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Saint Xavier University AI Guidelines and Policy

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly transforming the way we learn, teach and work. Saint Xavier University (SXU) encourages thoughtful, ethical and responsible use of AI to enhance education, research and operations, while upholding our core values of integrity, respect, excellence and service. These guidelines are intended to provide direction for students, faculty and staff in navigating AI technologies responsibly. For academic integrity, teaching and learning, and research use, please see the SXU Policy for Responsible and Acceptable Use of Generative AI policy.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) tools (including search engines) have become valuable tools for learning, research and administrative operations. These tools, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and many others, are powerful: they can capably create rich, nuanced results in response to a person’s prompts. Gen AI tools do this by analyzing vast datasets and identifying complex patterns to generate elaborate, often human-like results, sometimes within seconds. It’s important to note that Gen AI can’t “think” or “reason” like a human. What it’s doing is generating a predictive, elaborate pattern that its highly advanced math-driven computation suggests is the most likely result of a calculation (based on your prompt). It’s essentially a very sophisticated “copy and paste.” 

The ethical and responsible use of Gen AI is critical. Each of us must ensure adherence to academic integrity, data privacy and security while utilizing these tools. As we explore and use these technologies, we must understand the risks and limitations of Gen AI tools to ensure their responsible use. This page contains guidelines to aid our use of these tools. It applies to the entire Saint Xavier University (staff, faculty, and students) community to help navigate AI tools while maintaining data privacy and security and adhering to legal and college requirements.

 

Tips for using AI 

  • Bias and Accuracy: AI tools may generate inaccurate, incomplete or biased information. Users must critically evaluate outputs and verify facts through reliable sources.
  • Respect and Fairness: AI must not be used to create harmful, discriminatory or misleading content.
  • Privacy: Do not input confidential, sensitive or personally identifiable information into AI tools unless explicitly approved and secure.

  • Efficiency and Innovation: Staff may use AI tools to enhance productivity (e.g., drafting communications, analyzing data, generating ideas) while maintaining accuracy and professionalism.
  • Confidentiality: SXU data, records and communications must be used only with AI tools approved and vetted by the University’s Information Technology, Institutional Research, and University Relations teams, depending on the subject matter.
  • Accountability: Human judgment and oversight remain essential. AI should inform, not replace, professional decisions.

  • Policy Alignment: These guidelines work in conjunction with SXU’s existing Academic Integrity, Acceptable Use of Technology, and Privacy policies.
  • Ongoing Review: Because AI technologies evolve rapidly, SXU will regularly review and update these guidelines.
  • Community Responsibility: All members of the SXU community are responsible for using AI in ways that reflect the University’s mission and values.

Reasons to be Cautious

  • Some data/information you have access to may be protected by law or SXU policy from being shared with other people, organizations, companies and other entities, including Gen AI. (See below: “We are required and/or entrusted to keep certain data safe.”)
  • In many cases, Gen AI companies use your data/information to train future iterations of their products, sometimes without your consent or your knowledge.
  • Gen AI may store your data/information for indefinite periods of time, sometimes without your consent or knowledge.
  • All companies, including those that create Gen AI, are vulnerable to data leaks and breaches.When this happens, the data/information you shared with Gen AI could be exposed.
  • All of us are required and/or entrusted to keep certain data protected. There are many types of data and information that we all must keep safe and secure. One way to do this is to keep certain types of data out of Gen AI tools. These data types include, but are not limited to:
  • Personally Identifiable Information (PII): This includes your name in combination with one or more of the following: address, social security number, student ID, date of birth, driver’s license number and other information that can identify you.
  • Education Records: Grades, financial records, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, disciplinary records, and any records maintained by the college that are directly related to a student. This data is often legally protected by
  • Health Records: This data is legally protected by HIPAA.
  • Intellectual property and copyrighted material: See SXU’s policy for more information.
  • Financial data
  • Foundation/Alumni donation records

 

Data that falls into these areas, if disclosed, accessed or misused without proper authorization, could result in legal and other harm to the college and individuals, including breaches of privacy and/or security.

