Course AI Policy
Don’t assume any employer will feed you and pay you a salary just for being a human front-end typing things into ChatGPT!
Course Policy on Generative AI Tools
Generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok are changing how writers compose, think, and learn. Used passively, these tools can distance you from your inner speech, your felt sense, and your emerging sense of purpose. The key is to remain aware of how these systems affect your reasoning, your agency, and your capacity to know what you mean before you say it.
In life—and in your career—you need to be able to think and write without AI. A very basic standard of functional literacy is the ability to carry a coherent thought across sentences; this is a skill you must demonstrate without technological shortcuts. This is why some assignments–especially Discussion Forum Posts at Canvas–call for you to write without using GenAI tools.
That said, use of GenAI has now become a core functional literacy as well, so some assignments allow for or encourage GenAI usage. For those assignments, really any time you use GenAI in this course, you must complete a Metacognitive Report following the guidelines at Metacognitive Report – AI Writing Ethics: Balancing Agency, Voice & Disclosure.
By naming the roles you assigned to GenAI, you make visible the boundary between support and substitution. Possible roles include:
- Thought Partner – brainstorming, counterarguments, refining claims
- Research Assistant – finding, summarizing, and cross-checking sources
- Composing Assistant – supporting invention, drafting, revising, rereading
- Citation Assistant – formatting and checking references
- Editorial Assistant – improving clarity, coherence, and flow
- Designer – shaping visuals and layout
- Publishing Assistant – adapting work for new audiences or media
- Teaching Assistant – clarifying complex concepts or modeling skills
Why this policy matters
- To support critical AI literacy by helping you learn when and how to use GAI responsibly.
- To ensure your submitted work demonstrates your own thinking, learning, and authorship.
- To prepare you for evolving professional and academic standards around AI use.
This policy grows from theory, scholarship, and research in writing studies that view composing as a process of discovery, dialogue, and communicating with audiences. For more on this, consult the following resources:
