Guidance
Plain and practical, for students.
Student guidance
Your instructor's policy comes first. Beyond that, a few habits keep your AI use honest and useful. Select any one to read more.
Follow the AI expectations your instructor sets. Their syllabus governs; ask when an assignment is silent.
The starting point in any course is the instructor's stated policy and assignment instructions. Where a syllabus or assignment specifies a tier of permitted AI use, that expectation governs. When an assignment is silent on AI, ask before using it rather than assume it is allowed.
Disclose your use of AI. Disclosure is the default at MSU.
Mechanical assistance such as spell-check or basic grammar correction generally requires no disclosure. Substantive assistance such as drafting, revision, brainstorming, or research requires disclosure in the form your instructor specifies. AI-generated content submitted as part of graded work requires full attribution. When you are unsure which applies, disclose and ask.
Recognize what counts as AI. Grammarly, autocomplete, translation, and citation tools all count.
Many tools students already use include AI features that may not be obvious: writing assistants such as Grammarly, autocomplete and smart-compose features, translation tools, citation generators, and AI built into search and productivity software. If your instructor allows such tools, you are responsible for understanding when a tool is using AI and disclosing accordingly.
Uphold academic integrity. Unpermitted use is handled through MSU's standard processes.
Using AI in a way your instructor has not permitted, or presenting AI-generated work as entirely your own, is an academic integrity violation handled through MSU's standard academic integrity processes.
Weigh AI use carefully and wisely. Don't bypass the productive learning struggle.
Reasoning and writing critically are still valued skills in the marketplace. Future employers expect graduates to have advanced these skills and to be well grounded in content knowledge. Weigh your use of AI carefully, and make sure you are not bypassing the productive learning struggle that develops these skills.
Know how your AI tools handle your data. Turn off model training; keep coursework in MSU tools.
AI tools accessed through personal accounts may use what you enter to train their models. Before entering coursework, drafts, or personal information into a personal AI account, review the tool's data and training settings and turn off model training where that option exists. Keep coursework and any protected information in MSU-approved tools.
Use the AI tools MSU gives you. Copilot and Gemini are free with your NetID.
You already have free access to Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini / NotebookLM: just sign in with your netid@msstate.edu account. Signed-in MSU tools keep your conversations out of public model training, which makes them the right home for coursework. See the approved tools list or the Tools page.
Build your AI literacy. AI Hub, LinkedIn Learning, and the University Library.
MSU offers resources to help you use AI well, including those at the AI Hub, LinkedIn Learning (free to all students), and the University Library.
Tiered AI use in courses
Your instructor will set one of these tiers for an assignment or the whole course. When you're not sure which applies, ask. Here's what each tier means.
| Tier | What it means |
|---|---|
| Prohibited | No use of AI tools in any part of the assignment or course. Use is a violation of academic integrity expectations. |
| AI-Assisted (permitted with disclosure) | AI may be used to support the student's own work at stages of the process the instructor allows. Disclosure is required. Final work must reflect the student's own reasoning and accountability. |
| AI-Required (expected or graded) | AI use is expected or graded as a component of the assignment. The student demonstrates competence in working with AI, not avoidance of it. |
Baseline: mechanical assistance such as spell-check or autocorrect is allowed in any tier unless the instructor explicitly excludes it. Instructors who intend truly zero assistance (for example, handwritten in-class work) should say so in the assignment.
The bottom line
AI is now embedded in the daily work of teaching, learning, research, and operations at Mississippi State. Faculty are designing both AI-forward and AI-resilient assessments. Students are using multiple AI tools. Research teams are weighing AI's role in scholarly work.
This is advisory guidance, not formal university policy. It does not constrain faculty pedagogical discretion or mandate AI use. It is written for all faculty, staff, and students, in every context where AI is used with university information and data, whether the tool is free, paid personally, or paid by the institution.
It is consistent with MSU's existing policies, including OP 01.10 (Information Security Policy) and OP 01.12 (Use of Information Technology Resources). Where this guidance and existing policy address the same matter, the existing policy controls.
Looking for something else? Faculty have their own version on the Faculty page, and general AI guidance for everyone at MSU is on the For everyone page. For MSU's full Information Security Program, see infosecurity.msstate.edu.
Last updated June 11, 2026 · Mississippi State University AI Hub