Guidance

Teaching and Learning Guidance for the Use of Generative AI at TRU.

Working Draft of Guidelines – For Consultation

This draft reflects:

• TRU’s institutional priorities, including the 10-year Strategic Change Goals (eliminating achievement gaps; honouring truth, reconciliation, and rights; leading in community research; and designing lifelong learning).
• Discussions and collaborations of the Data Stewardship and Analytics for Learning and Teaching (DSALT) working group of the Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC) of Senate.
• Review of guidance from peer institutions across Canada.
• Alignment with TRU policies on academic integrity, intellectual property, privacy, acceptable use of technology, and respect for Secwépemc (Indigenous) ways of knowing.

Guiding Principles for GenAI in Teaching and Learning

Knucwentwecw (a shared responsibility to support each other, we help each other)

Human-Centred Learning and Shared Responsibility

We will use AI to augment – not replace – human intelligence and creativity. We will use AI with care, and leverage it to empower learners, researchers, educators, and operators to do their best work and expand what is possible at TRU. In doing so, we will work together and help each other.

Recommendations

• Faculty determine whether and how GenAI is permitted in their courses, subject to program or departmental requirements.
• Course outlines and assignments should explicitly state permitted and prohibited uses of GenAI, including citation and disclosure requirements where applicable.
• Students are responsible for understanding their instructor’s position on GenAI use and should seek clarification when needed.
• Faculty should avoid automated detection tools, which are unreliable and may violate TRU’s privacy policies.
• Faculty and students are responsible for verifying the accuracy of AI-generated content and taking accountability for its use in their work.
• GenAI use must avoid harm from false or biased representations of Secwépemc (Indigenous) communities, cultures, histories, or knowledges.
• Faculty and students should critically evaluate GenAI outputs for Western-dominant ways of knowing to avoid reproducing inequities and perpetuating biases.
• Where Secwépemc (Indigenous) knowledge is used, TRU community members must follow relevant protocols and respect intellectual property rights. This includes following the Secwépemc Nation Ethics Guideline Principles.
• Accessibility and equity of access to GenAI tools must be considered before integrating them into coursework.

Tselxemwilc (coming to a deep understanding)

AI Literacy, Lifelong Learning, and Empowerment

We will keep pace with AI’s evolution, with a learners-mindset, to support innovation while carefully managing risk, resources, and long-term social, cultural, environmental, and institutional impacts.

Recommendations

• Faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to actively engage in learning about GenAI’s capabilities, limitations, and ethical implications.
• GenAI literacy should be embedded in learning activities where appropriate, such as helping learners evaluate AI-generated outputs critically.
• TRU will promote sharing of effective practices and case examples from across disciplines, including through CELT and LTI workshops in partnership with the Writing Centre.

Ck’ul’tn (our way of being)

Ethical, Transparent, and Sustainable Use

AI is a transformative technology that is here to stay. It will reshape how we learn, work, and live. We commit to engaging with it thoughtfully and deliberately, serving current and future generations impactfully and sustainably. AI will become a part of our natural way of being.

Recommendations

• Protect privacy and intellectual property by not inputting confidential, personal, or proprietary information into GenAI systems unless the tool has been approved through TRU’s privacy and data security processes. This includes not inputting the intellectual property of others without their permission.
• Avoid using GenAI detection tools for academic misconduct cases as they are unreliable and may violate institutional privacy policies.
• Evaluate the environmental impact of GenAI systems and thoughtfully use them only when they add significant value to learning or research.
• Be transparent about GenAI use in course activities, research, and administrative work where appropriate.