1Communication
5Adaptability & Leadership
6Professionalism
10Information Literacy
Navigating AI Policies
Every course sets its own AI rules. Here's how to find them, and a routine for using AI well.
There's no single AI rule for college. Each course, and sometimes each assignment, sets its own.
In one course, you might be encouraged to brainstorm with AI. In another, using AI at all could count as an academic integrity violation. Both can be true in the same week. This lesson shows you where to find the rules, what to do when they aren't clear, and a simple routine to use any time you work with AI.
Where to find the rules
Look in two places, in this order.
The AI Course Policy
Look for the AI Course Policy section of your syllabus. It explains your instructor's overall approach to AI for that course.
The assignment instructions
Each assignment has an AI use label. The label tells you how AI can be used on that specific piece of work.
Lesson 1.1 on reading your syllabus like a contract.
Three AI use labels
Assignments use one of three labels. Think of them as points on one scale, from no AI at all to AI as part of the assignment itself.
No AI
You do this work on your own. Your instructor chose this because the skill itself is what you're practicing.
Example: a short quiz that checks what you know on your own.
AI-supported
You can use AI for the parts your instructor names, like brainstorming or checking grammar. The thinking and the final work are yours.
Example: using Copilot to brainstorm topic ideas, then choosing one and writing the paper yourself.
AI-integrated
Using AI well is part of the assignment. You might check what AI gives you against a standard, or explain how you used it.
Example: asking AI a question, checking its answer against your textbook, and explaining what it got right and wrong.
Labels are chosen assignment by assignment, not for a whole course. The same course can have one assignment at No AI and the next at AI-integrated. Check the assignment instructions every time.
AI use: AI-supported
You may use AI to brainstorm ideas. Your response must be written in your own words.
See the AI Course Policy in the syllabus.
If an assignment doesn't have an AI use label, or you aren't sure what it means, ask your instructor instead of guessing.
When the rules aren't clear
Ask before you use AI, not after. An instructor can easily answer a question before you start. It's much harder to sort things out once work has been turned in.
"Professor [Name], the directions for [assignment] don't mention AI. Would it be okay to use Copilot to brainstorm topic ideas if I write the paper myself?"
A specific question gets a specific answer. It also shows your instructor that you take the rules seriously.
The 3 Qs
Once you know the rules, three questions keep you on track. Each one belongs to a moment in your work.
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Before you ask AI
Should I use AI for this part of my assignment?
BE Responsible · BE Honest
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Before you use AI's answer
How would I know if AI's answer is wrong?
BE Critical
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Before you turn in your work
Can I explain my work and how AI helped me?
BE Honest · BE Reflective
Notice the behaviors under each question. The 3 Qs are the five behaviors from Lesson 1.3 turned into a routine. The fifth, BE Safe, applies every time: never paste other people's personal information, passwords, or anything private into an AI tool.
When AI is optional, choosing not to use it is a good choice too.
Keep a trail
A trail is a record of how your work grew over time. If your instructor asks how you did an assignment, you can show them. Tools that try to spot AI writing are sometimes wrong, and your trail is real evidence of your own work. It also lets you say exactly how AI helped you.
- Write in Word, saved to OneDrive. Word keeps a dated history of your draft as you write. Type your work in the document instead of pasting it in at the end.
- Keep a OneNote notebook for each course. Save your notes, sources, and ideas there while you work.
- Write down how you use AI. Copy your question into OneNote and note what you kept, changed, or left out.
Trail Tip: Your Free Office 365 Access shows how to get Word, OneDrive, and OneNote.
Keep a Trail (opens in a new tab) in OCTC Student Resources walks through setup and shows a sample notebook page.
Take it with you
OCTC Student Resources has an AI Literacy page with the same labels, the same 3 Qs, and a page for each question with checks and examples. It works for every course you take here, so bookmark it.
Open the syllabus for one of your other courses this semester. Find its AI Course Policy, then look at one assignment's AI use label. What does it allow, and is anything unclear enough that you'd want to ask your instructor?