Teaching & Learning
- UIC does not set one uniform campus-wide rule for student coursework; guidance states AI use varies by course and instructor
- In the History Department, generative AI is prohibited for PhD dissertations and MA papers, with only non-generative proofreading assistance allowed
- In the College of Medicine, submitted assignments must be drafted by students themselves, with AI limited to idea generation and editing, and direct AI authorship treated as an academic integrity violation
While there is no universal approach to utilizing AI writing tools in your classroom, you should take into account different factors, including your course’s learning objectives, relevant disciplinary skills, and your level of comfort with the technology. As you create your unique AI usage guidelines, here are steps to help build your AI working policy.
Students may not utilize generative AI and other large language models (LLM) as a substitute for their own knowledge acquisition, analysis of material, or self-reflection. Submitted assignments are expected to be written by students. While AI may be used to assist in idea generation and editing, students are expected to draft their assignment on their own. Use of AI to directly author the response is considered a violation of academic integrity and professionalism.
The Department of History at UIC prohibits the use of generative AI programs for completing a PhD dissertation or an MA paper. Dissertations and MA papers must represent original research, demonstrate independent thinking, and show mastery of a scholarly field in agreement with the academic integrity standards. The arguments and intellectual contributions are required to be the original creations of the author.
Students may use non-generative, assistive AI tools to address basic editing typical of standard proofreading. These include spell check, grammar, and punctuation. The use of AI to rewrite the text, create new language or content is prohibited.
- UIC guidance for instructors says assessment rules should be established at the course level, including when AI is acceptable or out of bounds
- The College of Medicine explicitly prohibits students from using generative AI to gather, research, or brainstorm answers for closed-book assessments unless faculty or college leadership expressly allow it
Be transparent about your learning outcomes and the teaching methods that inform your assignments. What are you hoping students learn through the work? When is using an AI tool required? When is it appropriate and acceptable? When is it out of bounds? How will use of generative AI be cited in classwork?
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT or other large language models (LLMs) may not be used to gather, research, or brainstorm for answers for closed-book assessments unless explicitly instructed by faculty or college leadership. The use of these tools without permission is a violation of academic integrity and professionalism.
- The guidance also requires students to use AI as a supplement rather than a replacement for critical thinking and problem-solving
- UIC student guidance permits generative AI as a study aid and for non-graded learning support, such as flashcards, practice, idea generation, and revising one’s own work
Use it as part of the revision process to enhance your own work.
Shorten your own text.
Revise your own text for spelling and grammar.
Create study aids (e.g., flashcards) for quizzes or exams.
Test and practice your knowledge of course topics.
Conduct basic research on course and assignment topics.
Use it to help come up with new ideas or expand upon existing ones.
Develop skills related to usage of generative AI as it will add value to your profile for the workplace.
Generative AI can help people communicate, translate, summarize, and more.
Don’t use generative AI to replace your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Use generative AI to supplement your learning, not to replace it.
Research
- That department allows only non-generative assistive tools for basic proofreading and requires acknowledgement of approved AI uses in the final manuscript
- UIC does not provide a uniform university-wide rule in the listed sources, but the History Department explicitly prohibits generative AI for PhD dissertations and MA papers
The Department of History at UIC prohibits the use of generative AI programs for completing a PhD dissertation or an MA paper. Dissertations and MA papers must represent original research, demonstrate independent thinking, and show mastery of a scholarly field in agreement with the academic integrity standards. The arguments and intellectual contributions are required to be the original creations of the author.
Students may use non-generative, assistive AI tools to address basic editing typical of standard proofreading. These include spell check, grammar, and punctuation. The use of AI to rewrite the text, create new language or content is prohibited.
If AI tools are used as described in 1 and 2, the author must acknowledge their use in the acknowledgement section of the dissertation or MA paper.
- No broader university-wide research data and analysis rule is explicitly defined in the provided UIC sources
- Within the listed sources, the History Department permits AI for certain research-support functions in dissertations and MA papers, specifically creating graphs, data analysis, and transcribing audio text, provided there is proper and clear citation
2. AI may be used for creating graphs, data analysis, and transcribing audio text from oral interviews, elements that may go into a dissertation, with proper and clear citation.
If AI tools are used as described in 1 and 2, the author must acknowledge their use in the acknowledgement section of the dissertation or MA paper.
- However, the provided sources do not define specific rules for AI use in grant proposals, IRB applications, or ethics declarations
- The University of Illinois System principles adopted in UIC-linked materials state that generative AI use must be appropriate, responsible, ethical, and compliant with applicable policies, standards, laws, and regulations
The principles commit the University of Illinois System to the appropriate, responsible, and ethical development, adoption, and use of generative AI in alignment with the System’s guiding principles and mission: to transform lives and serve society by educating, creating knowledge, and putting knowledge to work on a large scale and with excellence.
When applying these principles and evaluating options, always consider the ethical implications of possible outcomes and act with the highest ethical standards. This includes complying with applicable University of Illinois System policies, industry standards, and laws and regulations.
Academic Integrity
- UIC guidance requires transparency about AI use and citation where appropriate
- Instructor guidance also contemplates requiring honor statements and specifying in class policy how AI use must be cited
- In the History Department, authors must acknowledge permitted AI uses in the acknowledgement section of dissertations or MA papers, and the student and advisor are responsible for ensuring that statement appears in the final copy
Be transparent in your use of generative AI and cite as appropriate.
In academic scholarship, writers need to cite the sources that they paraphrase, quote, and reference in their work. While major publishing organizations such as the Committee on Publishing Ethics have clearly stated generative AI tools can not be listed as authors on papers, it is important that scholars at all levels be transparent about their use of these tools.
If AI tools are used as described in 1 and 2, the author must acknowledge their use in the acknowledgement section of the dissertation or MA paper.
The student and their advisor will ensure that such statement is provided in the final copy of the dissertation.
Use an honor statement where students certify that work is their own, all sources are correctly attributed, and/or the contribution of any generative AI technologies is fully acknowledged.
Be transparent about your learning outcomes and the teaching methods that inform your assignments. What are you hoping students learn through the work? When is using an AI tool required? When is it appropriate and acceptable? When is it out of bounds? How will use of generative AI be cited in classwork?
- This indicates detection practices may occur at the instructor level rather than through a single university-wide AI detector rule
- UIC materials state that unauthorized AI use can constitute academic misconduct, and in the College of Medicine it is expressly a violation of academic integrity and professionalism
- UIC faculty resources emphasize gathering evidence and speaking with students, and a UIC teaching resource provides a sample course statement allowing an instructor to submit writing to an AI detector such as GPTZero
Use of AI to directly author the response is considered a violation of academic integrity and professionalism.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT or other large language models (LLMs) may not be used to gather, research, or brainstorm for answers for closed-book assessments unless explicitly instructed by faculty or college leadership. The use of these tools without permission is a violation of academic integrity and professionalism.
The number one reason faculty fail to report academic misconduct is doubt they have enough evidence to substantiate a claim^{4}. Know that tools such as SafeAssign, MOSS, and even just a google search make finding evidence somewhat simple. You can also search sites like Chegg or Course Hero for papers matching students’ work.
Additionally, one of the easiest ways to gather evidence of academic misconduct is speaking with the student. You can ask them to explain their thought process regarding various pieces that seem incongruent with the overall submission or earlier submissions.
Example statement prohibiting the use of AI writing tools: The use of AI writing tools (including, but not limited to, ChatGPT, Bard, or Sudowrite) is NOT permitted in this course. Students who use these tools for class assignments undermine the goals and learning objectives for this course, reducing the effectiveness of instruction. The instructor may submit student writing to an AI writing detector (e.g., GPTZero) at any point throughout the term.
Institutional & Administrative
- The materials also suggest AI can help instructors generate initial drafts of announcements, outlines, and lesson plans
- Instructors are advised to set course-specific frameworks for student AI use, discuss academic integrity, support equitable access, and think critically about biased outputs
- UIC and University of Illinois System guidance permits instructors to use generative AI for teaching preparation and encourages them to explore appropriate instructional uses
Instructors can utilize these tools to generate initial drafts of many different types of documents including announcements, outlines, and lesson plans.
Investigate opportunities for enhancing student learning, personalization, and workload reduction to allow for higher level skills and learning activities.
Provide opportunities to explore and learn from each other.
To ensure an equitable and safe learning environment, instructors should recognize the limitations associated with newly developing technologies.
Provide equal access to generative AI tools and resources for all students. Beyond the AI models, instructors should promote inclusivity and diversity in the classroom and support all students.
Understand that training data used to create generative AI models may be inherently biased. Instructors should be aware of this and think critically about results.
It is important to discuss academic integrity and the use of AI tools with students.
You can collaborate with your students to create a framework and generate parameters around the use of generative AI in the course.
