Information for Students
The release of generative artificial technology (AI) apps (such as ChatGPT, GPT-3, DALL-E, among others) has prompted a lot of attention in the media and within higher education institutions. In particular, there has been much concern about academic misconduct and whether the use of these tools will make it easier or more tempting for students to cheat.
Expectations for the Use of AI Technology
Recently, communication was sent to students by email to help clarify York’s expectations when it comes to using these AI technology tools for academic work (e.g. homework, assignments, tests, exams, etc.). According to York’s Senate Policy on Academic Honesty, using text-, image-, code- or video-generating AI-tools to complete academic work without your instructor’s knowledge or permission, is considered to be a breach of academic honesty. More specifically, using text-generating tools (such as ChatGPT) would be considered to be cheating (Senate Policy, section 2.1.1) and using image-generating tools (such as DALL-E) would be considered to be plagiarism (Senate Policy, section 2.1.3).
You may find that certain instructors will allow the use of these tools for certain assessments within certain courses, yet others will not allow their use. As such, you may encounter variation regarding the acceptability of these tools, which can cause confusion.
What You Can Do
If you’re not sure whether using an AI app for your academic work is acceptable, here are some things you can do:
- Familiarize yourself with the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty
- Review the guidelines for that assessment
- Check any messages from your instructor on eClass
- Ask your instructor if they are permitting the use of these tools
Additionally, you are encouraged to keep all of your research notes and draft versions of your work. You may be asked to present these if it is suspected that an AI app was used to help complete your work. These drafts can be used to show how this work developed, and to provide evidence that the work is your own.
Learn More about Academic Integrity
If you would like more information about meeting York’s expectations for academic integrity expectations, here are some things you can do:
- Attend York University Libraries' workshop on Academic Integrity and Citation Practices: How You Can Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Citation. Sessions take place every month. Register Here.
- Visit The Writing Centre to gain more confidence with academic writing. Visit the Writing Centre to learn more.
- Learn from your peers by taking advantage of academic peer support such as: Peer Tutoring; Peer Mentoring; Peer Advising, and Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS). Your college or faculty may have peer tutoring. Ask your prof, TA, or student association to find out how to get connected with peer tutors, or visit Learning Skills Services.
- If you’re a graduate student, complete the Academic Honesty Module and Other Graduate Student Resources.
- If you are a non-native English speaker and would like more support with language, visit the ESL Open Learning Centre and/or ESL Student Advising.
- If you’re feeling overwhelmed, counselling services are available: Student Counselling, Health & Wellbeing.
Need more information?
As generative AI technology is continuously evolving, updates will be provided to students when required. In the meantime, if you require more information on academic honesty, Faculty-specific information can be found on the Contact page.
For general questions, please contact academicintegrity@yorku.ca.