4 Setting Policy and Communicating Expectations
How can AI tools be effectively and responsibly utilized in education?
This chapter explores:
- how institutional policies can promote responsible and ethical use of AI tools;
- how instructional staff can create or co-create course AI policies that enhance learning;
- how AI usage guidelines can be shared and reinforced along with each assignment;
- how learning outcomes should be reconsidered now that powerful AI tools are widely available.
Integrating AI in Education
An attempt to ban students from using AI tools in all aspects of their coursework is not likely to be successful. Moreover, this approach is a disservice to students, who will likely be expected to use AI tools responsibly and effectively in their future workplaces. Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton of the University of Calgary states that AI tools “can be used ethically for teaching, learning and assessment,” and that student use doesn’t necessarily constitute an academic integrity breach.[1]
AI is here to stay and will be integrated into most aspects of education. Accordingly, institutions, departments, and instructors need to set policy and clarify learning outcomes, and provide students with clear expectations on AI use for every assignment.
Setting Institutional Policy
An October 2023 report from the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association recommends that institutional policies should be developed that promote the “effective, creative, equitable, and responsible use/nonuse” of AI tools and promote staff learning and experimentation around AI tools.[2] See the table below for a selection of AI policy/guideline highlights from Canadian polytechnics.
| Institution | Key Policy Details |
| British Columbia Institute of Technology(BCIT) (see also: BCIT’s Official Position Statement) |
|
| Kwantlen Polytechnic University |
|
| Red River College Polytechnic |
|
| Seneca Polytechnic |
|
Educators and students should check with their institutions for emerging policy and guidance on appropriate use of AI tools. For a roundup of AI policies at educational institutions, visit Higher Education Strategy Associates’ Observatory on AI Policies in Canadian Post-Secondary Education.
Engaging Students on the Topic of AI
Discussion around AI tools should begin early in a course, ideally in the first week when introducing the course outline. This raises student awareness that AI tools are a part of the educational landscape, and positions the instructor as one who is aware of AI’s capabilities and is willing to talk about appropriate usage.
Creating a Course AI Policy
Course AI policies set clear expectations about acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI tools. Policies should clearly state how AI tools can be ethically used for coursework as well as procedures for documenting AI use on assignments. Depending on institutional and departmental protocols, there may be a set policy that instructors need to share with their class, or instructors may be able