An AI Course Policy for your syllabus, a sentence students can use to tell you how they used AI, and a short AI label for each of your main assignments.
In OCTC's Simple Syllabus, AI Course Policy and Academic Integrity are separate boxes. It's tempting to fill the AI Course Policy box with "See Academic Integrity," but the two do different jobs.
Your Academic Integrity section tells students what counts as a violation and what happens if one occurs. Your AI Course Policy does the teaching. It tells students how AI fits the work in your course, why you made the choices you did, and how to tell you when they've used it. Students come back to it when they're deciding what to do on an assignment, so it needs to answer the questions they'll actually have.
When the AI Course Policy box only points to Academic Integrity, the only thing students learn about AI in your course is that it can get them in trouble. Many respond by using it quietly and never mentioning it. A policy that explains when AI helps and when it gets in the way gives students a reason to be open with you about how they work.
Keep the two connected. Your AI Course Policy should include one sentence pointing to your Academic Integrity section for what happens when AI is used in ways your policy doesn't allow. Your Academic Integrity section should mention AI and point back to your AI Course Policy for what's allowed.
A lot of course AI policies try to settle the question once for the whole course: students can use AI, or they can't. The trouble is that most courses have some assignments where AI could genuinely help and others where it would skip the learning. So instead of one rule, it works better to decide assignment by assignment. There are three AI use labels to choose from.
No AI
Students complete the work on their own. This fits when the skill itself is what you're teaching, like a first draft where students work out their argument, math they need to be able to do without help, or a care plan they'll eventually write on the job. Choosing No AI for these assignments gives students the practice they need.
Example: An in-class reflection on a clinical experience, written in the student's own words.
AI-supported
Students can use AI for specific parts of the work, but the thinking and the final product are theirs. This fits when some parts of an assignment matter for learning and others don't. Name the parts AI can help with. For example: "You can use AI to brainstorm and check grammar, but the analysis needs to be your own."
Example: A business plan where AI can help format the financial tables, but the market analysis and recommendations come from the student.
AI-integrated
Learning to use AI well is part of the assignment. This fits when students will run into AI in their field and need practice judging what it gives them. They might evaluate AI output, compare it to a standard, or explain how they used it.
Example: Welding students ask AI for a procedure, check it against the actual code, and mark what it got wrong.
Choosing a label
For each assignment, it helps to ask:
- What is this assignment meant to teach?
- Would AI help students learn that, or do the work for them?
- Will students use AI for this kind of work in their field?
If AI would do the learning for them, No AI is probably the right call. If it could handle the parts that aren't the focus, AI-supported may fit. If using AI well is something they'll need on the job, AI-integrated is worth considering.
A few tips
- Tell students why you chose each label. They're more likely to follow an expectation they understand.
- Put the label in the assignment instructions as well as the syllabus, since that's where students will look.
- Most courses end up using more than one label, and that's normal.
- You can always change a label next term if an assignment isn't working the way you hoped.
Work through the steps below, or skip to the Copilot prompt at the end and let it interview you. Your answers stay in this browser only. To keep a copy, choose Print or save as PDF when you finish the steps.
Step 1Your course
Step 2What students need to learn to do
Step 3Sort your assignments
List your main assignments and choose an AI use label for each. Use the three questions from the lesson, and write a quick note on why.
Step 4How students tell you
Step 5When something goes outside the policy
Step 6Draft your policy
Pull your answers together into a policy written to your students. A simple structure: why AI use varies in your course, what each label means, how to tell you when they used AI, and what to do if they're not sure.
See three example policies
Each one follows the structure above. The courses are made up. Borrow any wording that fits, and change anything that doesn't sound like you.
A general education writing course
AI tools can help with some parts of writing and get in the way of others, so in this course the answer depends on the assignment. Each assignment starts with an AI use label that tells you what's allowed.
No AI means the work is yours from start to finish. I use this for in-class writing and first drafts, because working out your own argument is the skill this course is built to teach.
AI-supported means you can use AI for the parts named in the instructions, such as brainstorming topics or checking grammar. The ideas, the analysis, and the final wording are yours.
