Simon Fraser University

Using generative AI The rapid onset and availability of generative AI is transforming society. The longer-term implications and consequences of using generative AI is still unknown, though there are indications of potential risks and rewards. In this quickly evolving space, students should take note of the principles and practices that remain constant at SFU. A key responsibility for all SFU students is to engage in activities that support their learning without participating in any acts of dishonesty, falsification, misrepresentation or deception in their academic work. Another way of saying this is: “submit your own work” for all academic assignments. This ensures that you are developing your own knowledge and skill base. And this also allows your instructor to accurately assess your progress and provide valuable feedback. Your course instructors and teaching assistants remain the best resource for clarification and further assistance in your academic work. Your instructor is not expecting “perfect writing”, if there is even such a thing. Instead of relying on genAI for quick answers, attend classes and use office hours to have the conversations that provide clarity and deepen understanding. Additional support in writing, research and study skills is readily available through the many programs offered through the Student Learning Commons and the SFU Library. Check out the FAQ below to learn how to uphold your academic integrity obligations in the age of GenAI. How will I know if I can use GenAI tools such as ChatGPT or BingChatAI? The only way to know if you are permitted to use generative AI for your course assignments is by checking with your course instructor, who will likely communicate this in the course syllabus. If you are unsure, you must not assume that using generative AI is permitted. As generative AI becomes more advanced, it may be embedded in many systems that we use to communicate, create and record information. For example, you can choose to integrate ChatGPT into Microsoft Word. This may be appropriate for your non-academic tasks such as composing an email or creating a resume. When it comes to academic tasks like homework assignments, essays and exams, you must not use generative AI unless it is explicitly permitted by your instructor in the syllabus and/or exam instructions. If my instructor permits the use of GenAI systems, do I have to cite the use of the technology? Yes! Even if your instructor permits the use of GenAI, you must not do so without appropriate citation. This is because you must be transparent about the aids you use as part of commitment to academic integrity. When using generative AI, keep a record of the prompts that you used within the technology to generate the output you use in your coursework and remember to cite. See side bar for information on how to cite ChatGPT in APA and MLA. Am I cheating if I use generative AI in my assignments? With every course, your instructor will set out learning objectives for the students to meet. Your instructor evaluates students on how well those objectives are met; this results in your course grade. Using GenAI (or any other tool/technology) when it is not permitted for the course assignment is considered a form of cheating and can result in disciplinary action under the student academic integrity policy. This is because it interferes with your instructor’s ability to evaluate your knowledge and is unfair to other students in the class who follow the class rules. Can I rely on GenAI tools to give me accurate and unbiased information? GenAI can be a valuable tool that allows users to save time by efficiently gathering relevant information from a large dataset. Since those datasets can be comprised of conflicting information, it is entirely possible for errors to be contained in the output. To evaluate the output, a user must be aware that errors such as outdated information, false references, and even biases can exist in ChatGPT responses. Students who use ChatGPT with their instructor’s permission must carefully evaluate the output information for errors and be proactive against bias by using multiple prompts to get different perspectives. As with any tool, GenAI is best in the hands of a responsible user.

Collecté: 2026-10-09 · 203–215
SHA-256: 6896b09702652b9096be68f70d21c5524538ef116a9ab99bff0c022f0fd339e2

Conditions et exceptions

Privacy impact assessment and informed student consent as specified by the teaching guidance.

Do not use AI detectors for grading decisions or academic misconduct investigations because they are unreliable, biased, and may unintentionally compromise students’ learning and well-being. Any form of detection (AI or otherwise) is subject to the “balance of probabilities” test. In addition, AI tools require a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and informed student consent. Inputting student work into these tools without consent could violate both privacy legislation (if done without authority) and copyright protections.

Collecté: 2026-10-09 · 336–337
SHA-256: 0fb6d4ba978e1f2a1deb2874b0299e24ee492ab6f7016d8363248454f3f0e4ea

Conditions et exceptions

Microsoft 365 Copilot is not available to students on this page.

