AI Detection Software Guidance

The University of Texas at Austin provides the following guidance on the use of AI Detection Software on campus. If you have questions about this guidance, please contact the Office of Academic Technology at oat@utexas.edu.

1.0 Resources on Academic Integrity and Generative AI

The general philosophy Academic Affairs promotes is that our primary focus should be on fostering academic integrity through effective course and assessment design rather than by engaging in increasingly complex efforts to police our students. To this end, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) maintains helpful resources related to Assessment and generative AI. Get started with CTL’s Generative AI in Teaching and Learning: Assessment resources, or reach out to CTL for a consultation. These resources emphasize proactive assessment design in order to promote genuine learning and create environments that motivate academic integrity by emphasizing the importance of coursework as practice and assessment for core course learning outcomes. When the purpose of assignments and assessments in a class are clear to students, their motivation to cheat is significantly reduced. 

The Office of Academic Technology also provides guidance on Responsible Use of AI for Teaching and Learning, including principles on responsible adoption that you can share with students.  

2.0 University Academic Integrity Policies

HOP 2-9970, Teaching of Courses by Faculty, Assistant Instructors, and Teaching Assistants emphasizes that instructors are required to follow the Student Conduct and Academic Integrity Guidelines for Resolving Academic Misconduct to resolve any instances of suspected academic misconduct. These guidelines include the following:  

1. Instructors may not adjust or otherwise impact the student’s grade on the academic assessment in question while the student is engaged in the conduct process. 
2. Instructors may not encourage the student to cease attending or prevent the student from continuing to attend class or discourage them from submitting coursework while engaged in either process
3. If the course concludes prior to the matter reaching full resolution, instructors must submit a grade of “X” until notification of final resolution is received from the Dean of Students. 

3.0 Use of AI Detection Software Requires a University Contract or Purchase Order 

The University prohibits the use of all third-party software, including AI Detection Software (ADS, software used to flag or otherwise detect output as AI-generated), to evaluate student work or assignments unless a University contract or purchase order is in place. This is to ensure the security, privacy, accessibility, and intellectual property rights of faculty, staff, and students. Because AI Detection Software uses models that train data, any software contract or purchase order with a vendor must include language that ensures the vendor protects university data from being used by training models or otherwise isolates university data into a separate instance that is not accessible by parties external to the University.  

Individual faculty may not sign contracts or purchase orders on behalf of the University. All academic technology software contracts or purchase orders must be administered by a department, College, School, Unit, or at the enterprise level and be processed through the University’s Business Contracts Office.  

The University does not endorse the use of AI Detection Software and does not have any central contracts or purchase orders with active AI Detection Software features.  

Procurement and Payment Services is available to consult, provide guidance, and assist all University personnel in obtaining software agreements that comply with University and State of Texas requirements.  

3.1. Use of Procards or Personal Credits for AI Detection Software is Prohibited. 

Due risks posed to students’ intellectual property and privacy rights, AI Detection Software is considered a High Risk Software and cannot be purchased with a Purchase Card (Procard) or a personal credit card. 

4.0 Student Intellectual Property and Copyright 

UT Austin students own the intellectual property and copyright of any work they create in a course. Submitting student work (even if it is anonymized) into any AI Detection Software (or any other third-party software) without a University contract or purchase order in place may be a violation of that student’s copyright and intellectual property rights. 

4.1 Student Privacy 

UT Austin students’ privacy rights are protected through FERPA – the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Student work is an educational record protected by FERPA. Submitting student work (even if it is anonymized) into any AI Detection Software without a University contract or purchase order in place (or any other third-party software) may also be a violation of that student’s FERPA rights if any personally identifiable information is present in that record. Further, any software, software as a service or technology that 1) utilizes FERPA data and/or 2) is required by an instructor for student use in a course must be obtained through a business contract and with the approval of the Information Security Office. 

5.0 Personal Liability

Instructors who purchase AI Detection Software on a personal credit card or a Procard may be personally liable for paying any damages or legal costs which may occur because of the purchase. Personal credit cards, and more specifically Procards, do not have thorough controls or purchase review in place by the University prior to purchase. A University Procard holder is solely responsible for the charges that are made on the card. Instructors who purchase AI Detection software with a personal credit will not be reimbursed for that expense. Further, University employees, including instructors, do not have authority to agree to terms and conditions for software or software as a service, and by agreeing to terms and conditions of software, or software as a service, an employee is acting outside the course and scope of their position which can create personal liability for the employee’s personal assets.