Teaching & Learning
- Use of AI in coursework is at instructor discretion
- Unauthorized AI use can be treated as academic misconduct
- The university directs faculty to state clearly in the syllabus whether AI is allowed, prohibited, or limited for course assignments, and students are expected to follow those course-specific rules
By including a statement in your syllabus regarding the use of AI, you can provide specific guidance to your students about your expectations.
Examples:
The use of AI technology or automated tools, particularly in completing course assignments, is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes utilizing AI for generating text, solving problems, and creating project components.
This course permits the use of AI technology and automated tools, including content generation and data analysis, for completing assignments. Students are expected to use these tools responsibly and within the guidelines provided in the course.
In this course, the use of AI technology and automated tools for assignments is limited to specific tasks and may only be used with prior authorization from the instructor.
While there are many beneficial uses of AI, faculty are still able to determine whether students can use AI in the classroom. It is strongly recommended that faculty place a statement in the syllabus regarding AI use.
The unauthorized use of ChatGPT or other AI-driven technologies to generate content for academic purposes without proper citation or permission from the instructor may constitute plagiarism or academic dishonesty.
- The university does not set a single institution-wide rule specifically for AI use during exams or quizzes in the sources provided
- Instead, faculty are advised to define permitted and prohibited AI use in their syllabus and course expectations, and unauthorized use may be handled as academic dishonesty
By including a statement in your syllabus regarding the use of AI, you can provide specific guidance to your students about your expectations.
While there are many beneficial uses of AI, faculty are still able to determine whether students can use AI in the classroom. It is strongly recommended that faculty place a statement in the syllabus regarding AI use.
The unauthorized use of ChatGPT or other AI-driven technologies to generate content for academic purposes without proper citation or permission from the instructor may constitute plagiarism or academic dishonesty.
- Course-specific restrictions may still apply
- The university encourages students to verify AI outputs and use them to support, not replace, their own work
- Ball State presents AI as a tool students may use for learning support, such as tutoring, concept explanation, and study planning
You can use chatbots to explore your topic and get answers to your questions.
Students can use AI tools to assist them with the following:
Brainstorming research questions and ideas.
Summarizing articles and lectures. (always double-check to be sure the summary is accurate)
Getting help understanding complex concepts
Learning how to solve equations and other homework problems. (Do not ask the AI tool to solve your problem for you, ask it to help you understand the steps necessary to solve it.)
Providing instant feedback on essays
Helping to make study plans
Creating sample quizzes and flashcards
Tutoring
Language translation
Be cautious of hallucinations or biases in AI-generated content and verify information with credible sources. Use AI to support—not replace—your own learning.
- For student coding work, the sources do not provide a separate university-wide rule specific to programming assignments
- AI use for assignments is governed by instructor discretion, and faculty are encouraged to specify permitted, prohibited, or limited use in the syllabus
By including a statement in your syllabus regarding the use of AI, you can provide specific guidance to your students about your expectations.
Examples:
The use of AI technology or automated tools, particularly in completing course assignments, is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes utilizing AI for generating text, solving problems, and creating project components.
This course permits the use of AI technology and automated tools, including content generation and data analysis, for completing assignments. Students are expected to use these tools responsibly and within the guidelines provided in the course.
In this course, the use of AI technology and automated tools for assignments is limited to specific tasks and may only be used with prior authorization from the instructor.
Research
- The sources provided do not establish a general university-wide rule for all manuscripts, theses, or dissertations beyond those research-administration contexts
- For sponsored proposals and related research writing, Ball State prohibits the use of AI to draft proposal narratives, revise scientific text, generate ideas, create images or graphics, format citations, or communicate with sponsors
The following are considered unallowable use cases for AI and are prohibited by SPS and ORI in the proposal development process:
Use of AI to draft proposal narratives or revise scientific text
Use of AI to generate references or citations, and/or to format references or citations
Use of AI to identify ideas, approaches, solutions, and statements in support of the proposal and/or the proposal's budget and budget justification
Use of AI to identify or generate ideas and language for use in sponsor communication, support requests, and negotiations
Use of AI to generate or alter images, graphics, and charts used in support of the proposal or proposal budget and budget justification
- The university also prohibits use of AI to generate ideas, scientific text, and certain proposal-support materials
- For human-subjects research, researchers must disclose AI use in recruitment, consent, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, and dissemination, and some uses involving identifiable information may not qualify for expedited or exempt review
- Ball State permits AI use in proposal development only for limited administrative and editing support, such as outlining timelines, improving readability, and transcribing notes, but requires users to validate outputs and protect confidential information
Examples of allowable use cases include:
Developing a proposal production timeline
Developing a budget development timeline
Grammar and sentence structure improvement
Improving readability, organization, and flow of proposal sections, such as the budget narrative, current and pending support, and facilities and resources statements
Transcribing meeting notes and brainstorming sessions (excluding any sessions that might discuss or reveal controlled or confidential information)
All outputs from AI use cases should be carefully validated and reviewed by all relevant stakeholders.
Users should not input personal, confidential, controlled, or institutional information into public AI tools.
Researchers should disclose the use of AI to participants in studies where the information may impact their willingness to participate. This may include, but is not limited to studies where AI is used in participant recruitment, the informed consent process, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, and/or the dissemination of findings.
Studies with the use of AI may include sensitive or identifiable private information and may not be considered exempt or expedited.
The following are considered unallowable use cases for AI and are prohibited by SPS and ORI in the proposal development process:
Use of AI to identify ideas, approaches, solutions, and statements in support of the proposal and/or the proposal's budget and budget justification
- In sponsored proposal development, some AI uses are expressly prohibited
- The IRB guidance also states that researchers remain responsible for understanding AI risks and applicability, and that AI use may affect IRB review level when sensitive or identifiable data are involved
- Ball State requires researchers to disclose AI use to participants when it could affect willingness to participate, including use in recruitment, consent, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or dissemination
Researchers should disclose the use of AI to participants in studies where the information may impact their willingness to participate. This may include, but is not limited to studies where AI is used in participant recruitment, the informed consent process, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of findings, and/or the dissemination of findings.
Researchers are responsible for understanding the functionalities, limitations, and privacy risks of AI and the appropriateness of their use in research.
Studies with the use of AI may include sensitive or identifiable private information and may not be considered exempt or expedited.
The following are considered unallowable use cases for AI and are prohibited by SPS and ORI in the proposal development process:
Use of AI to draft proposal narratives or revise scientific text
Use of AI to identify or generate ideas and language for use in sponsor communication, support requests, and negotiations
Academic Integrity
- In research with human participants, researchers must disclose AI use to participants when it could affect their willingness to participate
- Ball State says AI use must be cited or expressly permitted by the instructor when used for academic work, and course syllabi should communicate specific expectations
The unauthorized use of ChatGPT or other AI-driven technologies to generate content for academic purposes without proper citation or permission from the instructor may constitute plagiarism or academic dishonesty.
By including a statement in your syllabus regarding the use of AI, you can provide specific guidance to your students about your expectations.
Researchers should disclose the use of AI to participants in studies where the information may impact their willingness to participate.
- The provided sources do not set out a specific institutional rule endorsing or prohibiting AI-detection tools
- Ball State identifies unauthorized AI-generated academic content as potential plagiarism or academic dishonesty and directs students and faculty to the existing academic integrity process
The unauthorized use of ChatGPT or other AI-driven technologies to generate content for academic purposes without proper citation or permission from the instructor may constitute plagiarism or academic dishonesty.
Academic integrity means adhering to ethical standards in educational settings, and Ball State students are expected to pursue their academic careers honestly.
Academic dishonesty is any type of educational fraud, and the University seeks to prevent, identify, and remedy all forms of academic misconduct. Ball State's procedures provide students with due process and multiple opportunities to be heard.
Institutional & Administrative
- Faculty also retain authority to set classroom AI rules and are encouraged to communicate them in the syllabus
- Faculty and staff may use AI tools for instructional and administrative support, but human review is required and sensitive tasks should not be delegated to AI
- Ball State recommends that faculty verify accuracy, avoid uploading personal information, and be cautious with grading, recommendation letters, and official records
Faculty and Staff can use AI tools to assist them with the following:
Brainstorming and idea generation
Proofreading and editing
Generating examples and explanations for class
Creating assignments and rubrics
Lesson planning
Generating images and visual aids
Research assistance (e.g., helping with literature reviews and summarizing articles)
Administrative tasks (e.g., answering emails and scheduling)
Generating recommendations for campus support resources to students
Potential faculty and staff concerns:
Accuracy and Hallucinations: Chatbots and image generators may provide incorrect or false information. All AI outputs should be reviewed carefully.
Bias and Fairness: AI may perpetuate biases present in training data. Be especially cautious when using AI for student-facing decisions or feedback.
Privacy and Security: Do not upload personal student information, grades, or FERPA-protected data into AI systems unless approved.
Pedagogical Alignment: Consider whether AI use supports the learning goals of your course or task.
It is not recommended that faculty and staff use AI technologies to complete the following tasks:
Grading student work or providing evaluative comments directly to students
Writing letters of recommendation or evaluating applicants
Making decisions about students, employees, or university operations without human oversight
Entering or processing personal, confidential, or sensitive institutional information into public AI platforms
Creating or editing official academic records or legal documents
While there are many beneficial uses of AI, faculty are still able to determine whether students can use AI in the classroom. It is strongly recommended that faculty place a statement in the syllabus regarding AI use.
- The university also identifies approved or institutionally supported platforms and resources through its AI initiatives pages
- Ball State prohibits entering personal, confidential, controlled, or institutional information into public AI tools unless approved, including student information, grades, and FERPA-protected data
Do not upload personal student information, grades, or FERPA-protected data into AI systems unless approved.
Entering or processing personal, confidential, or sensitive institutional information into public AI platforms
Users should not input personal, confidential, controlled, or institutional information into public AI tools.
At Ball State, we support the use of AI tools that align with our institutional mission, values, and commitment to ethical innovation.
Explore AI tools supported at Ball State for teaching, learning, research, and productivity.
- Ball State has an institutional AI initiative centered on ethical, mission-aligned adoption across teaching, learning, research, and productivity
- Its guidance emphasizes responsible innovation, practical resources, and university-supported tools rather than a single comprehensive governance code in the provided sources
At Ball State, we support the use of AI tools that align with our institutional mission, values, and commitment to ethical innovation.
The Office of Information Technology is leading efforts to help the Ball State community explore, understand, and use AI tools effectively and responsibly.
This site offers guidance, resources, and access to tools for faculty, staff, and students interested in using AI in teaching, learning, research, and productivity.
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 Ball State University's AI Policies
Ball State University has defined AI policies in 12 of 12 categories, with an overall coverage score of 100%.
Ball State says AI use must be cited or expressly permitted by the instructor when used for academic work, and course syllabi should communicate specific expectations. In research with human participants, researchers must disclose AI use to participants when it could affect their willingness to participate.
Ball State identifies unauthorized AI-generated academic content as potential plagiarism or academic dishonesty and directs students and faculty to the existing academic integrity process. The provided sources do not set out a specific institutional rule endorsing or prohibiting AI-detection tools.
Ball State prohibits entering personal, confidential, controlled, or institutional information into public AI tools unless approved, including student information, grades, and FERPA-protected data. The university also identifies approved or institutionally supported platforms and resources through its AI initiatives pages.