Use of Artificial Intelligence in Olympic College Courses and Programs

Policy Number: 500-08

I. Purpose

Maintaining the academic integrity of Olympic College (OC) courses and credentials is essential to fulfilling the college’s mission, meeting institutional outcomes, upholding accreditation standards, and protecting the value of OC degrees and certificates.

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has had a profound and rapidly evolving impact on teaching and learning. The widespread availability of powerful AI tools has made it increasingly difficult for faculty to confirm that submitted work reflects a student’s own effort. In the absence of a collegewide policy, students in classes without written AI guidelines have faced confusion, while faculty, deans, and conduct officers have encountered inconsistent expectations and a rise in academic and professional dishonesty concerns. This policy seeks to provide clarity and consistency for the responsible use of AI in all college courses and programs.

II. Student Responsibilities

Students must follow any program- or course-specific AI policies stated in documents such as course syllabi, program handbooks, or assigned work.
Students are encouraged to seek clarification of these policies and instructions as needed.
Students assume responsibility for all information that is applied to their own work.
Students may be required to identify, cite, or describe their use of AI where the use of the tool contributes content that is part of assigned work.
When students are having trouble completing coursework that meets rigor and academic integrity expectations, they should seek help from their instructors and/or other OC resources such as librarians, tutors, advisors, and counselors.

III. Faculty Responsibilities

Each Olympic College course syllabus must include a policy addressing the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in that course. Faculty teaching a course that does not have an AI policy will be required by their academic supervisor to add one and may use the sample AI policy below in the syllabus.
Faculty may develop customized AI policies that reflect the learning outcomes, assessments, and expectations of their courses and programs. When used, such policies must be communicated in the course syllabus. Sample customized AI policies are available in the Faculty Handbook.
AI policies adopted by academic departments for programs, disciplines, and/or courses take precedence over instructor-led, class-based AI policies and should be used whenever possible.

Sample Olympic College AI Syllabus Policy: Student Use of Artificial Intelligence

Olympic College recognizes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that produce text, code, images, or other content offer opportunities to enhance student learning and professional skill development. However, uncritical or unauthorized reliance on AI can undermine the learning process, misrepresent student abilities, and compromise academic integrity.

To ensure that AI is used in ways that promote rather than hinder learning, student work must be completed without the assistance of generative AI unless explicitly permitted. This includes but is not limited to essays, exams, projects, coding, presentations, and discussions, regardless of course modality.
Use of generative AI that violates these guidelines may be considered academic and professional dishonesty and will be addressed in accordance with Olympic College and program-specific academic integrity policies.

Students who are unsure whether generative AI is allowed or appropriate in a particular context should ask their instructor for clarification before proceeding.

Additional sample policies can be found in the Faculty Handbook and other college resources.