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AI Tool Policy - English Courses: AI within the TSTC English Department

AI within the TSTC English Department

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AI usage

  • AI is viewed as an interesting tool; however, we do not accept any form of AI within student submissions. The straight-forward reason is the lack of accountability.
  • We interpret this as plagiarism and a severe misconduct not unlike the act of copying material from others without appropriate referencing.
  • Work generated by AI cannot be considered original work of the submitting student(s)

AI for research

  • We are not against the use of AI tools in research.
  • Students must be transparent and honest in the tools they use.
    • Students are required upon submission to clarify in their documents, wherever appropriate, if and how Generative AI tools have been used.
    • Tools such as Grammarly (Free edition) can aid researchers in crafting their exposition. This reflects a fairly restricted use of AI, the results of which can be evaluated by the researcher with relative ease.

When AI is being used more extensively for research, it is critical users:

1. Familiarize themselves with the tools’ promises and pitfalls. ChatGPT, for example, stopped its training in 2021. Claude AI, was last updated in 2023.

2. ChatGPT does not automatically provide references to the work the generated text builds on without specific prompting.

3. A report of ChatGPT’s accuracy of summarizing key findings of specialized research areas (e.g.,
prompt: ‘how many patients with depression experience relapse after treatment?’):

  • Findings reveal the chatbot often generated false and misleading text.
  • When prompted to summarize a given review article, ‘‘ChatGPT fabricated a convincing response that contained several factual errors, misrepresentations and wrong data” (van Dis et al., 2023, p. 224).

4. It is not prudent to rely on GenAI; we need to maintain the ‘‘human in the loop.”

TSTC’s Student Handbook

Academic Integrity

TSTC expects all students to engage in scholastic pursuits in a manner that is beyond reproach. Students are expected to maintain complete honesty and integrity. Any student found guilty of academic dishonesty is subject to disciplinary action.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on academic work, plagiarism and collusion.

Violations of Academic Integrity

Includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, any act designed to give unfair advantage to the student or any attempt to commit such an act.

Plagiarism

Activity that includes, but is not limited to, the appropriation, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another’s work and the submission of another’s work as one’s own academic work offered for credit.

TSTC’s Student Handbook – disciplinary procedures

Complaints regarding alleged misconduct are submitted to the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office 

Conduct Officer has primary authority and  responsibility of administering student discipline

Maxient report process & academic integrity report

The instructor completes the Maxient Report with as much detail as possible.

The instructor completes the Academic Integrity Report and the Academic Integrity Disciplinary Report and sends it to the student for their choice (accepts the sanctions / does not accept the sanction) and signature.

The instructor sends the completed Academic Integrity Disciplinary Report to the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office.

Academic Integrity Disciplinary Report

Student Accepts Sanctions

Most common sanctions for first offense include, but not limited:

  • Student must re-do the assignment and chose a new topic
  • Student receives an F in the course and must retake the course Student

Does NOT Accept Sanctions

  • The student cannot resubmit
  • There is a hearing with the review board with the student and the instructor present
  • The review board recommends a decision to the Provost’s Office

Turnitin and AI detection

Turnitin found a higher chance of incidence of false positives when the AI detection score is between 1% and 20%.

Turnitin AI Detection should not be used as the sole basis for adverse actions against a student.

It takes further scrutiny and human judgment in conjunction with an organization's application of its specific policies to determine whether any  academic misconduct has occurred.

English Department AI investigation process

Students submit their work into Canvas and Turnitin

If an assignment is flagged by Turnitin’s AI detection feature as 30% or more, then the instructor will investigate the submission. 

What does “investigate it” mean?

  • Run the suspected text through an AI checker
  • Check the text against previously received writing from the student
  • Check the grammar / style against previously received writing from the student
  • Check the sources to see if they exist 

If the investigation proves to show consistency among the student and their works:

  • Nothing happens
  • Paper graded as the student's own
  • It receives / loses points on its own merits in relation to the assignment and the associated rubric

If the investigation shows there is a creditable indication of AI usage: 

the instructor will contact the student via Canvas in the assignment comment section.

Creditable indication of AI usage

Instructor feedback in Canvas including:

  • A copy of the AI detection report from Turnitin
  • A request for a meeting with the student (phone / Google Chat)
  • The instructor's contact information (email, office hours and link, phone number).
  • If the student fails to communicate with the instructor within two business days, or schedules a meeting and fails to attend it then:
    • A Maxient report will be created on the student’s behalf
    • A zero will be entered

If the student does meet with the instructor:

They can discuss the situation at hand and come to a resolution on a plan of action, including but not limited to the following...

  • No penalty
  • Zero with a chance of resubmission for first attempt
  • Assignment is graded but AI portion is not graded, Maxient report is submitted
  • Etc.…

If this happens during the grading of the last week of the semester:

Due to time constraints the instructor will...

  1. Submit a zero
  2. Comment in Canvas as to AI with their contact information
  3. Submit a Maxient report

Works referenced