Walden’s Statement on the Use of AI-Assisted Writing Tools
Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted writing tools, such as ChatGPT, provide new opportunities for learning and assessment in higher education. Using AI tools responsibly for academic purposes and in the classroom is an emerging competency for both students and faculty. Walden is developing guidance that encourages the use of AI-assisted writing tools to supplement learning in the classroom, stimulate thinking, and help students brainstorm different ways to articulate thoughts when writing.
While we continue to understand and evaluate the evolving use of AI-assisted writing tools, students are expected to use them responsibly by providing citation when using whole sentences or paragraphs written by an AI-assisted writing tool, just as if using direct content from any other source. Additionally, students should include any AI input/output transcripts generated in their reference list/appendix for review. As we work together to use these new innovative tools ethically and responsibly, setting our course for change does come with some challenges, particularly with the detection tools. Turnitin now provides instructors with an AI Indicator and AI Report, which functions much like the Originality Report that is used to identify plagiarism. While this new feature is being tested and refined, faculty may use the report to navigate teachable moments with students; however, it will not be used to penalize at this time.
Because of the rapid and ongoing changes in the AI landscape, this guidance page will be updated on a regular basis. We suggest you bookmark this page.
Additional Resources
Responsible Use
Learning to use AI-assisted writing tools responsibly and ethically is an important skill. As you develop your AI literacy, please be mindful of some of the known limitations of these tools:
On April 7, 2023, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued guidance on how to cite ChatGPT. Walden has adopted this method of citation.
Use of direct citation of an output from an AI-assisted writing tool should be uncommon. AI Assisted writing tools, like ChatGPT, are not scholarly sources. Think of this similar to how you think of Wikipedia, which is also not a scholarly source and therefore citation from Wikipedia is not encouraged. But, if you have a reason to cite, please follow the APA guidelines below.
APA provides the following guidance for citing an AI-Assisted Writing tool:
Author. (Date). Title (Version) [Description]. Source
Example:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (May 24 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Ways to Use AI-assisted Writing Tools
Here are some responsible ways to use AI-assisted writing tools:
- Draft an outline to clarify your thoughts
- Iterate on research questions or to find other research questions related to your topic
- Brainstorm other topics or questions related to your prompt
- Find an expression or different way to articulate an original thought
- Help with sentence structure or content organization
- Better understand complex or difficult concepts


Misuse of AI Assisted Writing Tools
- Copying outputs and submitting as your own original work
- Submitting references and citations that are not real
- Using these tools as a scholarly source – they are not!
- Using these tools in lieu of your assigned classroom resources