Teaching & Learning
- In some examples, AI use for assignments is permitted if cited or disclosed; in others, AI-generated submissions are not permitted and are treated as plagiarism or academic integrity violations
- Pepperdine does not set one uniform university-wide rule for student AI use in coursework; instead, the provost provides sample syllabus statements that allow faculty to choose whether AI is fully allowed, allowed with disclosure and attribution, limited to specific functions such as translation/grammar checking, or prohibited
The following sample syllabus statements are intended to assist professors in developing the appropriate policies or guidance for student use of AI tools and services within a course.
You may use AI programs (e.g. ChatGPT) to help generate ideas and brainstorm. If you use an AI tool when completing an assignment, it should be cited like any other reference material.
Using an AI-content generator such as ChatGPT to complete assignments without proper attribution violates academic integrity.
The use of Generative AI as a translation and grammar checking tool is permitted in this course.
Therefore, AI-generated submissions are not permitted and will be treated as plagiarism.
The use of generative AI, AI writing, or similar AI tools or services is not permitted in any aspect of this class. The use of such tools will be considered a violation of academic integrity and be reported accordingly.
- Where AI is used for learning support, students are told to verify outputs, think critically, and seek instructors or other academic resources for fuller guidance
- Pepperdine materials describe AI as potentially useful for idea generation, synthesis, information gathering, translation, and grammar checking, but this guidance is presented through sample course-level syllabus statements rather than a mandatory university-wide student rule
These tools can serve as incredible assistants, akin to calculators in math classes. Utilizing them effectively involves employing them for idea generation, synthesis, and information gathering to gain a comprehensive understanding of various topics.
Nonetheless, it is crucial that we, as users, take charge of guiding, verifying, and refining the ultimate answers generated by these tools.
The use of Generative AI as a translation and grammar checking tool is permitted in this course.
You may utilize these tools to aid in translating texts or checking grammar in your assignments.
However, be aware that Generative AI tools may not always provide accurate translations or catch all grammar errors. You are encouraged to develop your language skills and consult with instructors or language resources for comprehensive feedback and guidance.
Direct students to the school's academic integrity or academic dishonesty policies, as well as library services, writing centers, tutoring opportunities, or other academic support resources.
Research
- The AI Oversight Committee's mission and charge expressly include research, and the provost resource guide was formed to address AI in teaching, learning, and research
- Pepperdine states at the institutional level that AI use should be disclosed and that users must review and validate AI-generated content before sharing or publishing it, but it does not provide a specific university-wide rule for research manuscripts, theses, or dissertations in the provided sources
This committee is charged with the critical task of overseeing the adoption of AI and establishing and promoting best practices for AI across the entire University community. Our mission is to foster an environment where AI tools and technologies are utilized ethically, equitably, and innovatively to enhance learning, research, and administrative functions while maintaining optimal security and data protection, and upholding the University's values.
The AI Oversight Committee is responsible for:
* Strategic Oversight: Guiding the strategic integration of AI into University operations, academics, and research.
To meet academic and business standards, we must ensure that our content is accurate and appropriate for the community.
Carefully review all AI output with the understanding that generative AI results may include significant "hallucinations," changes to your meaning, unattributed intellectual property, factual errors, and biased or inappropriate statements.
Check before you share or publish: Always exercise caution and validate all AI output before including it in your work.
To uphold academic and business integrity, we must disclose our information sources, including the use of artificial intelligence.
This faculty resource guide is a product of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Committee, formed and tasked by Provost Jay Brewster to address the impact and adoption of AI in teaching, learning and research at Pepperdine University.
- Pepperdine does not provide a specific research-data or analysis policy for AI methods in the provided sources, but it does impose institutional data-handling restrictions that apply to AI tools
- Only certain university-approved tools may be used for authorized university data, public and confidential data may be used in Pepperdine's Google Workspace tools, and restricted data may never be used there
University leadership has allowed only Pepperdine Google Gemini and Pepperdine Zoom AI Companion as official tools for authorized University data.
If using Pepperdine's Google Workspace, you may use Public data (no restrictions) and Confidential data (password-protected and only shared with authorized parties), but never use RESTRICTED data in any Google Workspace tool, including Gemini.
* Data Security: Inputting Confidential data containing Personally Identifiable Information or RESTRICTED data into GenAI tools can compromise security.
