Cleveland Institute of Art AI Policy

This Fall, all course syllabi must include a policy on student use of AI tools. Faculty have full autonomy to decide whether and how AI may be used in their courses. Policies should clarify if AI is permitted, and if so, when and how it may be used—whether broadly or specific to assignment types.

Faculty should also clearly state the consequences for unapproved use of AI tools, such as whether it will be considered academic dishonesty or plagiarism, and what penalties may apply (e.g., failing the assignment, receiving a zero, or being referred for academic misconduct). Faculty may want to reference CIA's Student Handbook for specific language or policies, particularly the section on academic integrity.

We seek to equip students, faculty, and staff with critical tools to assess, question, and engage with AI on campus and beyond — and to empower our members to find and utilize the principles and tools that support their personal missions.

Faculty have full autonomy to decide whether and how AI may be used in their courses.

Using AI in Teaching. This is an asynchronous version of a workshop on using AI in Teaching. Topics include ethical considerations, using AI to support challenging assignments, crafting prompts to support teaching and learning, and the importance of having course policies on AI.

This philosophy was created by the Teaching and Learning Committee in 2024 and approved by Cabinet in May 2025.

The “committee” to which Weaver refers is CIA’s AI in Creative Practice Committee, which includes faculty members Jimmy Kuehnle (Sculpture + Expanded Media), Scott Ligon (Foundation), Suzie McGinness ’07 (Illustration), Jason Tilk ’97 (Industrial Design) and herself (Liberal Arts). Together, they represent each of the College’s five academic divisions—and it was this team that participated in the AAC&U institute.

CIA approved an institutional philosophy regarding AI this past spring semester. The philosophy—cultivated over the course of a year by 11 faculty and staff members on the College’s Teaching + Learning Committee—doesn’t endorse AI itself but instead endorses learning and innovation around AI.

“We have a responsibility to do everything we can to advance digital literacy and future-proof both our curriculum and our operations so that students—and the College—don’t get left behind amid technological disruption,” Heidemann says.

Another of CIA’s forward-thinking approaches involves three new Jane B. Nord Center for Teaching + Learning faculty fellows who will focus on AI and emerging technologies during the 2025–26 academic year.