Faculty, instructor, and teaching assistant obligations regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for grading
Pursuant to applicable law, the University of Maryland must ensure the responsible, ethical, beneficial and trustworthy use of AI in its operations. The likelihood of negative impacts from the use of AI is significantly reduced when a human reviews AI output prior to decision-making. Any UMD instructor (whether faculty, staff, or Teaching Assistant (TA)) who chooses to use approved AI-based grading tools must review the outputs of such tools and ensure that these outputs are consistent with the instructor’s professional judgment. Additionally, instructors must ensure human-graded and AI-graded assignments are treated in the same manner (e.g., using grading rubrics, standards when students may request re-grading assignments). Additionally, in future semesters, instructors who intend to use AI assistance in grading should explain its use and procedures in their course syllabus.
These requirements are in addition to the University’s Policy on the Conduct of Undergraduate Courses and Student Grievance Procedures, the University’s Guidelines for AI Use, other UMD Policies, and UMD’s Information Technology (IT) Standards, including the requirement that all new software be submitted for review by the Software Risk Management process.
If you have questions about software compliance, please contact DIT’s Security, Privacy, Audit, Risk, and Compliance Services team at SPARCS@umd.edu. For support with integrating AI in instruction, please see the TLTC AI website or contact TLTC at tltc@umd.edu.
-- Adapted from an email to all UMD faculty and GAs sent October 16, 2026 and signed by Jeffrey K. Hollingsworth, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, and Jay Rosselló, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel --