When most people think of the Fighting Irish, they usually think of the football team’s gleaming golden helmets or the fans cheering on Notre Dame’s various athletic teams. When the LLF National Law Firm Student Defense Team hears the phrase, we think of students fighting misconduct allegations that could diminish the value of their degree from Notre Dame—or even take that degree from them.

The stunning emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen more students fighting misconduct allegations than at any time in recent memory. Even once you understand Notre Dame’s AI usage policies, which we will detail here, that knowledge may not be enough to avoid misconduct charges.

If you face such allegations, saying a Hail Mary might not be a bad idea. However, you should supplement any such tactics with a more strategic defensive approach.

Call the LLF National Law Firm Student Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online for experience-based, trustworthy advocacy tailored to you and the unique disciplinary circumstances you face at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Places Conditions on Students’ AI Use. Here Are Some Basic Guidelines.

Few universities embrace tradition more religiously than Notre Dame. Students have long lived by the motto “God, Country, Notre Dame”—while much of the world has changed, the campus in South Bend has remained something of a time capsule. That’s how most Gold Domers like it.

The shockwave created by artificial intelligence reverberated particularly jarringly in such a traditional environment. The school’s leadership class, some perhaps more familiar with ancient religious texts than large language models, has attempted to wrangle AI by urging students to:

  • Consider the school’s recommended uses of artificial intelligence: Notre Dame policy advises using AI to “support” one’s education rather than to undercut it. Some of the recommended, generally acceptable uses for artificial intelligence are “thinking through ideas, making study guides or practice problems, or providing help with understanding difficult concepts.”
  • Avoid uses of AI that are a detriment to one’s development: Citing the “gifts” students come to Notre Dame to foster and incubate, the school’s AI usage policy discourages any AI use that could impede that incubation. More specifically, the policy discourages any behaviors that “circumvent the necessary intellectual challenges of your coursework” or run “counter to the heart of education itself.”
  • Trust that the university’s leadership has good intentions in its regulation of AI use: The Notre Dame AI usage guidelines are not, per the policy, meant “to be overly punitive.” However, you should not take this to mean that, if you are accused of AI misconduct, you are safe from overly punitive disciplinary action. Though AI usage policies may be crafted with compassion in mind, such compassion can go out the window once a student is accused of wrongdoing.
  • Some actions are academic cardinal sins at Notre Dame: While much of Notre Dame’s AI usage guidelines are shrouded in subjectivity, one line is explicit: “Representing work that you did not produce as your own, including work generated or materially modified by AI, constitutes academic dishonesty.” Any student accused of this offense, therefore, should brace for the potential of swift, unforgiving sanctions.

Notre Dame’s general AI guidelines allude to “an instructor’s articulated policy,” suggesting that such a policy carries great weight. It is worth examining, then, how AI guidelines and instructor policies complement one another at Notre Dame.

Instructors Are the Supreme Authority in the Realm of Artificial Intelligence

Students at the University of Notre Dame are well-versed in serving multiple authorities. In certain worldly matters, including the use of artificial intelligence, instructors are the end-all, be-all.

While students should follow the university’s general AI guidance whenever possible, they should be most immediately concerned with their instructor’s AI usage policy. Students are reasonable to expect their instructors to follow the university’s guidance for those professors, which includes:

  • The instructor being familiar with AI and various AI-powered tools: If an instructor is going to dictate and evaluate students’ use of artificial intelligence, that instructor should be an informed rule-maker and evaluator. Notre Dame’s guidance for instructors urges them to “Become familiar with ChatGPT and related tools,” which may help them better understand students’ AI use.
  • Explicit expectations, particularly about students’ use of ChatGPT: When talking about rules that could lead to formal discipline of students at a university as renowned as Notre Dame, there is no room for ambiguity. If you believe an instructor’s AI usage rules were ambiguous in any way, this fact could be a pillar of our defensive strategy for your case.
  • A syllabus statement dedicated particularly to AI use: Students should be reasonably able to locate and access their instructor’s AI usage policy. Notre Dame policy recommends that instructors dedicate a portion of their syllabus to AI use.

Most who enroll at Notre Dame feel that they have the luck of the Irish on their side. However, some feel mighty unlucky when they become accused of AI misconduct—whether due to circumstances within or beyond their control.

Notre Dame’s Adjudication of AI Misconduct Allegations

Notre Dame’s explanation of adjudication procedures is about as dense as Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologica. Some of the most notable features of these policies are:

  • Honor Code Violation Reports (HCVRs) kickstart the adjudication process
  • Such reports are generally referred to the Honor Code Committee for the specific school or college in which the accused student is studying
  • The accused student will likely participate in an Honor Code hearing
  • The Honor Code Committee will deliberate after the hearing, determine the student’s responsibility for the alleged AI misconduct, and may recommend sanctions
  • The policy notes that “The student has the right to appeal the decision and/or the penalty to the dean (or dean’s designee) of the college or school in which the offense occurred”

The moment you even suspect that you could be accused of AI-related misconduct, that is the time to reach out to our team. Our advice and advocacy will be tailored to you and informed by years of experience leading these types of cases.

Call the LLF National Law Firm Student Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today.

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