Christopher Newport University AI Policy

This topic includes when and how to use AI effectively and, critically, how to use it ethically and responsibly.

When a student fails to meet the standards for academic integrity, the student has committed a violation of the classroom expectations of the faculty member as well as the Honor Code of the University.

Thus, it is the faculty member’s responsibility to assess the scholarly integrity of the work submitted.

At CNU, AI Literacy is grounded in an interdisciplinary liberal arts education. It is the ongoing ability to understand how artificial intelligence functions at a foundational level; to use AI tools effectively and responsibly; to critically evaluate AI’s outputs, limitations, and ethical implications; and to recognize the essential role and value of humans as sources of knowledge and creativity.

Critical and Reflective Judgment: the ability to determine why, when, and how AI should be used, and to assess AI-generated information for bias, accuracy, and appropriateness;

We will teach you to use artificial intelligence.

But we will never ask you to surrender your intelligence to it.

Your faculty and staff are using it and studying it as well.

There will be a variety of ways for students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders to participate in the planning process, so keep an eye out for invitations. Please contribute ideas when opportunities arise because a range of approaches to the topic are needed in order to provide different pathways for students, faculty and staff to engage with AI Literacy.

We are using artificial intelligence in Advancement, Student Affairs, Admissions and elsewhere to save time and improve our engagement.

CNU’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is focused on AI Literacy.

While AI literacy and fluency will be addressed throughout our campus operations, the QEP must be focused within the bounds of improving specific student learning outcomes and/or student success.

The second phase began in August, 2025 with a QEP Topic Planning Committee taking the lead. This committee will work together for approximately one year, leading a collaborative effort with students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders toward crafting a recommendation that explains a framework for approaching our AI Literacy topic and strategy for implementation and assessment.

We are developing one of Virginia's first majors in Artificial Intelligence, and this year we are launching a campus-wide effort to build AI literacy across our University.