AI in Teaching/Learning

In only a short amount of time, AI has offered new challenges and opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Education has been fundamentally transformed already and will continue to evolve. Students may learn in new ways, train for new careers, and engage in new, cutting-edge research through AI. The palpable sense of excitement from students and faculty offers an opportunity to revolutionize education. At the same time, other members of our community are approaching such a new technology with trepidation. They worry about the challenges that AI offers to ethics or privacy. Others worry about their skills becoming obsolete. These AI guidelines for Teaching and Learning are designed to support those who are excited, those who are skeptical, and everyone in between. 

For students, NJIT has adopted the student guide, "AI-U" created by Elon University and the AAC&U. 

As an institution, NJIT fully embraces the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance learning, creativity, and problem-solving across all disciplines. Drawing from the AI-U student guidelines for AI, created by the American Association for Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Elon University, we are committed to fostering the responsible and ethical use of AI in our academic community. While we encourage students to explore AI technologies to support their studies, it is crucial to maintain academic integrity and ensure AI tools are used transparently and appropriately.

These guidelines are designed to help you navigate AI usage while upholding academic standards expected in Higher Education. As outlined in the AI-U guide, you can utilize generative AI for tasks such as brainstorming ideas, improving writing clarity, and creating study tools—all of which can elevate your learning experience when used responsibly. The guide also emphasizes the importance of citing AI-generated content and understanding how AI can assist in data analysis and visualization. We encourage you to take advantage of these tools, but always with a commitment to originality, honesty, and fairness in your work.

But, how will you know when leveraging AI tools is acceptable? What does it mean to use them responsibly? First and foremost, at NJIT, instructors have the freedom to determine whether or not students are permitted to use generative AI technologies within their courses, and to what degree. Your first step should always be to check the course syllabus, and then verify with the instructor if you are unsure whether or not something is permissible for that particular course. 

The AI-U guide linked above has been adopted specifically for the benefit and support of NJIT students, and is an excellent resource for students in any major or program. Please review them carefully and continue to reference them throughout your studies.

Students should also check out the AI Core Competencies for Students, created as a benchmark for building curriculum that will lead to post-graduation success.

Specifically created for NJIT instructors, the rest of the guidelines on this site aim to support the incorporation and management of AI into their teaching practices. This information was put together by the Artificial Intelligence Working Group (AIWG) in the Spring 2024 semester, serving as an update to the previously created guidelines from Spring 2023 by the Office of Digital Learning and NJIT's Library. 

For further support regarding Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning, or any general questions, please use the AI Working Group General Questions form. 

The AIWG membership consists of: