Policy on Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Student Academic Work
Responsible party: Office of Educational Affairs, Senior Associate and Associate Deans
Audience: Students, Faculty, Staff
Approved by: CCIA, Approval Date: October 2, 2024
Purpose
The University of Illinois College of Medicine recognizes the positive applications that AI has generated. AI-based tools can empower individuals and offer support in academic endeavors. AI is a valuable supplementary asset for fostering creativity and understanding complex topics.
Many assignments in medical schools are designed so the process of completing the work is as important as the final product. This is particularly evident in writing and critical thinking tasks, where the act of completing the assignment plays a vital role in clarifying thoughts, fostering reflective practice, and nurturing foundational skills like critical reasoning and analysis crucial to medical practice. Given the benefits and downsides, students must be very careful about how and when to use AI. However, it is crucial to integrate AI into a balanced educational approach that values human expertise, critical thinking, and hands-on experience.
Students should adhere to the following expectations:
Policy
- Students may not utilize generative AI and other large language models (LLM) as a substitute for their own knowledge acquisition, analysis of material, or self-reflection. Submitted assignments are expected to be written by students. While AI may be used to assist in idea generation and editing, students are expected to draft their assignment on their own. Use of AI to directly author the response is considered a violation of academic integrity and professionalism. If AI is used for any component of the assignment, students should cite the tool used and how it contributed.
- Generative AI tools like ChatGPT or other large language models (LLMs) may not be used to gather, research, or brainstorm for answers for closed-book assessments unless explicitly instructed by faculty or college leadership. The use of these tools without permission is a violation of academic integrity and professionalism.
- Students may be required to use specific AI technologies for certain assignments. In such cases, they must strictly adhere to the instructions provided by faculty when using these tools. Students are accountable for any inaccuracies or misinformation resulting from using these tools.
- Students are prohibited from generating patient care notes using AI applications other than those supported by the electronic health record (EHR), such as predictive text, and only if explicitly permitted by course leadership. Protected health information should never be entered into a generative AI tool outside of one supported and authorized by the EHR within the patient’s healthcare facility.
- Materials entered into AI may become accessible to third parties. Students may not copy and insert UICOM curricular material (e.g., lecture slides, journal articles, book chapters, and other provided curricular resources) directly into generative AI or similar tools without obtaining prior approval from UICOM leadership or content authors (e.g., faculty). Students must ensure that the use of these tools comply with copyright and intellectual property laws.
- When submitting scholarly work for publication or presentation, students must comply with the generative AI policies established by journals and organizations and disclose the use of these tools and how they were used.