Checking your syllabus looks a little different this semester. Boise State now requires all instructors to include AI rules and guidelines in their syllabi.
The Office of the Provost announced the requirement on Aug. 18, asking professors to incorporate explicit rules about AI in every course, including what purposes it should serve and when.
“The basic information provided should include a clear statement explaining whether, when, and how students may use artificial intelligence.” Provost Zeynep Hansen wrote in an email to The Arbiter.
“Students are very confused, not only at Boise State, but all over the country and all over the world,” said Dan Sanford, who is part of the AI Coordinating Committee (AICC) and the AICC Co-chair.
University officials say the new AI statements are intended to help students better understand course expectations and their responsibilities when using AI.
“Clear AI expectations help students make informed decisions about enrollment and participation, navigate differences across courses and assignments, and understand their responsibilities when completing course work,” Hansen wrote.
Instructors are required to inform students on whether, when, and how, AI should be used. The rule is applied to all syllabi, even through Canvas, printed copies and digital. If AI rules change according to an assignment, professors must explain those differences.
Boise State is not requiring instructors to allow AI or banning it university-wide. Faculty can determine what is appropriate for their own course. “This expectation does not prescribe a particular approach to AI; faculty retain discretion over course content and instructional methods,” Hansen wrote.
The university provided faculty with two sample syllabus statements, one for courses that allow AI and another that prohibits it. Faculty are not obligated to use the samples, and can change the wording to create their own policies.
“These statements are not required language. Instructors and departments may adapt either statement, combine elements from them, or write their own language to reflect the needs of particular courses, assignments, and disciplines,” Hansen wrote.
Professor Andy Hung, a Boise State professor of educational technology, said whether students should use AI depends largely on what they are expected to learn.
“It really depends on the level of the learners and what the main purpose of the course is,” Hung said.
Hung teaches three graduate courses this semester, including web design and two analytics-related courses. He prohibits AI in the analytics courses but allows it during certain modules of his web design course.
In his web design course, Hung created customized AI agents to help students with limited programming experience. Students can complete assignments without AI, use it to check whether their work meets assignment requirements or use it as a tutor..
Even within the same course, rules change as students develop their skills.
“For the last three modules in the course, AI is not allowed,” Hung said.
By that point, students are expected to apply those skills independently.
Boise State is providing resources such as an AI Toolkit for faculty, teaching materials and AI Literacy resources. Faculty can also receive support through the Center for Teaching and Learning, while online instructors can receive help on eCampus Center.
“The point of college is the learning and the growth toward mastery that happens as a result of doing those things,” Sanford said.