- The university's AI oversight and IT position materials emphasize ethical and responsible use, transparency, accountability, academic integrity risk mitigation, and disclosure of AI use
- Pepperdine addresses AI ethics and integrity at a general institutional level rather than through a research-specific rule for grants, IRB applications, or ethics declarations in the provided sources
This committee is charged with the critical task of overseeing the adoption of AI and establishing and promoting best practices for AI across the entire University community. Our mission is to foster an environment where AI tools and technologies are utilized ethically, equitably, and innovatively to enhance learning, research, and administrative functions while maintaining optimal security and data protection, and upholding the University's values.
* Policy Development: Developing and recommending policies and guidelines for the ethical and responsible use of AI.
* Best Practices: Establishing and promoting best practices for AI adoption, ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability.
* Risk Mitigation: Identifying and addressing potential risks associated with AI, including data privacy, bias, and academic integrity.
By proactively addressing these concerns, we can ensure that GenAI is used ethically and responsibly, and in alignment with our commitment to integrity and service.
To uphold academic and business integrity, we must disclose our information sources, including the use of artificial intelligence.
Academic Integrity
- Pepperdine requires or recommends disclosure and attribution of AI use in multiple sources
- In Caruso Law career-development materials, any AI use in drafting a writing sample must be disclosed on the Writing Sample Cover Page
- In provost sample syllabus language, students may need to cite AI like other reference material or include a paragraph explaining how they used it and what prompts they used, and undisclosed use can violate academic honesty policies
If you use an AI tool when completing an assignment, it should be cited like any other reference material.
AI is a tool, but one that you need to acknowledge using. Please include a paragraph at the end of any assignment that uses AI explaining what you used the AI for and what prompts you used to get the results. Failure to do so is in violation of the academic honesty policies.
Using an AI-content generator such as ChatGPT to complete assignments without proper attribution violates academic integrity. By submitting assignments in this class, you pledge to affirm that they are your own work and you attribute use of any tools and sources.
● Full disclosure: Like any other tool, the use of AI should be acknowledged.
To uphold academic and business integrity, we must disclose our information sources, including the use of artificial intelligence.
If AI was used at any stage for any purpose while drafting the writing sample, including idea generation and/or brainstorming, this must be disclosed on your Writing Sample Cover Page.
- Pepperdine uses Turnitin Originality as a plagiarism detection service and provides faculty resources related to AI detection through Turnitin
- Faculty using Turnitin must include a syllabus statement of intended use and remove personally identifiable information from submitted work to comply with FERPA
- The university notes that Turnitin's AI Writing Detection only supports English, and several AI-use statements say unauthorized or undisclosed AI use may be treated as plagiarism, academic integrity violations, or Honor Code violations
Pepperdine University subscribes to Turnitin Originality, an online plagiarism detection service.
* AI Detection FAQ (PDF)
IMPORTANT: AI Writing Detection only supports English at this time.
Failure to do so is in violation of the academic honesty policies.
Therefore, AI-generated submissions are not permitted and will be treated as plagiarism.
The use of such tools will be considered a violation of academic integrity and be reported accordingly.
Violations of this policy constitute Honor Code Violations and will be handled as outlined in the Student Handbook.
In order to comply with FERPA, faculty members must always include the statement of intended use of Turnitin within the class syllabus and ensure that no personally identifiable information is included within the submitted assignment by informing students to remove such content.
Institutional & Administrative
- Faculty are also expected to manage Turnitin use in compliance with FERPA, and the provost's AI syllabus statements are expressly designed to help professors set course policies for student AI use
- Pepperdine permits faculty and staff to use university-approved AI tools for university academic and business purposes, subject to approval processes for premium offerings and institutional guidance on accuracy, disclosure, and data protection
While the landscape of generative AI tools is still developing, Pepperdine University's leadership, including Executive Administration, General Counsel, and Information Technology, has partnered to rigorously evaluate tools that can be used by all faculty, staff, and students for all University academic and business purposes.
If interested in Gemini AI Pro for Education, faculty and staff should consult with their area supervisor and/or budget manager. If approved, faculty/staff may submit a Gemini Premium request.
To meet academic and business standards, we must ensure that our content is accurate and appropriate for the community.
Check before you share or publish: Always exercise caution and validate all AI output before including it in your work.
