Boston University

Generative AI Guidelines for Classroom Use

• 发布单位Publishing unit BU AI Development Accelerator
• 官方来源Official source https://www.bu.edu/aida/guidance/generative-ai-guidelines-for-classroom-use/
• 页面日期Page date Last revised February 2026

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Generative AI Guidelines for Classroom Use

With students having easy access to generative AI (GenAI) tools, BU faculty must proactively guide appropriate and ethical use in coursework. 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.

AIDA Leadership offers the following recommendations:

Clarify GenAI Expectations Early

Explore our

AI usage sample syllabi and policies page

, submitted by BU faculty.

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.

Take time in the first week of class to explain your policy and its rationale.

Make clear distinctions between acceptable and unacceptable uses.^{分级许可Tiered scale}

Reinforce Student Responsibility

Students should be made aware that:

They are responsible for verifying the accuracy of any AI-generated content.^{核实责任Verification duty}

Submitting GenAI-generated work as their own original work may constitute plagiarism.^{违规定性Integrity framing}

Misuse of GenAI can lead to violations of the university’s academic conduct policies.^{课程规则优先Instructor override}

Encourage Constructive Use

When appropriate, faculty are encouraged to:

Design assignments that integrate GenAI in a way that enhances learning, such as using it for brainstorming, editing, or reflection exercises.

Emphasize learning goals over performance metrics, which can help reduce misuse.

Consider process-focused assignments and assessing intermediate milestones towards a final product (e.g., topics to be covered, drafts, revisions, reflections, peer reviews) that even when produced with help from GenAI, they reinforce a way of working towards a final product.

Academic Misconduct and Detection Limits

Be very cautious with accusations of GenAI misuse—all detection tools are highly fallible, both with respect to false positives and false negatives^{检测器证据Detector evidence}, despite the marketing claims of companies that sell these products.

Apply enforcement policies uniformly to minimize bias. And recognize that even a uniform policy cannot eliminate bias — those students who are digitally savvy are more likely to evade detection, and those who are less knowledgeable are more likely to end up in the dragnet.

Focus on teaching students how to ethically and thoughtfully engage with GenAI, rather than only punishing misuse.

Support and Resources

Consider issues of equity, access, and security when promoting GenAI usage in your courses. If at all possible, create assignments on the

TerrierGPT platform

, to which all BU students and faculty have free access^{机构工具Institutional tools}. This has the additional benefit of providing a high level of data security, up through confidential data

. (Note that it is not approved for use with restricted use data^{数据与隐私Data & privacy}

).

For policies on GenAI use in broader academic and research contexts, please refer to:

Generative AI Guidelines for Faculty & Staff

.

Generative AI Tools for Students: AI Tools for Coursework

• 发布单位Publishing unit Boston University Libraries
• 官方来源Official source https://library.bu.edu/gen-ai/coursework
• 页面日期Page date Library guide footer: last updated Sep 25, 2026

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AI Tools for Coursework

Tips for Discussing AI With Your Instructor

Ask Early:

Clarify your instructor’s policy before starting your assignment.^{默认规则Default rule}

Be Specific:

Explain how you plan to use AI (e.g., brainstorming, summarizing, generating/editing content). Some uses may be allowed while others are restricted.

Plan for Attribution:

Credit AI use properly. Use APA, MLA, or Chicago styles, and follow any additional instructor requirements, such as:

Including prompts in an appendix

Providing a transcript of AI interactions^{过程留证Process evidence}

See the

Citing Generative AI section for detailed citation guidance.

Academic Integrity

Maintaining Integrity in the Age of AI

Academic integrity means honesty and ethical behavior in all academic work:

Don’t cheat or submit work you didn’t create.

Avoid plagiarism by properly crediting others’ ideas.

At BU, all students must follow the

Academic Conduct Code

. Learn more via the

Academic Integrity at BU page or the library’s

Citing Your Sources guide.

Using AI Ethically

Don’t present AI-generated content as your own.

Use AI to assist—not replace—your work.^{学习理由Learning rationale摘录Excerpt}

Cite AI-generated material to ensure transparency.^{披露要求Disclosure}

Following these principles supports fairness and respect in academia.