  • Some AI tools give you the ability to use people’s voices and/or likenesses to generate results. Examples of this range from tools that record voices and generate text summaries to “deep fake” tools that use real images or videos of people and generate content that never actually happened.
  • If you use any tool that falls within the realm described above, you should always inform the person(s) of your intent to use their voice or likeness for notetaking/recording, image manipulation, video manipulation, and other similar AI tools. This shows transparency and respect for their privacy.
  • Get explicit consent from the person(s) before using these aforementioned types of AI tools. Respect their choice if they do not wish you to use their voice or likeness in this manner. When participating in an audio/video conferencing platform, such as Zoom or Google Meet, refrain from using AI note-taking tools unless you are the session's host. If you would still like to, please speak to the meeting host beforehand to ensure it is acceptable and practical. If the host agrees, inform all participants before turning the tool or service on.

 

Examples of Safe vs. Unsafe Use of Gen AI

 

 

✓ Safe prompt

✘ Unsafe prompt

Inputting Assignments/Research Data Directly
Create a hypothetical scenario and try a prompt like:

"Explain the ethical considerations in analyzing patient medical records in a biology context."
"Explain the implications of the case study provided in BIOL 101 assignment three by Dr. Smith, where John Doe's medical records are analyzed."

Sharing Personal Struggles
"What are effective study strategies for improving performance in psychology courses, specifically with understanding the fundamentals of behavioral psychology?”
"I failed my midterm exam in Professor Smith’s PSYCH 201 class. She suggested I talk with Madison, who is a psychology major and a tutor. How else can I improve, though?"

Generating AI Summaries of a Meeting/Class
Before using your AI notetaking app, you ask your professor for permission, who agrees, but some in the class do not. You don’t use the app. (Note: if you believe you need an accommodation that would necessitate the use of this kind of tool, please consult with the Center for Accessibility Resources.)  
You attend a class and use an AI notetaking recorder app to help you take notes and review class content later. 

Asking AI to Help You Email a Group of Coworkers
“Can you help me write a formal email to faculty informing them of a temporary course coverage change while being sensitive to personal privacy? I will follow up with the specific individuals privately.”
“Draft an email to Language and Literature Department faculty explaining that we’re canceling Professor John Doe’s classes for the rest of the semester due to a personal emergency.”

Using AI to Analyze Institutional Information
Don’t do this prompt at all; it’s a slippery slope of information that AI should not have access to. For help with this kind of data analysis, please talk to your supervisor.
“Please summarize the following Excel document from the Office of Financial Aid and give me a list of all students who cannot access their aid because they have holds on their accounts.”

 

 

Practical Guidelines for Using Gen AI Safely

Typical Acceptable Uses of Generative AI

The following is a list of typical acceptable uses of Gen AI, provided that such uses comply with guidelines outlined in this document and all other applicable college policies.

  • To produce draft text for:
    • Emails, memos, letters or other forms of correspondence.
    • Marketing copy, articles, social media posts or announcements. 
    • Talking points and remarks for presentations, meetings or public events.
    • Job descriptions, job ads and postings, or onboarding plans. 
    • Policies, procedures or work plans.
  • To brainstorm ideas related to projects or assignments. (Students: Check first with your professors.)
  • To summarize, outline or sort internal and external information that is not confidential, sensitive, private or personally identifiable.
  • To create spreadsheet formulas. (Students: Check first with your professors.)
  • To translate text into other languages. (Students: Check first with your professors.)

Students who seek to use Gen AI for an academic purpose not listed above should consult with their professor(s) first.

When a staff member or student employee wishes to use Gen AI for a novel purpose that is not listed above, their supervisor may ask them to put their request in writing and may consult with or refer their request to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Vice President for their area, or both people before a decision is made to approve or deny their request. Until such a request has been reviewed and approved, they are not to use a Gen AI for the purpose they are requesting.

Understand the AI Platform's Privacy Policy

  • Read Terms of Service: Familiarize yourself with how the AI platform collects, uses and stores data.
  • Opt-Out Options: Utilize any settings limiting data retention or sharing.

Access Gen AI Through Official Channels

  • Use the official website or app(s) when using Gen AI tools to avoid phishing or scams. 

Ensure You Do Not Share Any Personal Identifiable Information (PII)

  • Do Not Input PII: Refrain from typing your name, student ID, address, SXU or other personal details into AI search queries.
  • Anonymize Data: If you must reference a person or a company, use generic terms like "Student A" or "Professor B" or institution/organization instead of real names.

Do Not Share FERPA-Protected Information (What is FERPA?)

  • Keep Educational Records Private: Do not input grades, transcripts, or any part of your educational record into AI platforms.
  • Avoid Discussing Specific Cases: When seeking help on assignments, projects or research, avoid mentioning specific details that could identify you or others.

Be Cautious with Entering Prompts into Gen AI

  • Use Pseudonyms: If discussing scenarios involving people, use fictional names.
  • Paraphrase Questions: Instead of copying and pasting prompts, rephrase the question to remove any specific data (e.g., research data) or personal details.
  • Generalize Scenarios: Use hypothetical situations rather than actual events that involve identifiable individuals.

Students: Follow Institutional and Course Policies

  • SXU’s Academic Integrity Policy applies to your use of Gen AI. Do not use Gen AI to cheat, plagiarize or shortchange yourself on your learning.
  • Consult your professors’ rules about how and when you can/can’t use Gen AI for specific courses or other academic work. Seek your department or faculty’s specific rules regarding using AI tools.
  • Seek approval if unsure: Ask your professor or advisor before using AI platforms for coursework.

Practice Ethical Use

  • Academic Integrity: Use Gen AI to supplement or enhance your learning (while in agreement with institutional and course policies; consult your professors).
  • Respect the Privacy of Others: Do not share information without consent.
  • Engage in collaborative opportunities with others on ethical questions about Gen AI use.
  • Environmental Impact: The impact on the earth’s environment of using Gen AI has become increasingly well-documented. It is very resource-consuming and intensive. Take this into consideration when deciding when to use/not use Gen AI.

Additional Tips

  • Log out after use, close sessions properly: Ensure you log out of AI platforms after use, especially on shared devices.
  • Clear Browser Data: Delete cookies and clear cache to remove stored session information.
  • Limit Session Information: Do not allow AI platforms to access your location or other session data if it's optional.
    Regularly Review Permissions: Check which apps and services can access your data and adjust settings.
  • Use Secure and Private Networks 
  • Avoid Public Wi-Fi: Use trusted networks to prevent interception of your data.
  • Maintain Updated Security Software
  • Install Antivirus Programs: Protect your device from malware that could compromise your data.
  • Keep Software Updated: Regular updates patch security vulnerabilities.
  • Be Wary of Phishing Attempts
  • Verify Emails and Links: Do not click on suspicious links or provide information in response to unsolicited requests.

Key Takeaways

  • Be transparent about AI use.
  • Do not misrepresent AI-generated work as your own.
  • Protect privacy and data security.
  • Use AI to support, not replace, learning and human judgment.
  • Act with honesty, fairness, and respect.

What to Do If You Accidentally Share Protected Information

  1. Do Not Panic: Understand that immediate action can mitigate potential risks.
  2. Contact the AI Platform Support: Request deletion of the data if possible.
  3. Inform Your Institution: Contact IT (itFREESXU) to seek guidance. They are there to help, not assign blame.
  4. Monitor for Unusual Activity: Monitor your accounts for any signs of unauthorized access.

Disclaimer: These guidelines are adapted substantially from Whitman College’s AI Guidelines (Technology Services, revised May 8, 2025). Saint Xavier University acknowledges Whitman College as the primary source and has incorporated modifications where appropriate to reflect institutional context. ¹

  1. Whitman College, AI Guidelines, Technology Services, revised May 8, 2025, https://www.whitman.edu/technology-services/policies-and-guidelines/ai-guidelines.