Brandon University Department of English, Drama, and Creative Writing

Policy on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Approved and adopted by the Department of English, Drama, and Creative Writing at Brandon University, 18 July 2024

Rationale: Although AI, in its ability to survey large amounts of information quickly, may be useful for many tasks, it is a very poor substitute for critical thinking, particularly in the analysis of literature. It often results in a very generalized version of received ideas and short-circuits the student’s learning process in the way that other forms of plagiarism do, falsely presenting the AI’s work as the student’s own.

Permissible use of AI:

1. Programs such as MS Word’s grammar review or similar proofreading/editing programs may be used to identify grammatical errors in essays. The student should then correct the grammar with their own words. Making the correction oneself will help the student become more conversant with the fundamentals of grammar and will ensure that there is not a large gap between the student’s in-class writing and the student’s writing in take-home essays.
2. It is permissible, but not recommended, that students use AI-generated text as a source. If students use AI (such as Chat GPT, for example) to generate responses to an essay question or for some aspect of the topic under discussion, students must approach the AI material as they would a more conventional research source. In other words, they may borrow the ideas and/or language, but must cite the ideas (and/or quotations) wherever the students use the AI source within their essay. Unlike a conventional source, however, AI sources are not available to the instructor, so the student must keep a copy of both the question that they posed to the AI and the AI’s response. The instructor may ask the student to produce such sources on request.

Non-permissible use of AI:

1. Use of AI-generated text in essays without attribution is a violation of academic integrity and will be considered plagiarism, because it is not the student’s work. If the professor suspects that a portion of a student’s paper has been created by AI, the professor will follow Brandon University’s academic integrity policy (under 3.15 in the General Calendar), arranging for a meeting with the student to discuss the concern. At the meeting the professor may ask the student questions about the essay in order to ascertain whether the student indeed wrote the essay.

A word of advice:

Students are advised to save their notes, outlines, and rough drafts of any written assignment. That way, should any questions arise about the origins of the assignment’s ideas and/or words, the student has a paper trail that documents, stage by stage, its genesis and development into a finished work.