Skip to Main Content

Artificial Intelligence - Student Guide

Responsible Student Use of Artificial Intelligence Policy - September 2024

Responsible Student Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Overview: DeVry recognizes the use of chatbots and other AI tools to generate content (such as ChatGPT) as an emerging skill that can be beneficial in educational and professional settings. DeVry provides students and prospective students guidance on academic integrity and proper citation practices to help them use AI responsibly.

Purpose: This policy provides guidance to students and potential students on the responsible use of AI tools at DeVry University.

Scope: This policy applies to all students attending or planning to attend DeVry University. The policy covers any work product submitted for academic credit, such as assignments, discussion posts, and exams, and any non-academic work product submitted, including placement exams, appeals, and scholarship essays.

Policy: Students and prospective students must submit original work in their course and for official University exams, essays, and forms. Material generated from AI tools is not considered original work.

Plagiarism is using the language or ideas of other sources, such as AI tools, without attribution or when the language or ideas of another source are a significant portion of the submitted work, regardless of whether attribution is included. In addition, information derived from AI tools may be limited, inaccurate, or violate intellectual property laws, and therefore, must be verified by the student. Failure to properly cite AI-generated responses may be reported as a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy. Additional information about plagiarism is found in the Academic Integrity policy in the DeVry University Student Handbook.

Specific requirements related to the use of AI at DeVry University vary depending on the situation. A summary of common usage is described below:

Classroom Use: Use of AI as outlined in this policy applies to all courses unless specified differently in the course syllabus, assignment page(s), and/or in writing by the professor.

Use of generative AI tools may be permitted for specific assignments or activities that may include:

  • Assistance in generating ideas
  • Clarifying course concepts
  • Generating ideas for essay titles and outlines
  • Asking for feedback on snippets of code or help with Excel formulas

Prohibited Use:

  • It is prohibited to type, dictate, copy, paste or otherwise transfer content owned by DeVry University and subject to copyright, such as course content and materials with the copyright symbol, into non-DeVry AI tools.
  • Use of AI tools is prohibited for challenge exams, entrance exams, appeals, or for other submitted materials to derive academic or financial benefit, without express written permission from an appropriate DeVry administrator.
  • It is prohibited to use generative AI to complete the written portion of any DeVry scholarship application. For more information, see the DeVry Scholarship Fund Applications AI Guidelines.

Citing AI Tools

Ideas and words taken from sources must be cited, including content obtained through an AI tool. If the use of an AI tool is permitted, the tool must be cited appropriately, or it is considered plagiarism.

APA citations should follow the 7th edition of the APA guide and indicate the AI tool as an author, the date of use, how it was used, and the tool's URL. For example, content provided by ChatGPT could be cited this way:

  • In-text citation: (ChatGPT, 2023)
  • References list citation: ChatGPT. (2023, January 18). How do you cite an answer in ChatGPT? [Response to user question]. Retrieved from https://chat.openai.com/

Additional Information about proper citation practices is found in the APA LibGuide.

Use of AI Tools Without Permission

Use of Generative AI without permission, such as in a class where usage is restricted, while completing a challenge exam, or while preparing a scholarship application or any written appeal, is considered a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy in the DeVry University Student Handbook. 

Detectors Used at DeVry University

DeVry University has implemented an Academic Integrity detection tool (Turnitin) for its courses to detect academic integrity violations and identify the possible use of AI. At this time, students can view the report that shows use of outside sources but are unable to view the AI report. Professors can download the AI report and share it with students, if they choose.

Resources Available for Students

Turnitin

Turnitin helps students with grammar and integrity.  It shows a similarity score that is visible to students and faculty. Use this to identify possible missing citations and "quotation marks" on content copied from or too similar to sources. Turnitin also evaluates whether content may have been generated by AI. This report is currently only visible to faculty. Learn more about TII and integrity here.

TII's Ethical AI Use Checklist for Students can help you properly use AI tools and can help you prepare for conversations with professors should you need to defend your work.