AI and Writing
The Writing Center's AI Policy
At the Writing Center, the decision to use or not use AI is up to the writer—insofar as they are not violating their course policy. Should AI come up in a session, we’re interested in helping writers think about the way that AI is impacting their learning, writing, and engagement with the world.
All of that said, we do have three guidelines:
We will not help a student to engage in work that violates their course’s or program's stated policy and will ask for this policy during appointments, if needed.
We value giving direct, honest feedback. If we think you’re at risk of breaking the policy (or engaging in risky work in the absence of a policy) in some way, we’ll tell you, explain why, and offer to discuss the boundaries and ways to adjust.
We will not "report" writers for AI use. We're interested in your development as a writer and thinker and value maintaining an open and honest space to work out the boundaries and complexities of GenAI on an individual basis.
We know that many folks are just tired, busy, and concerned about keeping up and we're here to support, motivate, and act as a sounding board during these complicated times.
- We will advocate for “deep” uses of GenAI (project management, human-centered brainstorming practices, context-minded use, lateral reading) whenever possible and actively discourage “shallow” uses if GenAI (letting AI do the thinking, copy and pasting AI-generated content without reflection, AI replacing deep reading, etc.).