Teaching Assistants are responsible for observing UWM guidelines on reporting and assessing academic misconduct, including cheating and plagiarism. Cases of academic misconduct are governed by Wisconsin Administrative Code Chapter UWS 14, which specifies procedures for investigating possible cases of misconduct. If a Teaching Assistant suspects a student has committed academic misconduct, they should first consult the instructor of record in the course for guidance. If the Teaching Assistant is the instructor of record, they should consult their supervisor, such as the Graduate Program Representative for the program or the department chair.
Impact of AI on Academic Misconduct
The development of AI has heightened plagiarism concerns among instructors. Your course syllabus should include a stated policy on AI use and should be a point of reference for students, TAs, and instructors. If you suspect a student has utilized AI to complete their work beyond what the syllabus policy allows, CETL recommends you first discuss the situation with your supervising instructor, detailing why you came to your conclusion. Following that, or as circumstance may advise, talk with the student in private, providing information as to why you believe they utilized AI inappropriately and providing space and support for them to clarify the situation. You can then explore a resolution to the situation.
Do NOT upload any portion of student work to AI programs not supported by UWM (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude). Doing so would involve sharing student educational material with unauthorized third parties in violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations protecting student data.
Finally, a note on AI-detection software. The technology industry has responded to instructor concerns with products geared to “detect” student AI use. No technology can reliably detect AI use, and many tools incorrectly flag human-written work as AI-generated. Use of AI detection products is discouraged, and is in most cases a violation of FERPA.
Additional information on AI can be found at the CETL Artificial Intelligence and Teaching website. This page includes information on the following:
- Considerations for teaching with AI
- Ideas for guiding student usage of AI
- Sample syllabus statements
The Dean of Students office has provided guidance on how to handle academic misconduct concerns and can be used as an additional resource. Feel free to contact the Dean of Students at dos@uwm.edu. For more information, see the Dean of Students’ website on Instructor Academic Misconduct Process.
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