered into university-approved enterprise AI tools, and use of other AI tools requires a risk review and ITS approval
When using AI in interventions, transcription and translation, and data analysis of human data:
Per the GS policy “Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Academic Contexts”, any data designated as human subjects data (except for publicly available data) can only be entered into a University Approved AI Tool. These MUST be the enterprise versions accessed through your My.GeorgiaSouthern portal.
Users wishing to use an AI tool not on the approved inventory list must complete the Third Party Risk Review for risk assessment and indicate that the AI will be used for private data and obtain the approval of Information Technology Services before purchase and/or use of the tool.
● Task: Students use GenAI tools to analyze datasets, summarizing findings and discussing limitations and potential biases.
- The guidance also requires human validation when AI assists with scientific or technical work
- The provided sources address research ethics and integrity by requiring approved AI tools for human subjects data, banning AI note takers, and recommending explicit ethical guardrails for research and lab work
When using AI in interventions, transcription and translation, and data analysis of human data:
Per the GS policy “Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Academic Contexts”, any data designated as human subjects data (except for publicly available data) can only be entered into a University Approved AI Tool. These MUST be the enterprise versions accessed through your My.GeorgiaSouthern portal.
AI note takers are NOT allowed per USG Policy “Unapproved Hardware/Software/Applications.”
✅ Set Clear Guidelines for GenAI in Research & Lab Work – Define how students can ethically use GenAI in scientific research, report writing, and lab analysis to maintain academic integrity.
✅ Encourage Collaboration Between AI & Human Expertise – Show how AI can assist in hypothesis generation, experiment design, and engineering calculations, while requiring human validation.
Academic Integrity
- The provided guidance says that when students are allowed to use AI, instructors should require them to document that use and critically evaluate the generated content
- It also gives an example of attribution practices by referring to proper citations in AI-assisted writing and by disclosing AI assistance in the faculty guidance document itself
● Allow students to use GenAI tools with clear guidelines on how to document and critically evaluate GenAI-generated content.
● Task: Have students generate a GenAI-assisted draft of an essay and then revise it using their own critical thinking, incorporating proper citations and logical structuring. ●
This paper was drafted with the assistance of ChatGPT, a GenAI language model. The tool was used to generate ideas and to refine sentence structure. All final edits, analysis, and conclusions were made by Georgia Southern’s AAC&U AI Institute Team and the FacultyCenter.
- The faculty guidance cautions against relying on AI detection tools because detection is described as unreliable and potentially biased, and it recommends using pedagogical judgment instead
- For enforcement, academic dishonesty incidents are to be reported through the university process, prior history is reviewed, and faculty choose the academic penalty for their class, typically through syllabus-based sanctions
Since
its detection is unreliable, faculty should rely on their pedagogical expertise rather than flawed
detection tools. Additionally, educators must be mindful of biases, as GenAI detection
disproportionately flags non-native English speakers.
�� Ignore Academic Integrity Concerns – Implement GenAI detection strategies and
policies to prevent misuse, but focus on ethical education rather than policing.
Faculty should report all incidents of academic dishonesty using the dedicated form. Once submitted, our office will review prior history and guide the resolution process. The Informal Resolution Form will be sent to you to resolve the case yourself or request additional documentation of the violation for the case to be heard and resolved within the Provost’s Office and/or the Office of Student Conduct.
No, faculty members choose the academic penalty for their class which is typically stated in the syllabus as to how they would sanction students found responsible for academic dishonesty.
Institutional & Administrative
- The faculty guidance also says GenAI can support assessment and teaching, but should not replace instructor-led engagement
- The university's AI materials assign faculty responsibility for setting course-level AI rules and recommend that instructors stay current on AI practices
Faculty remain responsible for setting course-level AI policies within the framework of the university’s Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academic Contexts policy.
To ensure that AI supports student learning rather than undermining it, instructors must design assessments that foster critical thinking, originality, and ethical use.
�� Rely Solely on GenAI for Teaching – While GenAI can enhance learning, it should
not replace instructor-led discussions, mentorship, and critical engagement.
�� Underestimate the Need for Faculty Training – Instructors should stay updated on
AI advancements and best practices for classroom integration.
- The university requires compliance with data security and privacy rules in AI use
- For human subjects data, only university-approved enterprise AI tools accessed through the university portal may be used; other tools require third-party risk review and ITS approval, and AI note takers are not allowed
This policy establishes guidance for the responsible, ethical, and transparent use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools at Georgia Southern University (University) including in teaching, learning, assessment, classroom activities, University community service, research, creative activity, scholarly communication, and administrative activities, while encouraging innovation, academic freedom, and appropriate autonomy while maintaining compliance with all data security and privacy regulations.
Per the GS policy “Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Academic Contexts”, any data designated as human subjects data (except for publicly available data) can only be entered into a University Approved AI Tool. These MUST be the enterprise versions accessed through your My.GeorgiaSouthern portal.
Users wishing to use an AI tool not on the approved inventory list must complete the Third Party Risk Review for risk assessment and indicate that the AI will be used for private data and obtain the approval of Information Technology Services before purchase and/or use of the tool.
AI note takers are NOT allowed per USG Policy “Unapproved Hardware/Software/Applications.”
* Responsible use basics, including privacy and what not to share with AI tools
- It also launched a required AI Fundamentals course for all incoming students as part of that policy, and the policy is tied to Board of Regents compliance
- The university has an overarching AI policy that establishes guidance for AI use across teaching, research, scholarly communication, service, and administrative activities
This policy establishes guidance for the responsible, ethical, and transparent use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools at Georgia Southern University (University) including in teaching, learning, assessment, classroom activities, University community service, research, creative activity, scholarly communication, and administrative activities, while encouraging innovation, academic freedom, and appropriate autonomy while maintaining compliance with all data security and privacy regulations.
This policy ensures that the University complies with Board of Regents (BOR) Policy 6.28 Artificial Intelligence in Academic Context; federal, state, and international laws; and industry standards and best practices.
This course is part of the university’s Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academic Contexts policy, launched in September 2025, and must be completed before beginning coursework at Georgia Southern.
AI Fundamentals ensures all students begin their academic journey with a shared understanding of these expectations.
DocuMark: Responsible AI Use for Academic Integrity
Knowing your institution's AI policy is step one. DocuMark helps enforce it fairly by empowering universities to manage AI-generated content, prevent cheating, and support student writing through responsible AI use.
Common Questions About Armstrong University's AI Policies
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The provided guidance says that when students are allowed to use AI, instructors should require them to document that use and critically evaluate the generated content. It also gives an example of attribution practices by referring to proper citations in AI-assisted writing and by disclosing AI assistance in the faculty guidance document itself.
The faculty guidance cautions against relying on AI detection tools because detection is described as unreliable and potentially biased, and it recommends using pedagogical judgment instead. For enforcement, academic dishonesty incidents are to be reported through the university process, prior history is reviewed, and faculty choose the academic penalty for their class, typically through syllabus-based sanctions.
The university requires compliance with data security and privacy rules in AI use. For human subjects data, only university-approved enterprise AI tools accessed through the university portal may be used; other tools require third-party risk review and ITS approval, and AI note takers are not allowed.