For faculty
A classroom AI policy template you can adapt this week
A good classroom AI policy is short, says what is allowed on each assignment, and says how the work is checked. Here is a template for high school and college classes.
In short
A classroom AI policy should name what AI use is allowed, what is not, and how work will be checked, and it should be set per assignment rather than once for the year. The simplest version uses three levels: no AI, AI for ideas only, and AI with disclosure. Pair it with a way to see how essays were written, and a fair process when something looks off.
What a classroom AI policy has to say
Students mostly get into trouble with AI where the rule was unclear. One teacher allows a chatbot outline, the next treats it as cheating, and a student with three classes cannot keep track. A policy that works answers three questions for each assignment:
- Which AI uses are allowed on this piece of work?
- Which are not?
- How will I know how the work was done?
The third question is the one most policies skip, and it is the one that makes the first two real.
Three levels, set per assignment
Rather than one rule for the whole year, label each assignment with a level. Students learn the three labels once.
| Level | What students may do | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1: no AI | Write every word themselves. Spelling correction and built-in device dictation are fine; tools that write or rewrite sentences are not. | Essays that assess the student’s own writing and reasoning |
| Level 2: AI for ideas | Use AI to brainstorm, ask questions or explain a concept. Every sentence in the essay is written by the student. | Research essays, early drafts, topics new to the class |
| Level 3: AI with disclosure | Use AI for feedback or editing, and add a short note saying what tool was used and how. | Projects where using the tool well is part of the skill |
Wording to paste
The general statement
AI tools are part of the world you write in, and in this class we use them on purpose or not at all. Each assignment is marked Level 1 (no AI), Level 2 (AI for ideas only) or Level 3 (AI with disclosure). If an assignment does not say, assume Level 1. If you are unsure whether something counts, ask me before you use it, and you will never be penalized for asking.
Classroom AI policy, general statement
On a Level 1 assignment
This is a Level 1 essay. Write it yourself, in the class editor. You may paste quotations and citations from your sources. Do not paste or retype text from any other tool, including AI dictation apps. The editor records how the essay is written, and I read that record if I have a question about your work. If I do, I will ask you to talk me through it before anything else happens.
Assignment instructions, Level 1
On a Level 2 assignment
This is a Level 2 essay. You may use AI to explore the topic or explain ideas. Every sentence you submit must be written by you. At the end, add two sentences on how you used AI, if you did.
Assignment instructions, Level 2
Explaining it to students
Spend ten minutes on it in the first week, and again before the first essay. Show the three levels, show an example of each, and say why the policy exists: the essay is practice in thinking, and you want to see their thinking. Tell them how the work is checked and what happens if you have a question. A rule is easier to follow when students can see it applied the same way every time, and easier to accept when they know the first step is a conversation.
How to enforce it fairly
- Have a record of the process. A policy you cannot check becomes a policy students ignore. A writing record shows whether text was typed or pasted and how the essay came together.
- Require two independent signals. A detector score and polished prose both come from the text and count as one.
- Start with a conversation. Ask about the argument, not about AI. The step by step guide has a first message you can send.
- Write down the outcome. Your school’s integrity process may require it, and it protects the student as much as it protects you.
How EssayGuard matches the policy
In EssayGuard each assignment carries its own rules, which map onto the levels above: whether citations, quotations and text from the assignment instructions may be pasted, whether device dictation or any dictation is allowed, and whether an essay typed straight through with nothing revised should be marked for review. Students are told before they start that the session is recorded. Each essay comes back marked Approved, Needs Review or Flagged against those rules, with a replay you can open and a plain summary of what the recording shows. There is no AI percentage, and every decision stays with you.
It is free for the rest of this semester for every course you teach, then $99 a year. Set up your first assignment, or read the college version of this policy on the syllabus language page.
Pitfalls
- A policy that only says “no AI” without naming grammar tools and dictation.
- A rule set once in August and never repeated on the assignment.
- Enforcement that depends on a detector percentage.
- Penalties announced before there is any way to see how work was done.
Questions people ask
Do I need a classroom AI policy if my school has one?
Usually yes. School and district policies tend to set the outer limits and leave each teacher to say what is allowed on a given assignment. Students need to know your rule for this essay, in plain words, before they start.
Should the policy ban grammar checkers?
Say so explicitly either way. Spelling and grammar correction is different from a tool that rewrites sentences, and students genuinely do not know where you draw the line unless you tell them.
What about speech to text?
Address it. Built-in device dictation is an accommodation many students rely on. AI dictation tools that clean up or rewrite what was said insert finished text. A policy that allows the first and not the second should say so.
How do I enforce an AI policy without a detector?
Have students write where the process is recorded, read the record when a question comes up, check sources, and talk with the student about the work. That is evidence a student can respond to, which a percentage is not.
Try it with one assignment
The rest of this semester costs nothing. Setup takes about three minutes.
Every course you teach, unlimited students. Students install nothing.