Developing an AI-Contract with your Students
Community agreements, or Classroom contracts, are widely used to create a respectful and supportive learning environment between you and your students. Based on mutual and agreed-upon understanding, they can be adapted to be an effective AI policy for a single assignment or your whole course.
This can offer one solution for the increasing use of AI by students in their work, while providing them with an understanding of where it is and where it is not appropriate to use. Simultaneously, a contract can help reduce your uncertainty about how to manage its use in your class.
Why a contract?
Beyond a mere statement in your syllabus, a classroom contract is co-developed with the students at the start of classes. While syllabus language can feel authoritative, classroom contracts are more collaborative as they specifically require student participation in their creation.
Benefits include…
Allowing students' voices to drive classroom policy development to gain their buy-in and insight, given that students are the majority users of LLMs
Enhancing transparency and communication-- students know, and have agreed on, exactly where and when AI use is allowed or prohibited
Clarifying expectations-- from complete prohibition of AI, to open-use, each classroom might have a different policy, so it is necessary to clarify how you expect students to use (or not) AI in your class
Providing a framework to address infractions against the policy-- if students break the policy, the repercussions and outcomes are clear to students
Providing a tool for accountability for both students and instructors-- students do not want to be falsely accused, nor do instructors want to falsely accuse
What does a classroom contract look like? How do I make one?
Before moving on to how to make a policy, Instructors should consider the level of input they are willing to give the students: from comments on an established policy to a full co-created contract. We have created a handy sliding scale to assess where you, as the instructor, lie.
There are a couple of different approaches to creating a contract around AI that can work for you.
The Check-List Method:
Take from a larger checklist and work together as a class or in small groups to co-select which items you think should be a part of the policy
A checklist of items that are co-selected and agreed upon by your class
Finalize the list and have the student vote to accept the items as policy
The Brainstorm Method:
Co-created a list of policies in class together by writing on the board or on a shared Google Doc
Through the class discussion, group similar policies together and discuss the merits of each
After the discussion, finalize your list and have the students vote to accept the policy
The Editing Method:
The instructor creates a basic policy or even takes their syllabus language and has the students, either as a group, individually, or as a class, amend the policy
See our article “Syllabus Language & Ethics” as a starting point
Make edits and amendments live in class while discussing the merits and implications of each policy item
After the discussion, finalize the policy and have students vote to accept.
The Small Group Method:
Break students into groups. Give each group an index card and ask them to list two potential agreements they feel are important for an AI policy.
Go around the room and ask each group for their agreement. Write the proposed agreements on the board. Ask the groups to explain their reasons for suggesting a particular agreement and to specify what they mean if the agreement they suggest is vague. There may be some overlap.
After all of the groups have given their proposed agreements, ask the entire class if there are any other ones that they would like to add to the board. This is a good time to add or share any potential agreements that you may have that weren’t suggested by the groups.
At the end of the discussion, ask the students to vote on the list. This allows them to decide as a class which community agreements they would like to have for the quarter
How to Scale for a Large Format Class
Creating a classroom contract works best in smaller classroom formats, but for larger lectures, there are still a variety of options that can work:
Discussion Sections: TAs could be given a draft of a policy by the instructor. In section, the TAs discuss the draft and any recommendations or edits by the students. When the TAs all meet with the professor, the comments are noted, and the policy is amended.
Polling Tools: an online or cloud-based polling tool could be used to assess student feedback on a policy or items within a policy. Students could vote on which items they agree with, with majority rulings being established
Online Survey: assign students to submit two policy items concerning AI use to an online survey through Canvas or Google Forms. Collate the submissions and discuss either in a section or as a class.
How to confirm compliance with the policy throughout your course
Having a policy in place and discussing it in the first week of class is important, but how can we remind students of the policy throughout the course? Different courses might have different policies, and students might need reminding of your course specifically.
Consider implementing cover sheets or writer’s memos: Add a cover sheet with assignment-specific AI language or a copy of the contract to each assignment that students need to verify compliance with.
Have students submit a writer’s memo discussing how they used AI for their assignment
Have a mid-course check-in via a survey or polling tool: you can gauge how the students are using AI and if the policy is working appropriately. Changes can either be made then or with the next iteration of the course
What do I include in the contract?
See our examples below with suggestions for contract policies and language. We also recommend adding a disclaimer to your syllabus, contract, and assignment cover sheets prohibiting AI use unless otherwise stated:
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, AI use is prohibited. Students should err on the side of caution and assume AI is not to be used. Consult your courses’ syllabus or contract, and/or always ask the instructor if guidance is unclear.
Adding such a disclaimer eliminates any possible loopholes in your AI policy and aligns with UCLA’s student code of conduct.
Access our Sample Documents:
Additional Resources: