Policy on the Use of Generative AI

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Policy Category: Executive 

Effective Date: 7/31/2024 

Responsible Officer: Vice President of Digital Technology Services (DTS) 

History: New policy 

Responsible Office: Digital Technology Services 

Location: Link

Purpose

This policy is intended to provide guidance to Wentworth Institute of Technology (henceforth known as “the university” or “Wentworth”) related to the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) on campus.

Scope/Applicability

This policy applies to all members of the Wentworth community, students, faculty, staff, and affiliates.

Legal

n/a

Policy

As there is an increase in popularity of generative AI tools, the university has developed this policy to assist and set guidelines regarding its use, including the prohibition on entering Restricted and Private information as outlined in the Policy on Stewardship of Information into generative AI tools.

Definitions

Restricted Information: Includes information in which 1) an unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction of that data could cause a significant level of risk to the university or its affiliates; 2) protected by state or federal privacy regulations, or 3) protected by confidentiality agreements. Examples include, but are not limited to personally identifiable information (PII) as defined by any state, federal, or applicable law.

Private Information: Includes information in which the unauthorized disclosure, alteration or destruction of that data could result in a moderate level of risk to the university or its affiliates. Examples include, but are not limited to Course materials, internal-use only policies and procedures, research and assessment data, inventory data (library, technical, infrastructure entities), marketing plans, meeting minutes or agendas with potentially non-public information, non-public strategic plan information, departmental budgets, and unpublished writing or research. Additionally, institutional data that is not explicitly classified as Restricted or Public data should be treated as Private data

Generative AI Tool: Means Artificial Intelligence systems that can create original and creative content and various types of artifacts, including, but not limited to: images, video, music, speech, text, software, code, production code, etc.

Procedures

Acceptable Use of Generative AI

  • Refer to specific departmental standards, university guidelines, and course syllabi. 
  • Those who use Generative AI in their work or projects are responsible for reviewing work for accuracy.
  • Individuals must disclose substantial use of Generative AI tools if they have been used for employment-related issues such as hiring and promotions; academic related activities such as research, and assignments; admissions; and departmental standards. Proper citation of usage should be in any published material used for academic research and journal articles. 
  • Surveys which use AI tools for analysis must disclose this information.

Prohibitions 

  • Do not enter restricted or private data into generative AI tools, other than those reviewed by DTS/TLC for AI use, for example Gradescope. 
  • Do not enter copyrighted, potentially copyrighted, and/or intellectual property into generative AI tools. 
  • Failing to properly disclose substantial use of Generative AI, as described above

Violations

  • Reports of allegations associated with violations of this policy should be referred to the appropriate office, including but not limited to, the Dean of Students, Human Resources, Office of Institutional Equity, or Office of the Provost. These offices must then report violations to DTS. 
  • Depending on the nature of the offense, those responsible for violating this policy may be subject to discipline ranging from a warning to dismissal (students) to termination (employees).

Additional Information & Related Documents 

Information Security and Use of Technology Policies 

Academic Policies 

Interpretation & Revision: Any questions of interpretation regarding this policy shall be referred to the Digital Technology Services. They will be the final authority regarding the interpretation of this policy. 

This policy shall be reviewed every three years; however, minor changes and updates can be made at any time.

 Wentworth will typically apply the policy in place at the time it receives a report concerning the respected policy. 

Review and Revision History 

This policy was drafted by representatives from Academics, Student Affairs, and DTS. This policy was reviewed by Cabinet and approved by the President on 7/31/2024.