Generative AI is changing the way we think about academic integrity, plagiarism, knowledge creation, and even authorship. This page is intended to help students navigate the intersection of academic integrity and generative AI at UWindsor.
This page provides basic guidance for students on academic integrity generative Artificial Intelligence rules at the University of Windsor.
As with other technologies, the default position is that use of generative AI is allowed, unless the instructor has specifically stated in the syllabus that it cannot be used. It is your responsibility to ensure you understand when you are allowed to use these tools and when they are not appropriate. If you are not sure, ask your instructor.
Wherever generative AI is used substantially, especially in content generation, it is good practice to be transparent about it, acknowledging (see Citation Guide below) and explaining what tools you used and how. For example, what AI tool(s) did you use? What prompts did you use? What output did you receive? How did you adapt or adjust anything it gave you? Did you use it for editing your own content?
AI detectors are not permitted for use at UWindsor due to their low efficacy, demonstrated biases against certain groups, and the potential for false accusations. While it may be possible in the future that a reliable method of detection is discovered, at present there are no tools that provide evidence that could be relied upon in academic integrity investigations.
Similarly, both faculty and students have been repeatedly demonstrated in the literature to be unreliable detectors of content created by generative AI, a trend likely to continue as these tools become more sophisticated. Approaching potential breaches of academic integrity with openness and trust is an important starting point, especially knowing the complexity of potential AI use cases.
If you use generative AI to help you with assignments, whether that is generating ideas, planning, prototyping, editing, or any other use, you should acknowledge which tools you used and how you used them. As a starting point, include the following information:
- The name of the generative AI system(s) used (e.g. Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Grammarly, Canva, SnapchatAI etc.)
- The company (e.g. OpenAI URL of the AI system)
- The URL (if you are using a system that has shareable outputs by a link, consider including that as well)
- a brief description of how you used the tool (e.g. edited / corrected / prototyped / translated / planned / brainstormed). For example, “This work was edited using Grammarly” or “This image was generated using Midjourney”
- date
Pro tip: Keep a record of how you used generative AI, including prompts and outputs. Take screenshots or copy the transcript into a Word document. If you are editing a document, use track changes, so there is a copy with your edits in it.
The McMaster University Library has created a useful guide to acknowledging the use of AI, including when and how to do this. The guide offers advice on multiple citation formats. If AI has been approved for use in your course, publication, or other academic work, this guide can help you determine the best approach to acknowledging your AI use.
There are two key guides to academic integrity at UWindsor that you need to be familiar with - Bylaw 31 - Academic Integrity, and the Student Code of Conduct. Using generative AI in ways that are not approved by your instructor may be considered a breach of the code of conduct and academic integrity rules, and may lead to academic consequences.