Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) Resource Guide for Faculty

The University of Massachusetts Global is an academic community based on the principles of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Academic integrity is a core University value, which ensures respect for the academic reputation of the University, its students, faculty and staff, and the degrees it confers. The University expects that students will conduct themselves in an honest and ethical manner and respect the intellectual work of others.

With regard to GAI, University policy means that students should only use artificial intelligence in a manner that is consistent with course requirements and which does not misrepresent machine generated work as their own. Even when students are permitted to use GAI at any stage of a research project, their work must be completed honestly using principles of Academic Integrity.

This page provides tips for identifying potential academic integrity violations and offers tips for citing GAI-generated material.

UMass Global's Standards and Policy of Academic Integrity is in the University catalogue accessible through MyUMass Global. On the library's Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Avoidance page, Academic Integrity is defined for students:

Academic Integrity is a set of principles used by scholars to show respect to those who contributed to our knowledge base. The principles include respecting intellectual property and avoiding plagiarism by citing properly. An ethical researcher takes the time to carefully analyze and understand sources selected for the project and by properly acknowledging the work of others using proper citation methods. Research material must be used according to a set of standards known as Academic Integrity, which is set of principles used by scholars to show respect to those who contributed to our knowledge base. In the United States, ideas and their expressions are considered to be intellectual property and, unless otherwise noted, are protected by copyright laws that prevent anyone from profiting off the ideas of another.

You may find it useful to refer students to the following resources and discuss them in class:

• UMass Global Student Conduct Code
• Umass Global Academic Integrity Policy

The following checklist from the Center for Instructional Innovation may help you detect Academic Integrity violations. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it be considered definitive. While these signs might raise suspicions, they are not proof of GAI usage or other violations. Engaging in a conversation with the student and exploring their understanding of the paper's content is an important step in addressing any concerns.

• Sudden Quality Leap: Noticeable, significant improvement in writing quality or sophistication compared to the student's previous work. Usage of technical terms or complex concepts beyond the student's usual level of understanding.
• Inconsistent Writing Style: Shifts in language style, tone, or vocabulary within the paper. Sections may appear disjointed or lack smooth integration. Inconsistent flow of arguments and ideas.
• Lack of Personal Voice: Absence of the student's unique writing style or voice.
• Lack of Depth in Discussions: Superficial discussions that lack critical analysis or meaningful insights.
• Inability to Explain: If the student struggles to explain or elaborate on specific concepts or arguments presented in the paper.
• Flawless Grammar: Unusual absence of grammatical errors, especially if it contrasts with the student's typical writing.
• Overreliance on Sources: Heavy reliance on numerous sources without substantial original analysis or interpretation.
• Improper Citations: Incorrect or missing citations, suggesting that the student may not have properly understood or acknowledged their sources.
• Sources Cannot Be Located: GAI-output may generate fake citations that you will be unable to locate in library databases or Google Scholar. Some clues may be:
  • Elements of the citation (e.g. the journal or source title) are vague or do not match the content under consideration at all.
  • Citations have mistakes or do not follow a consistent style, indicating that they may be cobbled together from various legitimate sources.
  • Selected sources are not commonly associated with the course content or the student's academic level.
  • Phrases in titles are repeated across multiple citations.
  • Content does not align with an academic timeline (e.g. a theory shows up in citations before it was posited or before it could reasonably make it to a scholarly journal).

CII's Academic Integrity page includes a series of videos about Academic Integrity violations and how to use TurnitIn.

Contact the library for help finding research material associated with a case of suspected plagiarism.

Students should be told that GAI output is intellectual property generated by seeking material from many other sources. As such, like any other resource, material generated with GAI should be acknowledged with citations and bibliographies, and material that GAI draws upon should also be cited whenever possible.

You can see our guide to citing GAI and point your students to it.