What is Microsoft Copilot? Microsoft Copilot is a suite of general purpose AI assistants within the Microsoft 365 platform. As an alternative to public AI tools and services (such as ChatGPT, Bard...etc.), Copilot comes with data protection standards that align with the rest of Microsoft 365 at SFU, so no matter what you're working on you have access to an AI assistant that can help with your day. At SFU, Microsoft Copilot encompasses: Copilot Chat (detailed on this webpage) Microsoft 365 Copilot Copilot Chat Copilot Chat is a generative AI assistant that is available to all of the SFU community to help with learning & teaching, work, and research at the university. Copilot Chat: Uses SFU's privacy and security standards so you can get assistance with content that may not be appropriate in public AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Bard...etc). Ensures your chat data is encrypted during your conversations and isn't viewable by Microsoft or anyone else. Will not retain any data about your conversation at the end of your session. Your conversations remain secure in the SFU Microsoft 365 space. Ensures that data you share with it isn't used to further train the underlying large language model as it would be with public AI companions. How does Copilot Chat help? Copilot is conversational, so you can ask it for help with a wide variety of topics, but here are a few examples: Personalized Learning: As a student, Copilot can support your personalized learning goals by acting as a thought partner to help you create content, understand material, or work through complex problems step-by-step. Copilot will also provide its own references so you can dive deeper into the original material. Lesson Brainstorming: As an instructor, you can use Copilot to brainstorm new ideas for activities, lesson plans, supporting materials, and assignments. Work Assistance: As staff, Copilot can help you draft images or content, or summarize and give feedback on documents you share with it so you can quickly focus on what you want to accomplish. Log in to Copilot Chat Copilot for Enterprise (microsoft365.com/chat) is appropriate for all types of work, study, and research at SFU while the public version (copilot.microsoft.com) is not. When interacting with Microsoft 365 apps, ensure you are signed with your SFU account. Advisory about AI from the SFU Privacy Office The use of generative AI technologies must be consistent with all applicable University policies and procedures, and must comply with all relevant Canadian laws, including but not limited to privacy, intellectual property, and data protection requirement. Available to Faculty, Staff & Students* *The Microsoft 365 Copilot version of Copilot is unavailable to students.

Collecté: 2026-10-09 · 128–151
SHA-256: 8ef31bdd6e7799a4d19eda3814a28e14117fe5a14040d35ea4b8a97082fa5b43

