In general, using artificial intelligence tools to complete your assignments is prohibited unless otherwise noted by your instructor. To learn more about the Extended Studies Academic Integrity Policy, the institutional definition of artificial intelligence tools, and how instructors detect and deal with artificial intelligence use, please read this important article.

Contents

1. Academic Integrity Expectations at UC San Diego Extended Studies
2. Classification of Artificial Intelligence Tools per Extended Studies' Academic Integrity Policy
3. Can I use Artificial Intelligence to Complete my assignments?
4. Consequences of Artificial Intelligence Use
5. Artificial Intelligence Detection at Extended Studies
6. How can I avoid an inaccurate Artificial Intelligence report?
7. My submission was flagged for AI use but I did not use AI or any writing assistance tools

Academic Integrity Expectations at UC San Diego Extended Studies

The excerpt below comes from the Extended Studies Academic Integrity Policy.

UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies values life-long learning and the opportunity to serve individuals, organizations and the community by providing continuing education and degree-related programs that support academic, professional, economic and social development.

To support our efforts, it is essential to create an environment where academics are achieved through one’s own effort. The Division of Extended Studies expects that academic study will be applied with honesty, responsibility to scholarship and with original thought. This is a shared responsibility between the instructors, the students and the administration.

The University and Division of Extended Studies expect both instructors and students to honor this principle and in so doing protect the validity of University intellectual work.

For students, this means that all academic work will be done by the individual to whom it is assigned, without unauthorized aid of any kind whether the course, or any part of the course, is held in a traditional classroom setting or in an online environment.

Instructors, for their part will exercise the planning and supervising of academic work so that academic integrity will be upheld.

Learn more about your rights and responsibilities at UC San Diego Extended Studies:

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Classification of Artificial Intelligence Tools per Extended Studies' Academic Integrity Policy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, etc.) are powerful tools capable of quickly generating any type of text as prompted by a user, and these tools are classified as aids in the context of any course of study at UC San Diego Extended Studies.

Can I use Artificial Intelligence to Complete my assignments?

In general, students should not use artificial intelligence tools to complete any assignment for an Extended Studies course. The output of any AI tool cannot be claimed by an individual as their own, authentically-authored work for the purposes of receiving a grade unless explicitly permitted by the instructor. The result of extensive prompt engineering, which is a method of dialoging with the AI to tailor the AI's output, does not constitute original work that is considered to have been done by students themselves.

Unauthorized AI use can be considered a violation of the Extended Studies Academic Integrity Policy and may be subject to action under the processes outlined in this policy. Below is the applicable rule from the Extended Studies Academic Integrity Policy (Section IV, F):

• F. To employ aids not allowed by the instructor in undertaking course work or in completing any exam or assignment.

Consequences of Artificial Intelligence Use

Any use of AI to complete an assignment, discussion post, or other graded work, unless otherwise permitted in writing by your instructor, is considered use of an unauthorized aid according to the Extended Studies Academic Integrity Policy (Section IV, F). Unauthorized use of AI tools will result in a failing grade for an assignment, and all instances of AI use will be reported to the Student Affairs Office for review.

Artificial Intelligence Detection at Extended Studies

Extended Studies instructors are actively using AI and plagiarism detection software to scan students' submissions in order to ensure academic integrity. If your instructor believes that you have used AI to complete any part of an assignment, they will reach out to you to discuss the matter in more detail. If your instructor has enabled AI scanning on an assignment, you should know how to view the results of the scan.

How to view your Turnitin plagiarism score for an assignment (Students)

Why is my similarity score so high? Turnitin Similarity Report (Students)

How to view your CopyLeaks plagiarism score for an assignment (students)

How can I avoid an inaccurate Artificial Intelligence report?

To avoid your work being flagged for AI use, you should not use writing assistance aids such as Grammarly or WordTune, which utilize the same large language models (LLMs) that AI tools use. Language translators also use LLMs, so using a translator may trigger the AI report. You should consult with your instructor before submitting any work if you wish to use these types of writing aids to avoid any problems. In general, it is best to write work in your own, authentic voice without a strict adherence to grammatical precision or need to follow so-called formal rules, which are often arbitrary and perceived quite subjectively. Ask your instructor if they have a preference for the way you should communicate on a given assignment before using tools that may alter your individual style.

My submission was flagged for AI use but I did not use AI or any writing assistance tools

If you believe your work was flagged for AI use in error, you should reach out to your instructor immediately to disclose your writing process and any tools you use to help you write. Your instructor understands that while AI detection is strong and largely accurate, human oversight is required to take any action on a positive report.