To uphold academic and business integrity, we must disclose our information sources, including the use of artificial intelligence.
In order to comply with FERPA, faculty members must always include the statement of intended use of Turnitin within the class syllabus and ensure that no personally identifiable information is included within the submitted assignment by informing students to remove such content.
The following sample syllabus statements are intended to assist professors in developing the appropriate policies or guidance for student use of AI tools and services within a course.
- Pepperdine has an explicit approved-platform and data-protection policy for AI
- The IT position statement also warns that entering confidential data containing personally identifiable information or restricted data into generative AI tools can compromise security
- Only Pepperdine Google Gemini and Pepperdine Zoom AI Companion are approved for authorized university data; university data is not authorized for personal accounts; public and confidential data may be used in Pepperdine Google Workspace, but restricted data may never be entered
University leadership has allowed only Pepperdine Google Gemini and Pepperdine Zoom AI Companion as official tools for authorized University data.
Please refer to the Google Workspace Storage Policy to learn about the classification of data appropriate for use in Pepperdine Google Gemini or Pepperdine Zoom.
Note: University data is not authorized for any personal accounts. Be mindful of the account you are logged into!
Because Google Gemini has joined Google Workspace for Education as a core service, it follows the same privacy protections as our existing Google environment and tools. Google also will not use University data to train any large language models (LLMs). If using Pepperdine's Google Workspace, you may use Public data (no restrictions) and Confidential data (password-protected and only shared with authorized parties), but never use RESTRICTED data in any Google Workspace tool, including Gemini.
* Data Security: Inputting Confidential data containing Personally Identifiable Information or RESTRICTED data into GenAI tools can compromise security.
- Pepperdine has a formal AI governance structure through its AI Oversight Committee, which oversees AI adoption and develops best practices, policies, and strategic guidance across the university
- Its charge explicitly covers university operations, academics, and research, with attention to ethics, transparency, accountability, privacy, bias, academic integrity, and alignment with university values
This committee is charged with the critical task of overseeing the adoption of AI and establishing and promoting best practices for AI across the entire University community. Our mission is to foster an environment where AI tools and technologies are utilized ethically, equitably, and innovatively to enhance learning, research, and administrative functions while maintaining optimal security and data protection, and upholding the University's values.
The AI Oversight Committee is responsible for:
* Strategic Oversight: Guiding the strategic integration of AI into University operations, academics, and research.
* Policy Development: Developing and recommending policies and guidelines for the ethical and responsible use of AI.
* Best Practices: Establishing and promoting best practices for AI adoption, ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability.
* Risk Mitigation: Identifying and addressing potential risks associated with AI, including data privacy, bias, and academic integrity.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) presents exciting opportunities and challenges for Pepperdine University. In considering GenAI’s potential to enhance teaching, learning, and productivity, we must approach this technology thoughtfully and responsibly, aligning its use with our core values. With that in mind, the following is the work of an ad hoc committee comprised of members of the Pepperdine University Information Technology Department and the Keck Data Science Institute.
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 Pepperdine University's AI Policies
Pepperdine University has defined AI policies in 10 of 12 categories, with an overall coverage score of 83%.
Pepperdine requires or recommends disclosure and attribution of AI use in multiple sources. In provost sample syllabus language, students may need to cite AI like other reference material or include a paragraph explaining how they used it and what prompts they used, and undisclosed use can violate academic honesty policies. In Caruso Law career-development materials, any AI use in drafting a writing sample must be disclosed on the Writing Sample Cover Page.
Pepperdine uses Turnitin Originality as a plagiarism detection service and provides faculty resources related to AI detection through Turnitin. The university notes that Turnitin's AI Writing Detection only supports English, and several AI-use statements say unauthorized or undisclosed AI use may be treated as plagiarism, academic integrity violations, or Honor Code violations. Faculty using Turnitin must include a syllabus statement of intended use and remove personally identifiable information from submitted work to comply with FERPA.
Pepperdine has an explicit approved-platform and data-protection policy for AI. Only Pepperdine Google Gemini and Pepperdine Zoom AI Companion are approved for authorized university data; university data is not authorized for personal accounts; public and confidential data may be used in Pepperdine Google Workspace, but restricted data may never be entered. The IT position statement also warns that entering confidential data containing personally identifiable information or restricted data into generative AI tools can compromise security.