Effective September 1, 2026 all UBC course syllabi must include “a statement on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) usage in student-submitted work that clarifies how the use of GenAI is permitted or not permitted.” (Senate Policy V-130)
GenAI is powerful, continually evolving and being used by UBC students. It is important to clarify your expectations for GenAI use with students. The use of GenAI tools by students for their academic work at UBC is a course or program-level decision. Whether use may be appropriate differs according to disciplinary context and course learning goals, and instructors should set clear expectations around the use of these tools as with any other tool or mode of working (group work, etc.) and reinforce this messaging through the term. Below you will find suggestions for developing course guidelines and syllabus language around student use of GenAI and communicating with students about your approach and expectations.
Elements of a GenAI syllabus statement
When developing your GenAI syllabus statement, be sure to include the following elements:
Specifics on if, when, and how students may use AI in assessments
Provide information on whether students can use GenAI tools in completing their assessed work at all, and if so, be as clear and specific as possible about when and how they may do so. This may differ among various assignments within your course, and if so, be sure to provide specifics for each assignment (whether in the syllabus and/or in the assignment instructions).
Rationale: reasoning behind your choices
It is important to include a rationale in GenAI course policies to explain the reasoning behind your choices. For example, you could explain to students how and why particular uses of GenAI may augment or hinder their learning and achievement of the course learning goals, and how those goals can be valuable for them in their future studies or work.
Attribution/disclosure requirements
If students are allowed to use GenAI tools in their assessed work, clarify how they should attribute or disclose this use in your course. In some contexts, instructors may wish to ask students to keep records of their interactions with GenAI tools and/or document their processes in other ways. For guidelines on how to cite generative AI, see the Generative AI Tools FAQ.
Considerations when developing GenAI syllabus statement
- Your statement should be communicated on the syllabus.
- Your should refer to your statement in discussions with your students throughout the term.
- Your statement should provide your students with a robust framework to guide their decision-making about GenAI tools and set clear expectations and rules.
- Your statement should also outline how students can ask questions about specific scenarios or tools they may encounter.
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
As you develop your course statement, consider the following principles developed with UBC’s AI principles and AI in Teaching and Learning Guidelines in mind:
1. Start with course learning goals
- Reflect on what students should know and be able to do by the time they finish your course.
- Consider whether student use of GenAI to complete any stage of assessments will augment or hinder the achievement of these learning goals.
2. Focus on how students may use GenAI to complete assessed academic work
- Focus your course GenAI statement on whether or not students can use GenAI to complete assessed academic work, rather than all uses of GenAI in the course.
- Note: many students are already using GenAI to support their learning in various ways for non-assessed work (ex. searching for course-related information, explaining or clarifying concepts from classes, preparing exam study aids such as practice questions, etc.).
3. Consider that different approaches may be needed for different assessments
- Different kinds of assessments may call for different guidance for students on how they may or may not use GenAI to complete them.
- Your GenAI syllabus statement may need to be granular to specific assessments, or even to separate stages of some assessments.
- For example, while it may make sense to restrict GenAI usage for exams, it may be that student use of GenAI to generate an outline for an essay, or to proofread an essay, could fit with the course learning goals.
- Because GenAI continues to evolve, consider leaving space in your guidelines for changes. For example, you may note that the permitted uses may be revisited during the semester if new tools or functionality emerge.
4. Consider GenAI assessments frameworks
- GenAI assessment frameworks provide you with strategies for revising and creating assignments and assessments.
- The UBC AI and Assessment Design resource provides ideas on designing assessments that incorporate the use of GenAI and those that may help to mitigate such use.
- The Faculty of Arts also has a resource on designing AI-resilient assessments.
- Beyond UBC, the AI Assessment Scale suggests several ways that GenAI may be used in assessments (or not at all) and The Digital Education Council has developed a framework that categorizes assessments into AI-free, AI-assisted, and AI-integrated, along with examples of each.
5. Adhere to privacy and security requirements
- Per UBC’s Privacy Impact Assessments Guidelines for AI Tools, if a publicly available GenAI tool requires personal information to register, instructors should either make its use optional or offer alternatives, for example, allowing students to log in with an alias, or providing a non-GenAI-based option.
