Monday, December 9, is the last day of classes for the fall 2024 semester. Reading days will be December 10–12. You are encouraged to check and make note of the days and times your final exams are scheduled well in advance since they might not be held on the same day or time that you normally attend your courses.

Students who need to stay on campus for winter break can find information about dining, on-campus activities, hours of operation, and more on the winter break website. To receive weekly updates throughout the break, sign up for the Winter Highlights newsletter. You must register online by Monday, December 9, if you plan to remain on campus for all or part of winter break, December 19 through January 16.

The International Services Office (ISO) and the Office for Global Engagement recently sent an email to international students with support resources and reminders for international travel. Please make sure to review it if it applies to you. If you plan to travel outside of the US during the winter break, review ISO’s travel guidelines and recommendations. If you experience any travel delays or issues and need support related to your academic options, email Molly Morrison, assistant dean for international student academic affairs. You can stay up-to-date through the ISO website, emails, newsletter, and Instagram page. If you have questions related to travel and documents, contact your immigration advisor.

A travel and immigration town hall with an attorney from Harter, Secrest & Emery will be held on Thursday, December 12, at noon via Zoom for all international students, scholars, and employees. Register here.

As you wrap up the fall semester and begin your final exams, it continues to be important that you are aware of the academic honesty expectations for all your courses, exams, and assignments. If your instructors don’t clarify expectations about when, how, and whether artificial intelligence (AI) or large language model (LLM) tools such as Grammarly, GPT-4, ChatGPT, Copilot, Dall-E, Photomath, translators, or similar should be used in their courses, you should ask them. The academic honesty policy requires students to declare and fully cite the use of all sources and source technologies. Instructors could report you for unauthorized use of resources if you use AI or LLM tools without permission.

While there is no campus-wide ban on using AI or LLM tools, each department (sometimes even each course or each assignment) may set its own rules for what ethical and responsible use looks like in practice. To ensure you are completing coursework according to the spirit and letter of the College’s academic honesty policy, the Honesty Liaisons urge you to review:

• The academic honesty policy itself (especially the rules on authorized versus unauthorized use of resources, as well as the importance of clear and accurate attribution);
• Additional academic honesty guidelines in the syllabus and other documents for each class you take (instructors can and will specify their additional guidelines beyond what is in the policy);
• The Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program’s Academic Honesty with Online Learning Tools resource, and other resources posted on the academic honesty website.

When deciding whether or not to use AI or LLM tools for your coursework, the liaisons also recommend first asking yourself: Is a tool doing something for me that will be assessed as part of course learning outcomes? If it is, don’t use it. Do I know if a tool is permitted or encouraged by my instructor? If not, or if you’re not sure, don’t use it. You can also contact the Honesty Liaisons via email for general inquiries or at mywco.com/honesty for confidential appointments.