Teaching and GenAI at Waterloo

Applying UW Principles of AI Enablement to Teaching and Learning 

August 18, 2026 

The following recommendations are based on the (provisional) Principles of AI Enablement at Waterloo. Developed in consultation with the faculty Teaching Fellows, they are intended to inform the use of Generative AI (GenAI) by both instructors and students, and with applications to academic courses and other learning activities.  

Purpose first: AI that matters 

Effective teaching and learning involve human interactions and cognitive engagement with appropriately challenging material. Instructors should consider their objectives whenever integrating GenAI into a course or learning activity and should actively monitor its impact to ensure that it facilitates meaningful learning. GenAI use should support human connections and the productive struggles inherent in learning, rather than replacing them.  

Safe & fair use: Responsible, ethical, inclusive AI 

Before employing generative AI in teaching and learning, one should weigh the potential social, environmental, and ethical impacts, including inequities between students as well as broader systemic inequities. Instructors must take steps to minimize these as much as possible, such as by relying on AI tools provided by the University or which are freely available and following the guidelines of the University’s Digital Learning Framework. Instructors should remain alert to biased or discriminatory outputs and should support students in identifying and critically evaluating bias when using GenAI.   

GenAI use in teaching and learning must consider the security of student data, course materials, and other intellectual property. Instructors and students must select AI tools that provide an appropriate level of data protection, following university guidance. Neither course materials nor student work should be uploaded to insecure AI tools that might share them without permission. Student information such as identification or grades is subject to Policy 46 – Information Management and must not be uploaded to AI tools that do not meet institutional security requirements. 

Decisions about GenAI use should support accessible and inclusive education. Learning activities and assessments that involve GenAI should be designed with accessibility in mind, including consideration of how potential accommodations might be provided. Some students require technology as an accommodation; if the use of technology is restricted to prevent GenAI use in assessment, for example, instructors should consider other strategies for assessing the learning outcomes of the course.  

Human agency: People in control 

GenAI supports human judgment, but responsibility for teaching and learning remains with instructors and students. When GenAI tools are used, people must remain in control and verify outputs.  

Instructors are accountable for course design, the accuracy and completeness of instructional materials, and the assessment of student learning, including grading and feedback. Students are accountable for work they submit and for following course requirements regarding acceptable use of GenAI in learning activities and assessments. 

Instructors’ expectations regarding acceptable or prohibited uses of GenAI by students, including how students should appropriately acknowledge the use of GenAI tools when they are used in assignments or other academic work, must be clearly explained in course outlines and assignment instructions. Instructors’ use of GenAI in course design, delivery, or assessment should also be clearly communicated.  

Shared learning: Empowering our community 

It is important that both students and instructors develop skills to confidently and critically engage with AI. Not all courses will include GenAI-related content, and some will prohibit the use of AI tools to ensure the integrity of learning or assessment. Nonetheless, over the course of their programs, students should gain the knowledge and skills that will equip them to engage effectively with AI in their future work or studies. Regardless of their own perspectives on GenAI, instructors should strive to understand the implications of AI for their students and their work, so that they can confidently guide students in their engagement with the technology.  

Exploration: Opportunity to experiment 

The use of GenAI in teaching and learning is new and evolving rapidly. Instructors are encouraged to investigate, evaluate, and innovate, and to share their findings and new approaches with the broader community.