Provost Office, September 2025
Principles for AI Use in the Academic Program (2025-2026)
Rooted in our Mission and Values
Muskingum University prepares a continuum of learners to think critically, excel professionally, grow personally, and contribute ethically to our changing world. Our values—creating opportunity and delivering a strong return on learners’ investments—guide how we integrate emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), into our academic, professional, and co-curricular environments.
As each faculty member engages differently with this evolving landscape, it will be remembered at all times that, “[T]he University strives to create and sustain a community of scholarship that is civil, collegial, and orderly, one in which emphasis is placed on mutual respect for one another and in which consultation and communication among all constituencies prevail.” (Faculty Handbook, section 500)
The following parameters shall guide decisions related to the use of AI in Muskingum’s academic program:
1. Human-Centered, Ethically-Grounded Technology Use
All use of AI at Muskingum must prioritize human dignity, privacy, well-being, and intellectual integrity. These tools are to enhance—not replace—the relational, high-impact learning experiences that define our approach. AI should never compromise safety, agency, or student ownership of learning.
2. Faculty and Student Responsibilities
Faculty have the ultimate discretion to determine how, or if, AI tools are used in their courses. This autonomy recognizes the diversity of disciplines, pedagogies, and learning outcomes across the University. Each faculty member is responsible for providing a) clear expectations in course policies (and, where relevant, in assignment instructions) regarding the definitions and appropriate uses of AI and b) direction to students in terms of how they can meet those expectations (e.g., submitting drafts, citing sources, and otherwise demonstrating their work).
Students are responsible for following stated policies. Any misuse – including substantiated and undisclosed or deceptive AI use – will be addressed as a violation of academic integrity.