Teaching & Learning Guidelines

As generative AI (GenAI) tools and platforms continue to expand and evolve, it is important to provide the UBC community with guidance and advice related to their opportunities as well as risks and challenges. 

Download: Principles and Guidelines for Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Teaching and Learning

GenAI tools are artificial intelligence systems that can generate content – such as texts, images, audio, and video – in response to prompts by a user, after being trained on an earlier set of data (from Glossary of GenAI terms). Some GenAI tools are accessed through standalone platforms (e.g., ChatGPT), while others may be embedded in other applications or platforms (e.g., Grammarly). 

GenAI has the potential to enrich teaching and learning activities, and some may also support inclusion and enhance accessibility, depending on how they are used. Learning how to responsibly use GenAI is important for all members of the UBC community given its growing presence in many academic and work environments. However, such tools can and have been used in ways that are harmful to individuals and communities, and careful attention must be paid to topics such as academic integrity, accessibility, equity, Indigenous data sovereignty, and privacy and intellectual property. 

The following principles and guidelines have been developed through discussions with a Generative AI in Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee during the 2023-2024 academic year, and through multiple consultations with various individuals and groups at UBC. They provide guidance on responsible and ethical use of GenAI in teaching and learning at UBC, balancing both opportunities and risks.  

These guidelines are designed to adhere to and support UBC’s strategic plans and commitments, and to align with existing UBC policies, procedures, and legal requirements (linked where relevant below). They also support and build upon the UBC Principles for Use of Generative AI.

This is meant to be a living document, evolving as needed in a rapidly-changing landscape around GenAI in teaching and learning. For feedback or questions, please contact provost.vptl@ubc.ca

Principles

The following broad principles around GenAI in teaching and learning at UBC serve as a foundation for the more specific guidelines that follow. 

Download: Principles For GenAI in Teaching & Learning


Alignment to Our Values and Priorities

UBC strategic plans and commitments
Use of GenAI in teaching and learning should be aligned with and support UBC strategic plans and commitments, including those related to decolonization and Indigenous human rights, equity, accessibility, sustainability, and wellness.

Opportunities to enhance education
GenAI can provide significant value in both teaching and learning activities through informed, responsible, and ethical use that mitigates risks and potential harms.

Value for students’ future endeavours
It is important for students to learn how to use GenAI effectively and responsibly, to prepare them for further work or studies when they leave UBC.

Indigenous data sovereignty
Use of GenAI should respect Indigenous data sovereignty and community protocols for use and sharing of Indigenous knowledges, intellectual properties, and data. Harm from false information about Indigenous communities, cultures, knowledges, histories, and contexts should be avoided.

Academic integrity
All uses of GenAI at UBC must uphold academic integrity and adhere to the academic misconduct regulations in the UBC Okanagan and Vancouver calendars.


Building Capacity and Literacy

GenAI literacy
UBC will continue to provide opportunities to learn about capabilities and limitations of GenAI tools. Faculty, staff, and students should use those opportunities to develop basic GenAI literacy skills over time.

Faculty and staff use of GenAI
Faculty and staff may use GenAI in teaching and learning so long as this is within the bounds of legal, university, Faculty, or program-level policies and requirements, and the guidelines below.

Student use of GenAI
Students may use GenAI in work submitted for courses or other academic requirements only if expressly permitted within their courses or programs. They may choose to use GenAI to support their learning in other ways, within the bounds of legal and university policies and requirements, and the guidelines below.

Considerations

Accessibility
Some GenAI tools can enhance accessibility for learners with a range of disabilities. It is important to also recognize, however, that there may be varying levels of accessibility to GenAI tools, whether related to cost, inaccessible infrastructure (such as websites or applications), or for other reasons. Those using GenAI in teaching and learning should ensure equitable access to the best of their ability.

Intellectual property & copyright
Those using GenAI in teaching and learning should respect intellectual property rights in material they input into the tools, and in how they use outputs.

Privacy & confidentiality
Use of GenAI in teaching and learning should protect privacy and confidentiality of personal and other sensitive information.


Personal Responsibility

Equity
Biased training data and inputs can produce biased, discriminatory, inaccurate, or otherwise harmful outputs, with the potential to perpetuate systemic inequities. Those using GenAI in academic work should assess the risks and mitigate, to the best of their ability, the harmful effects of such bias.

Human oversight and critical thinking
All outputs of GenAI for teaching and learning purposes should undergo human review before sharing. Users should think critically about outputs from GenAI, including their potential for producing false or misleading information, especially if sources of information in the outputs cannot be identified and/or verified. 

Transparency
Use of GenAI to produce text, images, videos, or other materials shared with others for teaching or learning purposes should be acknowledged by attributing the source of those materials.

Responsibility
Users of GenAI are accountable for the consequences of sharing the outputs generated with these tools, and have a responsibility to review them for inaccuracy and potential harm to the best of their ability. The university will provide resources to help individuals develop requisite skills.