- UBC maintains a list of AI tools that can be required for student use in courses.
- Avoid inputting personal or sensitive information into Gen-AI tools, and never provide your UBC credentials to anyone, including non-UBC Gen-AI tools and agents.
6. Take advantage of learning opportunities
- The functionality and capabilities of GenAI tools are continually changing, and while it is not necessary to keep up with everything, taking opportunities to learn about what GenAI can and cannot do, and how students may be using such tools, can be valuable for generating clear and effective course guidelines. UBC provides multiple learning opportunities, many of which are collected on the UBC AI in Teaching and Learning website.
Sample syllabus language
This language can be adapted based on specific needs and particular contexts. The following is not recommended language but rather provides sample ways that an instructor can approach communicating their course AI policy on their syllabus.
Departments and Faculties may have their own syllabus language around GenAI use available. If you are unclear about particular course or program statements, or have questions about expectations for courses with multiple sections, contact your Department Head.
General/Overall Course Statements
These are examples of short syllabus statements. If you use statements like this, you may wish to provide more detail in assignment instructions.
One of the learning outcomes for this course is [learning outcome] and to support you in achieving that goal you need to be able to learn and practice how to do [fill in task/activity] on your own. As such, use of GenAI to complete [assessment/assignment types] is not permitted in this course.
Use of GenAI in completing assessments for this course is permitted for some assessments but not others. You may not use GenAI for [assessment/assignment types], because these are designed to assess your own achievement of the course learning goals. You may use AI in some stages of [assessment/assignment types] in this course but not all, as learning how to do [fill in activity or learning goal] on your own is an important skill for [fill in reason/purpose]. Please see the assignment instructions on Canvas for details on which uses of GenAI are permitted in [assessment/assignment types] and which are not, and information on how to attribute use of GenAI in your work.
It is important for you to be able to learn how to use GenAI responsibly and effectively in [discipline or activity], and as such you are encouraged to use GenAI on [assessment/assignment types], and everyone will need to use Microsoft Copilot (access provided by UBC) to complete [assessment/assignment types]. Please review the assignment instructions for all assignments in this course for details about ways you are permitted, encouraged, or required to use GenAI to complete them, and any specific restrictions on such use. These instructions also explain how to attribute use of GenAI on your assignments, showing what you have used GenAI to do and which aspects you have completed on your own.
Assignment/Assessment-Specific Statements
These are examples of longer statements, with detail related to specific assignment or assessment types. Statements like these may be included in your syllabus or directly on the assignment/assessment. The wording below is provided as an example of what you might want to include in a statement for specific assignments/assessments. You should give careful thought to when you permit students to use GenAI tools and what you prohibit.
This course is designed to help you develop your own research and writing skills. You may use GenAI tools to support some of the steps in the research paper projects, but your writing must be your own.
GenAI tools may be used to:
- Brainstorm topic ideas
- Suggest possible sources (be sure to verify them and also use library resources as well)
- Help develop an outline for your paper
- Provide feedback on drafts you write yourself
GenAI tools may not be used to:
- Draft or rewrite the text of your paper: while you are welcome to get feedback from GenAI on drafts, start by writing the drafts yourself, and the final version you submit should be your own words as well.
There are weekly problem sets in this course that are for practice and marked for completion. The focus is on your effort and learning, and working on the problem sets will help you prepare for exams in this course.
GenAI may be used to: Get support with one or more problems if you find yourself stuck. To best support learning, try the problems yourself first. If you are having trouble, you can ask the TA, a peer in the class, or a chatbot to clarify the question, remind you of the steps, alternative example to compare, or provide hints on how to solve the problem. You may not ask GenAI to solve the problem for you, which won’t necessarily help you to understand how to do so.
The group project needs to demonstrate what your group has researched and learned, and so while GenAI may be used to help with planning and preparation, your group members must complete final deliverables without GenAI.
When using GenAI in group or team settings, it’s important to respect your teammates’ individual approaches to AI use. Where approaches differ among group members, please communicate openly and come to a shared agreement on how GenAI will (or won’t) be used for the project.
