Boston University Adds AI-Free Writing Requirement for English Majors - lawcommentary.com

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Boston University Adds AI-Free Writing Requirement for English Majors

Boston University has added an AI-free writing requirement for English majors, with newly approved learning outcomes calling on students to demonstrate that they can produce sustained, original writing without artificial intelligence.

Associate Professor of English Joseph Rezek said Wednesday that faculty recently voted to approve the updated outcomes. One provision requires students to “craft and revise writing that is sustained, original, and generated without the assistance of AI.”

The change makes independent writing a formal competency for students completing the English major as colleges nationwide continue to determine how tools such as ChatGPT should fit into writing, research, and other academic work.

The new outcome applies at the program level, defining a skill English graduates are expected to demonstrate. Faculty members will continue setting rules for AI use in individual courses and assignments.

Boston University’s academic conduct rules give those decisions additional weight. Under a revised Academic Conduct Code that took effect July 1, AI use that has not been expressly authorized by an instructor can constitute academic misconduct.

Students found responsible for violations can face sanctions including grade reductions, suspension and, in serious cases, expulsion. The English requirement addresses a separate question by identifying independent writing as one of the abilities expected of students earning the degree.

The department’s move comes as Boston University continues to build generative AI into other parts of its academic strategy.

A university task force recommended in 2024 that BU “critically embrace” generative AI, support AI literacy among students and faculty, and allow academic units to develop policies suited to their disciplines. It also encouraged instructors to connect any restrictions on AI to specific learning objectives.

The university has since supported AI-focused teaching across several programs. BU offers an AI Literacy for Writing course that teaches students to work with generative AI while remaining responsible for their writing, and other university initiatives have incorporated the technology into subjects including advertising and language instruction.

Within that broader framework, the English Department has now identified writing without AI assistance as a core skill for its majors.

The change is new enough that BU’s central academic bulletin still displayed the English major’s previous learning outcomes Wednesday. Those requirements cover literary analysis, interpretation, research and writing but do not yet include the new AI language.

Rezek characterized the newly approved language as an “anti-AI provision” when announcing the faculty vote.

The department has not yet detailed how the outcome will be assessed across the English curriculum. Its adoption gives students a new benchmark for completing the major as universities continue to define where artificial intelligence belongs in college writing.

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