AI-integrated means using AI is part of the assignment. The instructions will tell you what to do with it.
When you use AI, add a short note at the end of your work: which tool you used, what you asked, and what you did with the answer. If you're not sure whether AI fits an assignment, ask me before you use it. For what happens when AI is used in ways this policy doesn't allow, see the Academic Integrity section of this syllabus.
A welding course
You'll see AI tools on the job, and some of what they tell you about welding will be wrong. In this course, you'll learn when AI helps and how to check it. Each assignment has an AI use label.
No AI applies to your lab logs, written tests, and anything you do in the shop. Your hands, your eyes, and your judgment are what you're here to train.
AI-supported applies to some study assignments. You can use AI to quiz yourself or explain a term, but check what it says against your textbook.
AI-integrated applies to one assignment, where you'll ask AI for a procedure and check it against the code.
In the shop, AI never replaces the code, the procedure sheet, or me. If AI's answer and your program's materials don't match, follow the materials and ask me about the difference. When you use AI on an assignment, tell me in the submission comments what you used it for. If you're not sure, ask first. The Academic Integrity section of this syllabus covers what happens when AI is used in ways this policy doesn't allow.
A medical assisting course
Medical assistants need to explain health information clearly and get it right. AI can help you practice, but it can also give answers that sound sure and are wrong. In this course, each assignment has an AI use label.
No AI applies to skills checks, charting practice, and quizzes.
AI-supported applies to some written assignments, such as patient education handouts. You can use AI for a first draft, but you're responsible for checking every health claim against the textbook or another approved source.
AI-integrated applies when an assignment asks you to work with AI's answer directly, for example by finding and fixing its mistakes.
Never put patient information into an AI tool, even in a practice scenario, including names, dates, or details that could identify someone. When you use AI, add a note to your submission that says what you used it for and one thing you checked. If you're not sure whether AI fits an assignment, ask me first. See the Academic Integrity section of this syllabus for what happens when AI is used in ways this policy doesn't allow.
Your answers save in this browser as you type.
Paste this into Copilot. It will interview you one question at a time, then draft your policy, a disclosure sentence, and assignment labels. Don't paste in student names or student work, and read the draft carefully before you use it. Check anything that depends on OCTC or KCTCS policy.
I'm a community college instructor writing the AI Course Policy for my
course syllabus. My syllabus has a separate Academic Integrity section,
so this policy covers how students may and may not use AI in my course,
and why.
Interview me before you write anything. Ask one question at a time and
wait for my answer. Keep it to about 8 questions. If I'm unsure, give me
two or three options with the trade-offs. If my answers are vague or
contradict each other, gently push back. Don't draft the policy until
I say "ready."
Find out:
- My course and my students (program, where they are in it, online or
in person)
- What students most need to learn to do on their own in this course
- My main assignments, and which AI use label fits each one:
No AI: students do the work without AI.
AI-supported: AI can help with specific parts; students do the
thinking and own the result.
AI-integrated: using AI well is part of what the assignment teaches.
- Where I've seen AI help or get in the way of learning
- How students should tell me when and how they used AI
- What happens if a student uses AI in a way the policy doesn't allow,
and how that connects to my Academic Integrity section
When I say "ready," write:
1. The policy, written to students in plain, warm, direct language,
one page or less. Explain the reason behind each expectation,
tell students what to do when they're unsure, and remind them not
to put personal information or other people's work into AI tools.
2. A sample sentence students can use to disclose their AI use.
3. A one-line AI label for each assignment that I can paste into the
assignment instructions.
Ground rules:
- Don't make up college policies, consequences, or approved tools.
Flag anything that depends on OCTC or KCTCS policy for me to check.
- Make sure the policy doesn't conflict with disability accommodations
or with tools multilingual students rely on. Flag anything I should
check with accessibility services.
- Don't suggest AI detection tools as evidence.
- Write the policy so it stands on its own. Don't just refer
students to my Academic Integrity section. Include one sentence
that points to it for what happens when AI is used in ways the
policy doesn't allow.
After the draft, ask me what doesn't sound like me, and revise.