1.7 Students must be treated fairly before being penalized for Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct. They are entitled to information about the alleged wrongdoing and to provide a response. The decision-maker must be impartial. An internal Board is established to adjudicate matters of student academic discipline and there is a body of final appeal, as required by the British Columbia University Act. 2.0 PURPOSE 2.1 The purpose of this policy is to define: 2.1 the basic responsibilities of Students as members of the academic community; 2.2 inappropriate Student behaviour, whether deliberate or inadvertent, in relation to academic and scholarly activities; and 2.3 principles for student discipline in academic matters. 3.0 SCOPE AND JURISDICTION 3.1 This policy applies to the conduct of Students involved in any kind of University-related academic and scholarly activities, including group academic work. 3.2 This policy covers matters of Academic Dishonesty and Academic Misconduct in University-related scholarly activities, including activities involving SFU alumni when the matters occurred prior to graduation and were unknown at the time of graduation, or involve the misrepresentation of their credentials from their scholarly work at SFU. 3.3 The forms of Academic Misconduct and Academic Dishonesty set out in this policy include attempts to engage in misconduct or dishonesty, as well as aiding and abetting misconduct or dishonesty. 4.0 DEFINITIONS 4.1 See Appendix A for the definitions of words used in this policy and its associated procedures. 5.0 POLICY 5.1 Notification of Standards of Academic Honesty 5.1.1 The standard of Academic Integrity requires that when a Student demonstrates their learning through assessed work, that that work be completed by the Student themself unless expressly permitted otherwise. 5.1.2 Meeting the standard of Academic Integrity means that Students are responsible for: a. Ensuring that they understand the learning outcomes for each specific assignment or other academic task prescribed as part of a University course or program, seeking assistance if necessary. b. Participating honestly in assessments of their intellectual accomplishments at the University, whether in assignments, examinations, capstones (such as theses) or any other format. If an assessment is intended to evaluate what a Student can do either without any support or with specific limited supports, they respect this intention by doing the work on their own or with the support explicitly allowed. c. Taking credit for their own intellectual accomplishments, and only their own. d. Taking responsibility for their own intellectual errors, oversights and misjudgments. e. Giving recognition to others who support their intellectual accomplishments, including instructors, authors and creators, and acknowledging the tools that support and enable your work, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). 5.1.3 Students are responsible for ensuring they are familiar with the generally accepted standards and requirements of Academic Integrity. Ignorance of these standards will not excuse a student from consequences, including penalties, for academic dishonesty. 5.1.4 Instructors are responsible to inform their students at the beginning of each term if there are additional specific criteria for Academic Honesty that pertain to a class or course (e.g., the format for acknowledging the thoughts and writings of authors acceptable to the underlying discipline, and the acceptable level of group work, use of an editor or tutoring service, and/or online resources). 5.1.5 A draft paper, proposal, thesis, or other assignment may be subject to a penalty for Academic Dishonesty, providing the Instructor or supervisor informed the Students(s) before the work was submitted that drafts are subject to Academic Integrity requirements. 5.2 Academic Integrity Requirements for Students. 5.2.1 Any action that contravenes the standard of Academic Integrity is prohibited, including any act of dishonesty, falsification, misrepresentation, or deception in one’s academic work. 5.2.2 All forms of Academic Dishonesty that occur within or as part of a course are prohibited. See Schedule A for examples of Academic Dishonesty. 5.2.3 All forms of Academic Misconduct that are not related to a specific course are prohibited. See Schedule A for examples of Academic Misconduct. 5.2.4 It is violation to help others or attempt to help others engage in any forms of Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct. 5.2.5 Each Student who is participating in Research (as defined in the University’s Responsible Conduct of Research policy R60.01) is subject to the requirements of Policy R60.01. Action or sanctions against a Student who breaches Policy R60.01will follow the procedures under Policy S10.01. 5.3 Principles for Student Discipline. 5.3.1 Complaints of Student Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct may be resolved under the policy without penalty. Designated University officials such as a Chair of a Department, course Instructor, or the Registrar may impose penalties in certain circumstances. 5.3.2 In determining whether Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct has occurred, it is not necessary to show that a student has achieved an improper Academic Advantage or benefit. Some acts of plagiarism or collusion, or other acts of Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct, may not actually confer an Academic Advantage or benefit. 5.3.3 The University Board on Student Discipline (“UBSD”) provides an impartial forum for a complete examination of a report of Student Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct. The Tribunal will provide Students with an opportunity to respond in a timely manner to allegations of Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct and, if appropriate, will recommend a course of action to the President, or to the Vice-President, Academic and Provost if the President has already played a role in the case. See SFU Policy S10.02 which sets out the scope/jurisdiction and process for UBSD 5.3.4 When a penalty is imposed on a student for Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct, the Student may appeal to the Senate Committee on Disciplinary Appeals (“SCODA”). SCODA is the standing committee of final appeal for Students in matters of academic discipline as mandated in the University Act. See SFU Policy S10.03 which sets out the scope/jurisdiction and process for SCODA. 5.3.5 The UBSD and SCODA will adhere to principles of Procedural Fairness and natural justice. The appropriate standard for a decision in this process is proof on the Balance of Probabilities. 5.3.6 A support person may accompany a student to any meeting concerning academic disciplinary matters. Students may also consult the University Ombudsperson for assistance. 5.3.7 In deciding upon the appropriate penalty to be imposed for an act of Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct, consideration must be given to the following factors: a. the extent of the Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct; b. whether the Academic Dishonesty or Academic Misconduct was deliberate; c. the importance of the work in question as a component of the course or program; d. whether the act in question is an isolated incident or part of repeated acts of Academic Dishonesty, Academic Misconduct, and/or non-academic misconduct; and e. any other mitigating or aggravating circumstances.