GenAI tools may be used to:
- Plan the project stages and divide tasks among group members
- Gather background information on the topic (be sure to verify all sources)
- Create draft slides and/or graphics that are revised by your group for the presentation
GenAI tools may not be used to:
- Draft or rewrite the text of your paper: while you are welcome to get feedback from GenAI on drafts, start by writing the drafts yourself
- Write all the slide text—final wording must reflect your research and group discussions
- Write the final reflection essay that each group member must submit
Presentations for this course should reflect your own understanding of the material and your ability to communicate it clearly. GenAI tools may support some stages of preparation, but the ideas and delivery should be your own.
GenAI tools may be used to:
- Brainstorm structure or angles for your presentation
- Generate draft visuals, images, or slide templates that you then revise
- Practice or rehearse delivery (e.g., using AI as a mock audience for Q&A prep)
GenAI tools may not be used to:
- Write your speaking notes or script word-for-word
- Generate the final content of your slides without your own review and revision
- Answer audience questions on your behalf during a live Q&A
This course is designed to help you build your own programming skills, including the ability to debug and reason through code independently. GenAI tools may be used to support your learning, but the final work must reflect your own understanding.
GenAI tools may be used to:
- Explain error messages or debug small sections of code you’ve already written
- Clarify syntax, functions, or concepts you don’t yet understand
- Suggest approaches or pseudocode for a problem you attempt yourself first
GenAI tools may not be used to:
- Generate complete functions, scripts, or solutions for you to submit as your own
- Complete an assignment or portion of an assignment you have not attempted yourself
This course includes regular discussion posts and reflections designed to help you process course material in your own voice. GenAI tools may be used in limited ways, but the ideas and reflections should be authentically yours.
GenAI tools may be used to:
- Help you organize your thoughts before writing
- Check grammar or clarity in a draft you’ve already written
GenAI tools may not be used to:
- Generate the content or opinions expressed in your post
- Write your reflection on your behalf
This exam is designed to assess your individual understanding of course material under supervised conditions. Use of GenAI tools during this exam is not permitted.
GenAI tools may not be used to:
- Answer, draft, or check any exam or quiz questions during the assessment
- Access AI tools of any kind during the exam period, including on personal devices
This course is designed to help you develop skills in data analysis and scientific reporting. You may use GenAI tools to support some stages of your lab work, but your analysis and interpretation must be your own.
GenAI tools may be used to:
- Help troubleshoot code used for data cleaning or analysis (e.g., in R, Python, or Excel)
- Clarify statistical concepts or methods referenced in your analysis
- Get feedback on the clarity of a draft you’ve written yourself
GenAI tools may not be used to:
- Generate your interpretation of results or conclusions
- Write the discussion or analysis sections of your report
- Fabricate or alter data or outputs
Sample Disclosure Statements
If you allow students to use GenAI for assessed work, it is highly recommended that you provide guidance on how they should disclose their use. The following are examples of disclosure statements that can be adapted and applied across different assessment types. Instructors may choose the level of detail that best fits their disciplinary, course, and assignment needs.
If you used GenAI tools to complete this assignment, include a short note identifying the tool(s) used and describing how they were used.
If you used GenAI tools to complete this assignment, include a short note identifying the tool(s) used, the prompts you used, and a description of the outputs and how you used them.
If you used GenAI tools to complete this assignment, include a short note identifying the tool(s) used and describing how they were used, along with a brief reflection on how the tool helped or hindered your work. As evidence of use, you may share a screenshot of, or link to, the relevant chat, as an alternative (or supplement) to describing your prompts.
AI use disclosure: ChatGPT was used to suggest revisions of some of the text above to make it more concise; any such suggestions have undergone human review & revision.
Communicating AI course guidelines
It is important to talk with students about how they may or may not use GenAI for assessed coursework multiple times and in multiple ways throughout the term. Consider having a discussion with students in class about the course guidelines and the rationale behind them, providing an opportunity for raising questions and concerns that may support further learning about ethical and responsible GenAI use. Continue to remind students of your GenAI guideline expectations during class and on assignment instructions. 10 Things UBC Students Should Know About Generative AI, a resource created by UBC students, can be a useful discussion starter or prompt and resource to share with students.
