Students may encounter artificial intelligence (AI) in their learning at the University of Saskatchewan, including when completing coursework and working with information.
Expectations for AI use may vary by course, and learning how to navigate those expectations is an important part of the educational experience. Decisions about whether AI may be used, and how it may be used, are often explored through discussions with instructors and peers, as well as engagement with course and program requirements.
This page provides guidance to help students build the knowledge and judgment needed to use AI in informed and responsible ways. Meaningful conversations with others, especially instructors, are critically important throughout the learning process, particularly when considering whether and how AI may be used.
Understanding AI
Learn to
- Recognize when and how you are using AI, and how this impacts your learning.
- Prioritize your creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, using AI to complement your learning.
- Explore the current and future use of AI in your field of study and potential workplaces. Research and choose appropriate tools to leverage.
- Use a CLEAR framework to interact with AI, refining what you do or ask to obtain relevant and desired results. Modify what you do or ask using AI to increase accuracy, reduce bias, and improve quality of AI outputs, and to evaluate the quality of what you receive from AI.
- Action: Verify the information provided by AI with credible sources and use it as a supplement, rather than a replacement, for traditional search methods.
Responsible use
Use responsibly
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- Use AI to support your learning, not to replace or misrepresent your learning.
- Action: Follow the rules laid out by instructors about use of AI to act with integrity and avoid academic misconduct.
- Action: Seek clarification about expectations early and often.
- Action: Prioritize dialogue with your instructor and peers over dialogue with conversational AI.
- Identify when and how you are using AI, when appropriate, and use citation, disclosure, and acknowledgement processes appropriately, given the circumstances.
- Action: Seek clarification about when its use is appropriate because instructions may not be explicit enough, and instructors may not consider this until they are asked.
- Action: Expect to be asked by instructors about your process for producing content, including your process for working with or prompting AI.
- Act respectfully after considering the ethics surrounding a range of AI uses in your personal, academic, and professional life.
- Use AI to support your learning, not to replace or misrepresent your learning.
Privacy and security
Protect yourself
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- Choose tools that are USask approved for your privacy and security rather than other GenAI tools.
- Action: Safeguard your privacy and security. Ensure you use a unique username and password and avoid reusing your NSID and NSID password.
- Avoid submitting content that is not your own into any AI tool that uses inputs for training purposes or to improve performance. When using AI tools, you are responsible for the content you submit and complying with all applicable laws and regulations. It is strongly recommended that you do not input personal information or confidential data into an AI tool.
- Advocate for AI policies across contexts that protect privacy, security, transparency and environmental sustainability.
- Choose tools that are USask approved for your privacy and security rather than other GenAI tools.
Related policies and guidelines
AI use may also be influenced by broader university policies and institutional guidance. These may apply based on your course requirements, instructor expectations, and the work you are completing.
Build your AI knowledge
Explore AI literacy resources or access the complete USask AI principles and guidelines.