Collecté: 2026-10-09 · 337–379
SHA-256: f3ddaf312509a20a38a1e85eef6e3576f5ad6c182106821b801229baf6a631c5

Conditions et exceptions

Linked procedure is dated November 2018, alongside March 2026 policy; no blanket currency certification.

8.0 APPEALS 8.1 If a student wishes to dispute the finding of fact of the instructor, the Chair of the Department or the Registrar, the student may refer their case to the University Board on Student Discipline (UBSD), in writing, stating the reasons for the referral, within three (3) weeks of the date of notification by the instructor, the Chair, or the Registrar. S 10.01 (Procedures) November 22, 2018 (v1.0) Page 6 of 7 8.2 If the student wishes to dispute the severity of the penalty, the student may refer their case to the Senate Committee on Disciplinary Appeals (SCODA), in writing, stating reasons, within three (3) weeks of the date of notification of the penalty.

Collecté: 2026-10-09 · 304–317
SHA-256: 78f3070e2ce041dbf37f6758a6026b3b1b92ecbc0caacf8bc9eda47dd6676a0f

Conditions et exceptions

Exceptional discretionary extension; policy and procedure use distinct trigger wording.

4.0 GROUNDS OF APPEAL TO SCODA 4.1 A student may appeal in writing to SCODA on one or more of the following grounds: 4.1.1 that a procedural error occurred of sufficient magnitude that it may reasonably be said to have affected the fairness of the process or altered the outcome of the case; 4.1.2 that a factual error occurred of sufficient magnitude that it may reasonably be said to have altered the outcome of the case; 4.1.3 that the penalty imposed on the student is excessive in all the circumstances of the case; or 4.1.4 that new, material evidence is available which, despite the exercise of due diligence by the party wishing to appeal, could not have been made available at the time of the hearing giving rise to the appeal. 4.1 Applications to SCODA should be addressed to: Secretary, Senate Committee on Disciplinary Appeals, Registrar's Office. 4.2 Any notice of appeal must be in writing and must be received by the Registrar's office within three (3) weeks of the decision that is the subject of the appeal. 4.3 In exceptional circumstances, a student or the University may apply to the Chair of SCODA for an extension of time to file the notice of appeal. The Chair of SCODA must decide whether or not to approve an extension. The decision of the Chair of SCODA is final. 4.4 The Registrar’s Office must inform the respondent and the President of the notice of appeal in writing and schedule a meeting of SCODA as quickly as possible. 4.5 The implementation of any penalty is stayed pending determination of the appeal by SCODA.

Collecté: 2026-10-09 · 340–350
SHA-256: e584ec0f2342c9e5d5cdaa38955dc7b3970c99d2e9e6d9806deb4bfeb189bece

Always transparently disclose and accurately cite AI-generated content in your submissions, as directed by your instructor. Refer to SFU-approved citation resources for appropriate practices. The Student Learning Commons is available to support you in developing confidence and practical skills around working ethically with AI. Consult Student Learning Commons approach to generative AI for more information. AI can be used to support your learning, never as a substitute for your own critical thinking or analysis. Maintain academic rigor when using AI. Do not accept AI-generated content at face value, as these tools are known to produce inaccurate information. Always verify facts and sources against trusted academic materials before submitting your work. You are responsible for all submitted work, including ensuring it does not inadvertently involve plagiarism or violate copyright laws (e.g., Canada Copyright Act) or university Intellectual Property (R30.03) and Copyright policies (R30.04). Do not rely on AI detectors, as these tools can be unreliable, biased and may unintentionally comprise your learning and well-being. AI detectors cannot be used for grading decisions or academic misconduct investigations. Keep clear records of your AI prompts, outputs, and modifications to ensure proper citation of your work as you progress through assignments. Privacy and Data Security

Collecté: 2026-10-09 · 330–336
SHA-256: 64e34c73a2046c5f2ee12f6804a4cd84cfb5c3ca529583748a632a71275c094e