High Point University faculty spent a day this spring discussing how artificial intelligence should enter college classrooms. The university hosted its “AI For Extraordinary Education” summit on May 5 at the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center.
The event included 19 sessions led by 25 faculty members from across the university. Discussions covered AI-assisted writing, classroom assignments and responsible use of emerging technology.
HPU President Nido Qubein described the change in direct terms. He said artificial intelligence represents a “transformative shift in how students learn and how industries operate.”
Students elsewhere across the Piedmont Triad are facing similar questions. UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest University now publish detailed guidance covering generative AI use in academic work. Both institutions give professors an important role in deciding acceptable AI use.
For students, the message is becoming increasingly clear. ChatGPT may be permitted during one assignment and prohibited during another.
Different classes can set different AI rules
At UNCG, instructors decide how much generative AI students may use during their courses. The university asks professors to explain those rules through syllabi or other course materials.
Several approaches are available under the university guidance. One assignment can completely prohibit generative AI use. Another may permit AI after the student requests permission. Some professors can encourage AI or require students to use it.
Students must document AI assistance when their instructor requires attribution. They are still responsible for everything submitted under their names. That responsibility also covers inaccurate material produced by an AI system.
One detail deserves attention before any assignment begins. When an instructor provides no AI guidance, UNCG treats AI assistance similarly to help received from another person. Help extending beyond editing can violate academic integrity rules.
This approach makes checking individual course policies important. Students cannot assume one professor’s permission applies across their entire schedule.
Wake Forest warns against relying on AI detectors alone
Wake Forest University takes a similar course-by-course approach to generative AI. Its guidance says permitted uses can differ between courses and individual assignments. Instructors are expected to explain when students can use these systems.
The Winston-Salem university has also addressed another growing issue. AI detection software should not provide sufficient evidence alone when deciding an academic misconduct case. Wake Forest cites false positives among its concerns about these systems.
Privacy presents another concern when student assignments enter outside detection platforms. Wake Forest advises considering other evidence alongside any AI detector result.
Students should understand an important difference here. A plagiarism checker compares submitted writing against material already available within its database. An AI detector instead estimates whether generative technology produced a piece of writing.
UNCG currently provides Turnitin through its Canvas learning system. Instructors can activate the software for assignments and allow students to access similarity reports.
A similarity report can direct attention toward matching passages. Students still need to examine those passages and check their citations carefully.
College writing is changing beyond traditional plagiarism
The larger discussion now involves authorship rather than simple copying. A student can submit AI-generated material without directly copying text from a published website. The work may still violate course rules because unauthorized assistance produced the assignment.
UNCG addresses this issue directly within its current policy. The university says improper AI use can outsource thinking and interfere with the development of intellectual skills.
Wake Forest asks academic departments to examine a related question. Professors need ways for students to demonstrate learning when generative systems can complete portions of assignments.
High Point University is also exploring AI inside writing-focused education. Professor Pete Nemerovski presented research concerning generative AI and legal writing at a national conference in May. His work included simulations using ChatGPT during legal writing assignments.
The university published details about his work in July. High Point Law founding dean Mark Martin said students should learn AI use while also learning to “evaluate them critically and ethically.”
Those examples show why the issue has expanded beyond catching cheating. Colleges are also deciding which AI skills students may need after graduation.
Students can protect their academic work
Students do not need complicated systems when documenting their own writing. Starting with the syllabus can prevent many problems before research begins.
Ask your instructor before using ChatGPT when instructions remain unclear. Save your research notes and early drafts throughout the assignment.
Keep AI prompts when your professor permits those tools. Your instructor may later ask how technology contributed during the writing process. Saved material gives you evidence showing how the assignment developed.
A plagiarism checker can also help during your final review. Use the report to identify missing citations or passages closely following another source.
Time pressure can make source tracking much harder. Using a pomodoro timer can divide research and drafting into separate work periods. Another session can then focus entirely on citations and source checking.
Before submitting college work, students can ask themselves five practical questions:
● Did the syllabus permit the AI assistance used here?
● Can you explain every major claim without opening ChatGPT?
● Did you verify every source included in your paper?
● Have you documented AI use when your professor requested it?
● Can your drafts show how this assignment developed over time?
Triad campuses are setting clearer boundaries
Artificial intelligence is receiving different treatment across Triad classrooms. Local universities are giving professors room to decide where technology supports their specific courses.
For students, this freedom brings greater personal responsibility. Rules can change when you enter another classroom or begin another assignment.
Plagiarism now requires a broader discussion as well. Copying published material without credit still violates established academic standards. Unauthorized AI assistance adds another possible route toward academic misconduct.
College writing still requires students to demonstrate their own thinking. ChatGPT changes some tools surrounding that process, but students remain responsible for submitted work.
Across Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, universities are working through these questions course by course. Students who check the rules early have a much better chance of avoiding preventable academic problems.