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Information about Niagara University's policy on AI usage can be found on MyNU. It is found under the Academic Integrity Policy.
At Niagara University, the use of artificial intelligence in course assignments is subject to the discretion of individual faculty members, reflecting the institution's strong commitment to academic freedom. Faculty members have the autonomy to determine whether and how AI tools and technologies can be integrated into course assignments and assessments. This approach allows for a diverse range of pedagogical strategies and acknowledges the unique Page 4 of 15 requirements and learning objectives of different courses. Students must understand the specific guidelines provided by their instructors regarding the use of AI in their academic work. In line with section two above, the policy for citing AI usage in assignments is determined by individual faculty members. Each instructor may set their own guidelines regarding how and when AI tools and technologies should be cited in student work.
This approach allows faculty members to tailor citation requirements to the specific context and objectives of their courses. Students are responsible for understanding and adhering to the citation guidelines provided by their instructors, ensuring that the use of AI is transparently and appropriately acknowledged in their academic submissions. The misuse of artificial intelligence in academic work at Niagara University is treated as a serious breach of academic integrity. Misuse can manifest in various forms, such as relying excessively on AI for creating entire assignments, failing to cite AI assistance, or using AI to bypass learning objectives. This is key: AI represents a continuum where the teaching approach and learning objectives dictate what is misuse. For instance, if a student submits an essay largely generated by an AI text tool without proper acknowledgment or beyond the scope allowed by the instructor, it would be considered a violation.
Generative AI has educational uses that can assist with your coursework. Verify with your instructor whether AI use is allowed in the course. If it is not, you cannot use AI for your coursework. For courses allowing AI, work with your instructor to make sure your usage is within the limits of the course.
Note that for coding, calculations, translations, and other advanced work, you will need to double-check results.
Possible uses of Generative AI for coursework:
Journal articles found in our library databases have been published in reputable journals. They are human authored and undergo the peer review process - that means colleagues in the same field review the article to make sure the research is sound and that it contributes to the field.
If you are using AI for finding articles, make sure to verify that the article is real and not a hallucinated citation or an AI slop article. You can use Journals by Title to see if the article exists in our databases. You can also check Predatory Journals or Beall's List to see if it this it is a reputable journal.
Many of our library databases already have AI and machine-generating components embedded within them while others are adding tools on an ongoing basis. These tools are used for summarizing journal articles, doing on-the-fly translations, creating citations (APA, MLA), and text-to-speech narration.
Check citations against Purdue Owl or another reputable website to make sure they are formatted correctly. Translations may also have inaccuracies.