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As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into higher education, the question is no longer if students will use AI tools, but how they will use them. When applied ethically, AI can be a powerful resource for brainstorming, refining writing, and enhancing the learning process. However, its misuse—such as relying on AI to write entire assignments—raises dire concerns about academic integrity.

To address this, faculty can create clear guidelines that encourage students to use AI responsibly while maintaining transparency in their work. One practical strategy? Require students to submit a link to their ChatGPT conversation alongside their assignment, allowing faculty to see how AI contributed to the final product. This also provides an opportunity for faculty to give students feedback on their prompting techniques, helping them refine their skills to get more accurate, relevant, and insightful results from AI tools.

Tip: My Prompt Engineering Cheatsheet has a variety of strategies, tips, and techniques for crafting clear, concise, and relevant prompts that students will find helpful. See my Unlocking the Power of Prompting Resource Guide for more helpful suggestions.

In this post, we’ll explore how to implement ethical AI practices, provide step-by-step instructions for sharing ChatGPT conversations, and highlight best practices from the field.

Why Promote Ethical AI Use in Assessments?

Banning AI is not only impractical—it also ignores its potential as a powerful educational tool. Instead, faculty can foster AI literacy by teaching students to:

Use AI as a collaborative tool for ideation and improvement, rather than as a shortcut.
Recognize the limitations of AI, such as factual inaccuracies or lack of critical thinking.
Develop transparency by disclosing when and how they use AI in their work.

By establishing clear expectations, faculty can promote academic integrity while helping students build skills they’ll need in an AI-enhanced future.

How Students Can Share Their ChatGPT Conversations

When students use ChatGPT during the research or writing process, they can share the exact conversation thread with you. This allows you to see the prompts they used, the AI-generated responses, and how they integrated (or didn’t integrate) the content into their final work.

After completing their session, students should click the “Share” button located at the top right of the conversation window. They will then be able to preview a snapshot of the conversation to be shared along with the option of naming the link.

For more information about additional options when sharing links and privacy information please visit OpenAI’s ChatGPT Shared Links FAQ.

Once students have generated the shared link to their conversation they should include that link with their assignment submission—either within the document itself or in a separate comments section (based on your instructions).

Practical Ways to Integrate Ethical AI Use into Assessments

To encourage responsible AI use, consider the following strategies when designing assessments.

Require AI Transparency Statements

Ask students to include a brief AI usage statement in their submissions. This should outline:

Whether they used AI and for what purpose (e.g., brainstorming, grammar refinement).
The prompts they entered and how they modified the output.
A reflection on how AI helped or hindered their learning.

Make AI an Explicit Part of the Assignment

Rather than fearing AI, embrace it by integrating it directly into the assignment. For example:

Side-by-Side Comparison: Ask students to generate an AI response to a prompt and then write their own. They can compare the two, analyzing strengths, weaknesses, and factual accuracy.
AI-Powered Outlines: Have students use AI to generate an outline for their paper, but require them to expand upon it with original research and critical analysis.

Use Iterative Drafting with AI

Encourage students to use AI for early drafts or revision rounds, but require them to submit both the AI-generated content and their final, polished work. This process reveals how they revised or personalized the AI’s suggestions.

Sample Assignment Instructions

To streamline the process, you can include clear instructions for students in your syllabus or assignment guidelines. Here’s a sample example.

You are welcome to use AI tools like ChatGPT during the research and writing process. However, to promote transparency, you must:

Include a ChatGPT conversation link showing your interaction with the AI.
Add an AI transparency statement that describes how you used AI and reflects on its effectiveness.
Cite any AI-generated content according to academic integrity guidelines.

Resources for Faculty on Ethical AI Integration

For more ideas on creating meaningful, responsible AI-integrated assessments along with sample assignments, explore these excellent faculty resources:

10 Best Practices for AI Assignments in Higher Ed – ACUE’s blog post offers practical strategies for designing AI-enhanced assessments.
Ethical Use of AI in Writing Assignments – The University of Kansas’ Center for Teaching Excellence outlines how to set clear policies and expectations for students using AI.
Integrating AI into Assignments – The Stanford Teaching Common’s guide explores creative ways to incorporate AI into assessments while preserving academic integrity.

key thoughts

Closing Thoughts

AI is transforming the landscape of higher education. By promoting transparency, reflection, and responsible use, faculty can turn this challenge into an opportunity. Using AI enhances students’ learning experiences and prepares them to use AI responsibly in their future careers and beyond. Integrating AI into their education equips students with the skills needed to navigate this powerful tool ethically and effectively after graduation.

Requiring students to share their ChatGPT conversations alongside their assignments promotes accountability and encourages self-awareness in their engagement with AI. By fostering these habits now, faculty can help students develop the critical AI literacy they’ll need in both their academic and professional futures.

Sponsored by the Fordham Faculty AI Interest Group | facultyai@fordham.edu | www.fordham.edu/AI

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