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MOUNT ST. JOSEPH UNIVERSITY

GENERATIVE AI POLICY

FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF AND REPRESENTATIVES 

Scope

This Generative AI Policy (“Policy”) sets forth the responsible and ethical use of Generative AI throughout Mount St. Joseph University’s (the “University”) operations and functions. This Policy applies to all students, faculty, staff, and representatives of the University when engaging in or interacting with University operations and functions, or otherwise using University data, materials, property, or resources.

Generative AI

For purposes of this Policy, “Generative AI” means all machine-based tools, deep-learning models, artificial intelligence, and similar applications that are not owned and operated by, or contracted with, the University and which process materials, prompts, questions, or other inputs, in any medium or format, to generate an output for the user thereof. Such outputs are often generated by scraping the internet for context, information, images, and other content, synthesizing such materials, and generating a responsive output to a user’s questions or prompts. Current examples of Generative AI include ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Stable Diffusion, and Copilot.

Use Guidelines

The University is committed to adherence to the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and responsibility. This includes not only the expectation that students, faculty, staff, and all representatives of the University community properly document all sources used in their work, but also the promotion of an environment of creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership. As such, Generative AI poses both unique opportunities and challenges to the culture of creativity and originality the University seeks to cultivate. Moreover, Generative AI also introduces novel avenues for violating other University policies, such as protection of confidential or proprietary information, originality of workmanship and authorship, and respect for all persons.

Generative AI is rapidly evolving, and as a result, the opportunities, risks, and use-guidelines are also rapidly changing. The University will continue to review and assess the impact of Generative AI on all aspects of its operations and functions, and will update this Policy as the relevant technology progresses. All students, faculty, staff, and representatives are expected to review and comply with this Policy, as updated from time to time.

Risks Associated with Generative AI

Given the relatively new nature of Generative AI, it is not yet possible to assess all likely risks associated with its use. However, the currently known risks threaten the security of the University’s data and systems, and may result in the violation of applicable laws, rules, regulations, or contracts to which the University is bound. Therefore, all members of the University community are expected to understand and assess their individual usage of Generative AI through the terms of this Policy and the following considerations:

·       Private or protected information provided to Generative AI may be made publicly available or used for purposes other than official University operations and functions. This may happen even if the owner or licensor of the Generative AI technology promises confidentiality.

·       Outputs created by Generative AI may violate the intellectual property or other rights of third parties.

·       Outputs created by Generative AI may be false, inaccurate, or misleading, and reliance on such information may result in adverse outcomes for the University and/or anyone who relies on such outputs.

·       Outputs created by Generative AI may be biased, discriminatory, or otherwise guide or direct a user to take a course of action, or refrain from taking an action, that is therefore in violation of applicable laws, rules, regulations, or contracts.

·       Reliance on Generative AI for completing tasks, assignments, or other work product for which original works of authorship are required or expected may violate the University’s policies on academic integrity, privacy, and/or ethical conduct in the workplace. Moreover, presenting work product generated by Generative AI as one’s own presents significant moral and ethical dilemmas.

Restricted Uses of Generative AI

The following uses of Generative AI are strictly prohibited among the University community, as set forth in the existing Academic Honesty Policy for students and the existing Ethical Conduct Policy for employees:

●      Use of Generative AI to create content without proper citation of the source of that content, or otherwise presenting or allowing the impression that such content is one’s own work.

●      Use of Generative AI to create content (i.e. other than spell-checking software or general study guides) for a paper, assignment, or project without explicit permission from the instructor or supervisor.

●      Use of Generative AI to facilitate cheating, plagiarism, and other unethical behaviors that undermine academic or workplace ethics or integrity and go against principles of honesty and fairness established by the University Academic Honesty Policy, Student Handbook, and Employee Handbook.

●      Input of confidential, classified, proprietary, or sensitive University or personal data, such as text, image, or video, into Generative AI platforms. A non-exhaustive list of such data can be found in the MSJ Data Governance Policy and FERPA Guidelines for Employees. Information collected in any way that assumes confidentiality, such as university-wide surveys or other research endeavors, will not input respondents’ information into Generative AI platforms, unless participants are explicitly informed at the beginning of any data collection.

●      Use of Generative AI for evaluating any MSJ employee, such as performance review and annual reports.

●      Use of Generative AI or other technologies to record individuals and/or course content without prior expressed permission from all individuals involved.

●      Use of Generative AI to develop content, including deepfakes, to harass, threaten, defame, or engage in any actions that are illegal, or that violate University policies in any way. To report an incident of Generative AI being used in this manner, Title IX incident electronic complaint form or the Misconduct Reporting and Inquiry Hotline in the Employee Handbook.

●      Use of Generative AI in ways that create undue barriers to belonging, access, or participation for members of the University community, including but not limited to individuals of diverse backgrounds, abilities, or perspectives.

●      Additional uses as identified and specified by individual course instructors.

●      Students participating in clinical, practica, or co-op/internship opportunities will follow all of the guidelines established by Mount St. Joseph as well as any guidelines set by the host organization. If they feel there is a conflict between the different guideline sets, they should consult with their on-campus director for clarification.

