AI Use Policy
Overall Course AI Status: 🟡 Yellow — AI is allowed in specific, clearly defined ways and never on readiness checks, quizzes, tests, or the final exam.
AI is a tool, not a replacement for your statistical thinking. The goal is for you to be able to reason with data and make sound decisions in the real world.
Readiness Checks, Quizzes, Tests, Final Exam — 🔴 Red (AI not allowed)
You may not use generative AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, etc.) in any way on readiness checks, quizzes, tests, or the final exam.
Why? These assessments measure your understanding. If AI does the thinking, grades do not reflect what you can do, and that hurts you in later courses and in the real world. Using AI on red-light assessments is academic dishonesty.
In-Class Activities (Not Readiness Checks, Quizzes, or Tests) — 🟡 Yellow
AI use is sometimes allowed for in-class practice, with my guidance.
Allowed (when I say it’s okay for that activity):
- Asking AI to re-explain a concept (e.g., “Explain p-values in simple terms.”)
- Asking AI to check your understanding of an idea
- Asking for alternative examples if one from class didn’t click
Not allowed:
- “Here’s my assignment—give me all the answers.”
- Copying AI solutions or letting AI do the full problem for you
- Using AI to write explanations you don’t understand
Why? Class time is where your brain gets “reps.” AI can act like a tutor—offering hints and explanations—but you must still do the thinking.
Homework (Out of Class) — 🟡 Yellow
AI can be a helpful assistant, but not a “do my homework” engine.
Allowed:
- Clarifying concepts (e.g., “What’s the difference between a parameter and a statistic?”)
- Getting step-by-step guidance after you try the problem
- Asking AI to generate extra practice questions
Not allowed:
- Copying AI-generated answers and submitting them as your own
- Relying on AI so heavily that you can’t redo the problem yourself later
If I ask you to explain or redo a homework problem without AI, you should be able to.
Jamovi Labs — 🟡 Yellow
Because many of our analyses rely on the custom Randomize module, AI tools will often give incorrect or generic advice about the statistical steps themselves — expect limited help there. Where AI is more useful is on the data-handling side: getting the data into the right shape before you run an analysis.
Allowed:
- Getting hints on filtering rows, recoding variables, or computing new variables in Jamovi
- General Jamovi navigation and interface questions (finding a menu, understanding a setting)
- Troubleshooting data-import issues or unexpected error messages
- Clarifying the statistical concept behind an analysis step
Not allowed:
- Pasting the lab prompt (or dataset) and submitting AI-generated answers
- Having AI decide which test to run or write your interpretations for you
- Using AI-generated prose in your lab report that you can’t explain in your own words
You should be able to redo any analysis and re-explain any result in your lab report without AI assistance.
Study Aids & Exam Prep — 🟢 Green (Encouraged, with caution)
You are encouraged to use AI to support your studying:
- Summarizing topics you’ve already learned (e.g., “Summarize the main ideas of confidence intervals for a beginner.”)
- Creating practice questions or flashcards
- Asking for alternative explanations of confusing ideas
- Having AI quiz you on concepts and then checking your answers
- Using a narrated lecture transcript or your notes as context for AI to summarize or generate practice questions
Use caution: Always double-check formulas and key ideas against class notes or the textbook. AI can be confidently wrong.
Course Project — 🟡 Yellow
AI may support your project but cannot do the project for you.
Allowed:
- Brainstorming research questions and ideas
- Polishing drafts you wrote (clarity, flow, grammar)
- Getting help with sentence-level wording
- Finding possible topics or sources (you must verify actual sources yourself)
Not allowed:
- Having AI write major sections (intro, methods, results, discussion)
- Letting AI choose tests, run the analysis, or interpret output for you
- Using AI-generated text or analysis you can’t explain in your own words
You are responsible for the statistical thinking and decisions in your project.
Things You Should Never Do with AI — 🔴 Red
- Share sensitive personal information (yours or others’): student ID, financial info, detailed health info, etc.
- Upload or share readiness checks, quizzes, tests, or exam questions with AI tools.
- Use AI to evade policies (e.g., “rewrite this so it passes plagiarism detectors”).
- Treat AI as automatically correct; always check it against course materials and your own understanding.
- Represent AI-generated work as entirely your own when it is not.
Transparency: How I Use AI as Instructor
I use AI tools extensively in developing this course. For example, I use AI to:
- Draft and refine course documentation, policies, and resource guides
- Create and organize course website content
- Draft, refine, and test assignments/assessments
- Draft and refine slides
- Generate audio for narrated lectures
I always review and edit AI-generated content before it reaches you. I may experiment with using generative AI to assist with grading, but I am responsible for the results. Any personal data is handled in accordance with Hope College’s data privacy policies.
If you are ever unsure whether a particular use of AI is appropriate, please ask. I’m happy to help you use these tools in ways that support your learning rather than replace it.