CHENNAI: To encourage responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI), Stella Maris University has asked students to declare the use of AI in their course assignments and projects. Students are now required to submit a handwritten Honor Code Pledge stating that they have not received any unauthorized or undeclared assistance in their work. It will come into effect from 2025-2026.The university has also introduced an AI framework for learning and assessment. This allows AI to be used for tasks such as language polishing and grammar correction, and bans AI-generated content due to concerns about errors and bias. Four types of uses for AI in assignments are defined: open uses, disclosed uses, compliant uses, and prohibited uses. “We have noticed that many students are using AI tools to simply cut and paste unsupervised assignments, without fact-checking or verifying the information generated.We are trying to integrate AI into learning by allowing students to use AI publicly,” said Faustina João, a faculty member in the university’s Department of Computer Science. “It’s just an auxiliary tool. It takes away any guilt they may be feeling,” she added.“With universities encouraging us to use AI in an ethical way, we now tend to feel like we have ownership of the content,” said Daranya, a third-year Bachelor of Economics student.Another final year BCA student, Kashifa, said that after the introduction of the pledge, students became more aware of the use of AI. “Faculty does not allow AI to be used to generate code. Therefore, the usage has been reduced by half,” she added.“The vision of the AI Strategic Framework for Students is to responsibly incorporate AI tools into the learning and assessment process while maintaining academic integrity and fairness,” said Rebecca Devaprasad, coordinator of the university’s Internal Quality Assessment Cell (IQAC).“Students may need to use AI tools in the workplace after graduation. This will give them confidence and enable them to use AI with transparency and responsibility,” she added.Other institutions such as IIT Madras and Anna University are also in the process of formulating AI policies.