- UIC requires extra review before entering high-risk or sensitive data into generative AI tools and states that such data in AI solutions must be covered by appropriate contracts and data-use agreements
- UIC and University of Illinois System guidance also warns users not to enter proprietary, personal, sensitive, confidential, HIPAA-, or FERPA-protected information into such tools, and the College of Medicine specifically prohibits entering protected health information into unauthorized generative AI tools outside supported EHR systems
Students, staff, faculty, and researchers who need to enter high-risk or sensitive data into a generative AI tool or service should submit a ticket to security@uic.edu and reference the above guidance, principles, and policies. High-risk or sensitive data created, stored, or managed in any generative-AI solution must have appropriate contracts and data-use agreements in place.
Protect data and ensure generative AI systems and applications incorporate privacy and security by design. Comply with applicable privacy laws and regulations and best practices when using personal data. Implement strong security measures to prevent unauthorized access to generative AI systems and the data they process.
Any proprietary, sensitive, or confidential information entered as prompts could be used in outputs for other users.
Users may enter personal or sensitive information about themselves or others (e.g., protected by HIPAA, FERPA), which ChatGPT may then store and use in future responses.
Protect data and do not enter proprietary information.
Students are prohibited from generating patient care notes using AI applications other than those supported by the electronic health record (EHR), such as predictive text, and only if explicitly permitted by course leadership. Protected health information should never be entered into a generative AI tool outside of one supported and authorized by the EHR within the patient’s healthcare facility.
- UIC points to a broader University of Illinois System governance approach for generative AI centered on awareness, guidance and support, stakeholder engagement, and formal principles
- The stated strategy is to pursue responsible and ethical AI adoption, actively monitor the technology, engage stakeholders across roles, and govern use through system-wide principles such as accountability, inclusiveness, privacy and security, and ongoing monitoring
This statement provides information and policies on the responsible and acceptable use of generative AI within our UIC Community.
UIC recognizes the potential benefits of generative AI, in enhancing teaching, research, and healthcare for our students, our state, and the world. However, we acknowledge the need for appropriate and responsible use. We are committed to using generative AI ethically and in alignment with our guiding principles and our mission, to transform lives and serve society by educating, creating knowledge, and putting knowledge to work on a large scale and with excellence.
We believe that the responsible use of generative AI requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving collaboration between faculty, IT professionals, researchers, students, and others. We acknowledge that this technology will evolve, and that continued dialogue is needed. To that end, UIC is actively monitoring this topic and is engaging with stakeholders.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the evolution of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of technological advances, societal acceptance, and regulation, it is important for the University of Illinois System to adopt principles for generative AI governance.
The principles commit the University of Illinois System to the appropriate, responsible, and ethical development, adoption, and use of generative AI in alignment with the System’s guiding principles and mission: to transform lives and serve society by educating, creating knowledge, and putting knowledge to work on a large scale and with excellence.
With the sudden general availability, adoption, and hype of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications like ChatGPT, the University of Illinois System has started on a journey to explore potential near and long-term risks and opportunities of generative AI. This web site has been developed to help:
Create awareness
Provide guidance and support
Engage in conversation and foster collaboration opportunities
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 University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)'s AI Policies
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has defined AI policies in 11 of 12 categories, with an overall coverage score of 92%.
UIC guidance requires transparency about AI use and citation where appropriate. In the History Department, authors must acknowledge permitted AI uses in the acknowledgement section of dissertations or MA papers, and the student and advisor are responsible for ensuring that statement appears in the final copy. Instructor guidance also contemplates requiring honor statements and specifying in class policy how AI use must be cited.
UIC materials state that unauthorized AI use can constitute academic misconduct, and in the College of Medicine it is expressly a violation of academic integrity and professionalism. UIC faculty resources emphasize gathering evidence and speaking with students, and a UIC teaching resource provides a sample course statement allowing an instructor to submit writing to an AI detector such as GPTZero. This indicates detection practices may occur at the instructor level rather than through a single university-wide AI detector rule.
UIC requires extra review before entering high-risk or sensitive data into generative AI tools and states that such data in AI solutions must be covered by appropriate contracts and data-use agreements. UIC and University of Illinois System guidance also warns users not to enter proprietary, personal, sensitive, confidential, HIPAA-, or FERPA-protected information into such tools, and the College of Medicine specifically prohibits entering protected health information into unauthorized generative AI tools outside supported EHR systems.