University of North America

Faculty AI Policy

Summary

The University of North America (UONA) encourages responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by faculty in teaching, research, administration, and professional practice. This policy outlines how instructors may integrate AI tools (including generative AI) into their work while upholding academic integrity, data privacy, institutional values, and regulatory compliance. It is intended to promote innovation while protecting academic standards and ensuring transparency.

Section 1: General Guidelines

Purpose and Philosophy

UONA recognizes that faculty have an important role in shaping how AI is used in higher education. AI tools can assist with content creation, grading, administrative tasks, and research support. However, they must be used in ways that:

• Support human-centered education
• Uphold fairness and academic integrity
• Protect data privacy
• Ensure accuracy and critical oversight

This policy does not prohibit AI use by faculty, but provides principles and practices to use it responsibly.

Scope

This policy applies to all faculty (full-time, part-time, adjunct) and instructional staff across teaching, research, and university-affiliated communication. It applies to uses of AI in:

• Course planning and material creation
• Lectures, assignments, and assessments
• Feedback and grading
• Student communication
• Research and grant work- Public or university communications

Section 2: Acceptable Uses

Faculty may use AI tools for the following purposes, provided they follow ethical and data privacy standards:

• Curriculum Development: Drafting syllabi, lesson plans, outlines, or generating supplemental materials using AI tools.
• Content Generation: Using generative AI to help create reading materials, presentations, or multimedia content with appropriate review and attribution.
• Administrative Efficiency: Automating emails, grading rubrics, or scheduling support using AI-enabled tools.
• Research Support: Literature summarization, data exploration, coding assistance, and idea generation, with proper citation.
• Professional Learning: Using AI for continued learning or exploration of new teaching techniques or technologies.

Section 3: Responsibilities and Restrictions

Academic Integrity & Transparency

• Faculty must clearly communicate their policies on AI use to students in each course syllabus.
• When using AI to create instructional content, instructors must review and verify all outputs.
• Faculty must avoid using AI to fully generate feedback or grades without human review.
• Faculty should disclose AI use in publicly distributed materials (e.g., in slide decks, publications, or university announcements when AI-generated content is included).

Student Assessment

• AI tools may not be used to grade assignments or exams without oversight.
• Use of AI detection tools for plagiarism or generative AI misuse must be accompanied by human judgment and fairness.- Faculty must avoid creating assignments where AI use is unavoidable without providing clear guidance on acceptable use.

Research and Data Use

• Faculty must not input confidential, student-identifiable, or sensitive data into public AI systems (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini).
• Faculty using AI in research must ensure adherence to IRB requirements, funding agency guidelines, and academic citation standards.
• Outputs used from AI tools in grant writing, academic articles, or data analysis must be properly attributed and critically reviewed.

Section 4: Ethical Use and Compliance

Faculty must:

• Promote critical thinking and intellectual honesty in the classroom, even when using AI.
• Not rely on AI to replace pedagogical decisions or undermine faculty-student relationships.
• Avoid AI-generated communication that could misrepresent intent or tone in sensitive contexts (e.g., recommendation letters, grading feedback).
• Respect copyright, licensing, and attribution standards when using or adapting AI-generated content.

Section 5: Institutional Responsibilities and Support

• UONA will provide training workshops on responsible AI use in teaching and research.
• IT Services and Academic Affairs will maintain a list of approved AI tools for faculty use.
• Faculty will be encouraged to participate in policy updates and feedback cycles to ensure the AI policy evolves alongside the technology.
• Faculty should report any suspected AI misuse (student or institutional) to the Academic Integrity Office or the CAIRE team.

Section 6: Violations and Enforcement

• Faculty who violate this policy (e.g., use AI tools inappropriately for grading, misuse private data) may be subject to review under UONA's faculty conduct policies.
• The university will respond with education-first approaches when possible, but repeated or willful violations may result in sanctions consistent with institutional policy.

Conclusion

UONA's Faculty AI Policy aims to balance innovation with responsibility. AI can be a powerful asset to improve teaching and research, but its use must align with academic ethics and human oversight. By following this policy, UONA faculty will lead in thoughtful and strategic use of AI in higher education.