Benefits and Permissible Uses of Generative AI

Although Generative AI poses challenges to the University community, the University also recognizes the potential for it to be used in ways that may enhance our culture of creativity and originality, and foster innovation. Members of the University community may use Generative AI, given that those uses do not violate the criteria of prohibited use outlined above. For example, except in cases of restricted uses identified above, faculty and instructors have the discretion to decide when and how Generative AI is used in their courses and supervisors have discretion to decide when and how Generative AI may be used within a University department. Some examples of permitted use may include, at the discretion of the faculty, instructor, or supervisor, and only if expressly permitted thereby:

●      Brainstorming, or generating ideas for direction on assignments or projects.

●      Language translation and interpretation of text from one language to another (unless the primary objective of the course is for students to undertake such language translation as part of their coursework, such as language courses).

●      Summarizing articles or readings for study purposes, subject to copyright laws, licensing, or other legal restrictions that may apply under the circumstances.

●      Providing counter-arguments or countervailing evidence to stimulate critical thinking.

●      Using Generative AI as a study guide or tutor to support educational activities.

●      Developing accessible learning tools and assistive technologies for students with disabilities.

●      Creative collaboration in areas such as art and design to generate ideas and provide feedback.

●      Data Analysis of large-scale data sets to identify patterns and generate ideas related to outcomes.

●      Any aid that is pre-approved in advance by an instructor or the University (e.g., any study aid or other approved accommodation).

●      Assisting with preparing study guides or materials that are not submitted for credit.

●      Assisting with administrative tasks on low-level data that is not privileged, confidential, legally protected, or classified.

For Faculty and Instructors

Faculty and instructors should include language in each applicable syllabus and assignment that clearly outlines which Generative AI uses are permitted and those which are prohibited. Each syllabus should make specific reference to this Policy and inform students that they are required to check with their instructor if they are unsure about the permissibility of any use of Generative AI in the course and/or on a specific assignment. Faculty and Instructors should disclose in their syllabus how they will or will not use Generative AI in the course, including course preparation, student feedback, and grading. The Center for Teaching and Learning provides sample policy statements on its webpage, which is accessible through Mount Connect and hosted on the library’s page (https://library.msj.edu/ctl/coursedev). These samples provide guidance on how to communicate to students clear expectations for using generative AI, parameters within which such use is appropriate, and potential consequences for not following stated expectations.

Use of Generative AI in connection with coursework preparation and grading presents unique challenges and opportunities. While faculty and instructors may use Generative AI as a supplemental tool for coursework preparation and grading, Generative AI should not be used as a replacement for human judgement and decision-making. Faculty and instructors are expected to actively oversee, monitor, and check their use of Generative AI when used in such tasks. Please note that AI detection software is demonstrably unreliable and has proven to produce many false results; therefore, instructors should not base an academic integrity claim solely on the results of an AI detection tool.

Student work product is protected by FERPA, and original student works may be protected by intellectual property rights. Accordingly, faculty must not submit any student work in a Generative AI application unless such application is owned and operated by, or contracted with, the University and students are informed in advance of such usage. Students have the right to opt-out or refuse their work going into Generative AI platforms that do not meet the aforementioned criteria for any reason and without fear of retribution. Moreover, all grading conducted by Generative AI must be double-checked by the faculty or instructor to ensure the same is being conducted properly, in compliance with all applicable rubrics and University policies, and in a way that is neither biased nor discriminatory.

The Use of Generative AI

Provided that the use of Generative AI is not otherwise prohibited by this Policy or any faculty, instructor, or supervisor-specific requirements, the University encourages all students, faculty, staff, and representatives to review and comply with the following guidelines when using Generative AI:

·       Always review this Policy and any other guidelines related to the use of Generative AI (e.g., the applicable course syllabus, the University’s Copyright Guidelines, etc.).

·       Always discuss permissible uses of Generative AI within your course and University department. When in doubt about whether or not Generative AI may be used in a given situation, students are expected to discuss the matter with their faculty or instructor and employees are expected to discuss the matter with the University’s General Counsel.

·       Always double check the outputs created by Generative AI to ensure the responses are accurate and not misleading. Review the entire context around the questions and the answers.

·       Never provide privileged, confidential, legally protected, classified, or other private information or materials to Generative AI, even if the owner or licensor thereof claims that such information will be kept confidential. Such information includes, but is not limited to student records protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), faculty and instructors’ intellectual property, and any communications by or from, or work product created by, the University’s General Counsel or outside legal counsel.

·       Never present Generative AI output as your own work of authorship. Always provide proper attribution to sources used when utilizing Generative AI’s work product. Be transparent about your use of Generative AI.

General Considerations

The University encourages all students, faculty, staff, and representatives who use generative AI in permissible ways to review and fact-check Generative AI output before applying it to their work, ensuring accuracy, reliability, and fairness. The University further encourages all students, faculty, staff, and representatives to respect others’ choices to not use Generative AI and/or limit their data in Generative AI platforms.

Violations of this Policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal or termination. The University reserves the right to interpret this Policy and to determine, in its sole discretion, whether any individual of the University community has violated their terms.

The University will update this Policy from time to time in response to the developing nature of Generative AI, and it reserves the right to do so at any time.