Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in the Classroom
____________________________________________________
Document Number: INFOTECH -- 104
Revision #: 1.0
Document Owner: Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
Primary Author: General Counsel
Date Last Updated:10/06/2025
Date Originally Created: 10/06/2025
_____________________________________________________
I. Purpose of Policy
Artificial Intelligence is swiftly being integrated across business and employment sectors throughout the U.S. and around the globe. Artificial Intelligence may serve to increase the efficiency and capacity of both public and private sector enterprises, but it may also create complex legal and structural challenges. As this technology spreads, it will be important for Cumberland University graduates to have familiarity with this technology and its various uses. At the same time, it will be important for graduates to be exposed to best practices and to be aware of distinct ethical concerns surrounding the use of this emerging technology.
Broadly, Cumberland University seeks to encourage the creative and appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence as a part of learning processes undertaken on its campus. At the same time, institutional leaders are aware that reasonable parameters for the use of Artificial Intelligence in the educational setting should be established and well communicated in order to ensure that learning objectives of courses and programs are not subverted. This policy statement is designed to provide guidance for students, faculty, and staff relating to the appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence technologies, including Generative Artificial Intelligence, in the instructional environment. Students, faculty, and staff utilizing Artificial Intelligence tools should do so in ways that are responsible, ethical, and consistent with all university guidelines, including the Student Handbook, the University Catalog, other relevant published university policies, and those expectations and standards summarized in this document.
II. Scope of Policy
This policy applies to the use of Artificial Intelligence, including Generative Artificial Intelligence, for instructional purposes and/or the development of or response to academic assignments. This policy does not apply to the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies and tools, however defined, within noninstructional settings, or for personal use.
III. Definitions
1. Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) refers to the branch of computer science devoted to developing data processing systems that simulate functions normally associated with human intelligence, such as learning, comprehension, problem-solving, decision-making, and creativity. An AI system refers to any data system, software, hardware, application, tool or utility that operates in whole or in part using AI.
2. Generative Artificial Intelligence (“Gen. AI”) refers to deep learning models designed to consider user questions, prompts, and other inputs to generate human-like outputs (e.g., answers to questions, written documents, realistic audio or video, or high-quality images). Gen. AI is distinct from other forms of AI that have been commonplace for quite some time in software tools that facilitate the search for and extraction of information from data sources.
IV. Institutional Standards and Procedures for the Use of AI
Student use of AI tools:
A. Schools, departments, programs, and other university academic units are encouraged to seek opportunities to integrate AI and Gen. AI technologies into the instructional environment and curriculum, while maintaining the focus on meeting key learning objectives. In keeping with these twin goals, academic units should provide broad guidance on the appropriate uses of AI and Gen. AI within the instructional environment, consistent with relevant university policy, disciplinary, professional, and curricular standards.
B. In the classroom, individual faculty members have broad discretion in setting appropriate standards and procedures for the use of AI and Gen. AI tools as a part of the academic requirements for any course. However, such discretion should be exercised in a manner that is consistent with the university’s commitment to ensuring that its graduates enter the workforce with strong technology skills, which should include exposure to the use of AI tools, in addition to discipline-specific knowledge. As a part of each course, faculty members shall create standards and procedures regarding the permissible use of AI and Gen. AI tools within the course, and these standards and procedures shall be included in the course syllabus. Faculty established standards and procedures should address the limits of permissible AI and Gen. AI use on course assignments (including attributing and/or citing AI and Gen. AI tools, if appropriate) and should be carefully articulated and communicated in class and through the syllabus.
C. Students may use AI and Gen. AI tools when permitted to do so in keeping with faculty-specified standards and procedures for each course. However, students must not outsource the work they are expected to complete for any assignment to AI or Gen. AI tools (as defined in section III) in a manner that circumvents the intended learning outcomes of a course and its assignments. Students should never submit content produced substantially by AI or Gen. AI to complete course assignments unless specifically authorized by the faculty member leading the course to do so.
D. It is the student’s responsibility to adhere to the AI and Gen. AI standards and procedures for each course in which they are enrolled, as conveyed by the faculty member leading the course. Where there is uncertainty regarding course-specific expectations for permissible use, students should consult with the faculty member leading the course prior to submitting assignments produced in whole or in part by AI or Gen. AI tools.
E. Explicit standards and procedures authorizing the use of AI tools for a course may be communicated by faculty in writing and may pertain to a single assignment or to multiple assignments, as specified. Where AI or Gen. AI tools are authorized for use, such permission should be granted or denied to students in a particular course in an equitable manner.
F. If AI or Gen. AI tools are used to prepare the response to a graded assignment, even if it is with the permission of the relevant faculty member, a student shall be responsible for disclosing any AI or Gen. AI tool utilized in compiling the work product and the portion of the work created, in whole or in part, using such tools, in a manner that is acceptable to the faculty member. At any time, a faculty member may question a student regarding details related to the employment of AI or Gen. AI tools utilized in regard to a given assignment and the processes undertaken to generate the work product. If so questioned, the student shall be prepared to provide evidence regarding how and where such tools were used in the creation of the submission.
Faculty Use of AI tools:
G. Faculty and staff may use AI or Gen. AI tools to support instruction insofar as that use complies with relevant ethical and professional policies and standards, including all policies of Cumberland University.
H. Faculty may use AI or Gen. AI to supplement and/or refine their creative and academic work as part of the preparation and delivery of classroom instruction and/or assignments. However, faculty should not rely on content produced solely by AI or Gen. AI to create entire courses as part of their instructional duties, but are expected to draw from their discipline-specific base of knowledge to prepare courses.
I. Faculty may not utilize AI tools, excluding the currently available programs Turnitin and Grammarly, for the purpose of grading assignments submitted by students in any course.
General Use of AI tools:
J. All faculty, staff, and students are expected to abide by the university’s existing Information Technology policies when employing AI or Gen. AI tools.
K. Students, faculty, and staff are prohibited from inputting university confidential or proprietary data into AI or Gen. AI tools that retain that data as part of the tool’s training set or undertaking any steps through the utilization of AI or Gen. AI tools that would potentially violate the data privacy requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Any use of AI or Gen. AI for university purposes by faculty or staff in which any institutional data or information is to be shared or referenced MUST be conducted exclusively through the use of the enterprise AI tools maintained by the university and managed through the university’s IT Department. Any member of the university staff seeking to utilize these tools may obtain appropriate credentials for accessing such tools from the IT Department.
L. Content created using AI or Gen. AI tools may be subject to factual error and/or potential bias. When utilizing AI or Gen. AI tools, faculty, staff, and students should confirm the validity of AI-generated content.
V. Violations of University Policy
A. Student use of AI or Gen. AI in ways not allowed by this policy or faculty-specified standards and procedures falls under the definition of academic misconduct established in the policy on Academic Misconduct, as found in the University Catalog. Potential violations of this policy may result in disciplinary actions taken against the violating student, in keeping with the terms outlined in the University Catalog.
B. Faculty and staff should be guided by their respective supervisors in the allowable usage of AI tools, should uncertainty arise.
VI. Annual Review
This policy shall be reviewed annually by the Board of Trust and the senior leadership of the university, and updated as necessary to comport with industry changes.