Teaching & Learning
- Boston University states that instructors set course-specific rules for whether and how students may use generative AI on coursework and assignments, and students are responsible for complying with those instructions
- BU also states that using generative AI for course assignments in ways not permitted by the instructor is academic misconduct, and that submitting AI-generated or AI-assisted output without attribution is a form of plagiarism treated as academic misconduct
Instructors have broad discretion to set rules on how GenAI may or may not be used within each individual course. It is your responsibility to comply with these instructions. Always consult the GenAI policy for the course or ask the instructor before assuming use of GenAI is allowed.
Use of GenAI for course assignments in ways not permitted by the instructor is a form of academic misconduct.
Submitting GenAI-generated or GenAI-assisted output without attribution is a form of plagiarism that your instructor will treat as an instance of academic misconduct.
- Boston University’s Academic Conduct Code defines cheating on an examination and unauthorized communication during examinations as violations, and it includes copying answers on an examination as an example of plagiarism
- The provided sources do not include an AI-specific exams rule, but they do include AI-related plagiarism language (copying/restating work from AI software without citing the source), which could apply to exam work when citation is required or expected
A. Cheating on an examination or assignment. Any attempt by students to alter their performance on an examination or assignment in violation of the stated or commonly understood ground rules.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying the answers of another student on an examination; copying or restating the work or ideas of another person/persons or artificial intelligence software in any oral or written work (printed or electronic) without appropriately citing the source; using visuals, audio, or video footage that comes from another source (including work done by another student) without permission and/or acknowledgement of that source; and collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging their contribution.
E. Unauthorized communication during examinations. Any unauthorized communication may be considered automatic evidence of cheating.
- Boston University encourages students to use generative AI as a study and learning resource (e.g., as a personalized tutor) while emphasizing that students must verify AI-assisted outputs for accuracy
- BU also states that without faculty guidance, students may use these tools for studying in ways that unintentionally violate academic integrity standards, and recommends that faculty clarify allowable versus misuse in their course
We encourage you to treat GenAI tools as a resource that could potentially help you in studying, discover new information, deepen your understanding, and increase your academic productivity. These tools can be used as an effective personalized tutor and there are prompt designs in place that can establish guardrails consistent with a tutor.
You are ultimately responsible for the validity and accuracy of any work you do. GenAI is prone to hallucination, where it offers forth incorrect information authoritatively. Always verify GenAI-assisted outputs, including facts and references.
Without such guidance, students may use these tools for help with studying and on homework assignments in ways that unintentionally violate academic integrity standards. It is therefore important for faculty to review what constitutes allowable versus misuse of GenAI in their course.
- Boston University states that instructors have broad discretion to determine how generative AI may or may not be used within each course, and students must follow the course’s GenAI policy
- The provided sources do not define a BU-wide programming- or code-generation-specific rule beyond the general requirement to comply with instructor rules and to attribute AI use where required
Instructors have broad discretion to set rules on how GenAI may or may not be used within each individual course. It is your responsibility to comply with these instructions. Always consult the GenAI policy for the course or ask the instructor before assuming use of GenAI is allowed.
Research
- BU also warns that submitting AI-generated or AI-assisted output without attribution is plagiarism and will be treated by the instructor as academic misconduct
- Boston University states that many students are using generative AI for research, and that students must disclose (by a proper reference) when they use generative AI tools and describe how they used them in producing their work
Generative AI (GenAI) tools are now widely available, and many students are using them for coursework and research.
Disclose (by a proper reference) when you leverage GenAI tools and describe how you used them in producing your work.
Submitting GenAI-generated or GenAI-assisted output without attribution is a form of plagiarism that your instructor will treat as an instance of academic misconduct.
- BU also states that TerrierGPT and BU’s AI API access provide stronger data protection, including that prompts/results are not used to train providers’ models and that the service is authorized for data up to Confidential (but not Restricted Use)
- Boston University warns that inputting or sharing private or sensitive information through commercial generative AI tools may compromise privacy and violate BU policy, and recommends TerrierGPT for academic use while noting it is not approved for restricted data (including HIPAA-regulated information)
Commercial GenAI tools (including paid or plus versions) do not guarantee privacy. Thus, inputting or sharing private or sensitive information through these tools (e.g., work of other students you have been given in confidence, copyrighted class materials, scientific papers you are helping review, unpublished manuscripts) may compromise privacy and violate privacy laws and BU policy.
For academic use, we recommend TerrierGPT because it protects data and complies with BU privacy policies. However, TerrierGPT is not approved for restricted data (e.g., HIPAA-regulated information).
TerrierGPT is designed to provide BU students, faculty, and staff with secure and flexible access to leading generative artificial intelligence models (GenAI) models.
Any prompts or results you send are not shared externally or used to train the providers’ models. All LLMs offered through this service are authorized for data up to Confidential.
- Separately, BU’s student GenAI guidelines state that students must disclose GenAI use by proper reference and that uncredited GenAI-generated or GenAI-assisted output is plagiarism treated as academic misconduct
- Boston University’s Academic Conduct Code includes AI software as a source that can be plagiarized if used without appropriate citation, and it treats misrepresentation, falsification, or fabrication of data as academic misconduct
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying the answers of another student on an examination; copying or restating the work or ideas of another person/persons or artificial intelligence software in any oral or written work (printed or electronic) without appropriately citing the source; using visuals, audio, or video footage that comes from another source (including work done by another student) without permission and/or acknowledgement of that source; and collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging their contribution.
C. Misrepresentation, falsification, or fabrication of data presented for surveys, experiments, reports, etc., which includes but is not limited to: citing authors who do not exist; citing interviews that never took place; citing field work that was not completed; and falsely claiming attendance at mandatory class events.
Disclose (by a proper reference) when you leverage GenAI tools and describe how you used them in producing your work.
Submitting GenAI-generated or GenAI-assisted output without attribution is a form of plagiarism that your instructor will treat as an instance of academic misconduct.
Academic Integrity
- Boston University requires disclosure and attribution of GenAI use in academic work: students are instructed to disclose (by proper reference) when they use GenAI and describe how it was used
- BU also states that submitting GenAI-generated or GenAI-assisted output without attribution is plagiarism treated as academic misconduct, and its Academic Conduct Code includes copying/restating work from AI software without appropriate citation as plagiarism
Disclose (by a proper reference) when you leverage GenAI tools and describe how you used them in producing your work.
Submitting GenAI-generated or GenAI-assisted output without attribution is a form of plagiarism that your instructor will treat as an instance of academic misconduct.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying the answers of another student on an examination; copying or restating the work or ideas of another person/persons or artificial intelligence software in any oral or written work (printed or electronic) without appropriately citing the source; using visuals, audio, or video footage that comes from another source (including work done by another student) without permission and/or acknowledgement of that source; and collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging their contribution.
- Boston University’s Academic Conduct Code provides procedures and penalties for academic misconduct generally, and defines plagiarism to include using AI software without appropriately citing the source
- In a separate college-level policy example (CDS GAIA), the policy includes employing AI detection tools and imposing penalties for unreflective reuse of AI-generated material; however, this is presented as a policy derived from a course case study rather than a university-wide enforcement standard in the provided sources
The Code provides clarity related to policy and procedure regarding academic conduct.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following: copying the answers of another student on an examination; copying or restating the work or ideas of another person/persons or artificial intelligence software in any oral or written work (printed or electronic) without appropriately citing the source; using visuals, audio, or video footage that comes from another source (including work done by another student) without permission and/or acknowledgement of that source; and collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging their contribution.
Employ AI detection tools to evaluate the degree to which AI tools have likely been employed.
Impose a significant penalty for low-energy or unreflective reuse of material generated by AI tools and assigning zero points for merely reproducing the output from AI tools.
This GAIA policy derives from a case study conducted by the 47 juniors and seniors enrolled in the inaugural offering of CDS DS-380, “Data, Ethics, and Society" in Spring 2023.
Institutional & Administrative
- BU also provides institutional guidance framed as recommendations for faculty and staff to promote responsible and effective use of GenAI in teaching, research, and academic operations
- Boston University’s classroom guidance recommends that faculty explicitly state their GenAI policy in the syllabus, including disclosing how instructors will use GenAI for lecture preparation, presentations, grading, and other course-related tasks
With students having easy access to generative AI (GenAI) tools, BU faculty must proactively guide appropriate and ethical use in coursework.
State your policy on GenAI use explicitly in the course syllabus. This includes disclosing how the instructors (faculty and student teachers) will use GenAI for lecture preparation, presentations, grading, and other course related tasks.
Generative AI (GenAI) tools are now widely available, and students, faculty, and staff are using them for a range of academic and administrative activities. In response, AIDA leadership has outlined the following institutional guidance for faculty and staff to promote responsible and effective use of GenAI in teaching, research, and academic operations.
- Boston University warns that commercial GenAI tools do not guarantee privacy and that sharing private or sensitive information through them may violate BU policy
- BU recommends TerrierGPT for academic use due to data protection and BU privacy-policy compliance, while stating it is not approved for restricted data (including HIPAA-regulated information)
- BU also states that its AI API Access provides strong data protection under vendor agreements, that prompts/results are not shared externally or used to train providers’ models, and that LLMs offered through the service are authorized for data up to Confidential; BU’s data classification policy defines Confidential and Restricted Use data classifications and states that the classification scheme applies to all University Data
Commercial GenAI tools (including paid or plus versions) do not guarantee privacy. Thus, inputting or sharing private or sensitive information through these tools (e.g., work of other students you have been given in confidence, copyrighted class materials, scientific papers you are helping review, unpublished manuscripts) may compromise privacy and violate privacy laws and BU policy.
For academic use, we recommend TerrierGPT because it protects data and complies with BU privacy policies. However, TerrierGPT is not approved for restricted data (e.g., HIPAA-regulated information).
TerrierGPT is designed to provide BU students, faculty, and staff with secure and flexible access to leading generative artificial intelligence models (GenAI) models.
Strong Data Protection: The service ensures your data remains confidential and secure under BU’s existing vendor agreements. Any prompts or results you send are not shared externally or used to train the providers’ models. All LLMs offered through this service are authorized for data up to Confidential.
This classification scheme is to be applied to all University Data, both physical and electronic, throughout Boston University. No data item is too small to be classified.
Confidential data is information that, if made available to unauthorized parties, may adversely affect individuals or the business of Boston University.
Restricted Use data includes any information that BU has a contractual, legal, or regulatory obligation to safeguard in the most stringent manner.
- BU also states that an AI Task Force for Administration evaluated integrating GenAI within administrative processes and the organizational structure and support needed
- Boston University states that a university-wide AI task force was created in September 2023 to assess and make recommendations for the future of generative AI in education and research at BU, and the Provost published a report describing the task force and next steps
The Boston University AI Task Force was created in September 2023 by Provost ad interim Kenneth Lutchen to assess and make recommendations for the future of Generative AI in education and research at BU.
Last fall, as you may remember, I appointed a University-wide task force to assess and make recommendations for the future of Generative AI in education and research at BU.
The AI Task Force for Administration evaluated the potential for integrating Generative AI (GenAI) within administrative processes along with the organizational structure and support needed to do so successfully.
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 Boston University's AI Policies
Boston University has defined AI policies in 12 of 12 categories, with an overall coverage score of 100%.
Boston University requires disclosure and attribution of GenAI use in academic work: students are instructed to disclose (by proper reference) when they use GenAI and describe how it was used. BU also states that submitting GenAI-generated or GenAI-assisted output without attribution is plagiarism treated as academic misconduct, and its Academic Conduct Code includes copying/restating work from AI software without appropriate citation as plagiarism.
Boston University’s Academic Conduct Code provides procedures and penalties for academic misconduct generally, and defines plagiarism to include using AI software without appropriately citing the source. In a separate college-level policy example (CDS GAIA), the policy includes employing AI detection tools and imposing penalties for unreflective reuse of AI-generated material; however, this is presented as a policy derived from a course case study rather than a university-wide enforcement standard in the provided sources.
Boston University warns that commercial GenAI tools do not guarantee privacy and that sharing private or sensitive information through them may violate BU policy. BU recommends TerrierGPT for academic use due to data protection and BU privacy-policy compliance, while stating it is not approved for restricted data (including HIPAA-regulated information). BU also states that its AI API Access provides strong data protection under vendor agreements, that prompts/results are not shared externally or used to train providers’ models, and that LLMs offered through the service are authorized for data up to Confidential; BU’s data classification policy defines Confidential and Restricted Use data classifications and states that the classification scheme applies to all University Data.