UW-Whitewater provides all its users with access to key AI tools to enhance the projects and tasks they tackle each day on campus.
ALLOWABLE AND PROHIBITED AI USES
Know the policies that guide you.
The use of generative AI at UW–Whitewater is governed by policies from the Universities of Wisconsin, the Board of Regents, and federal privacy and security laws. Understanding these policies is essential to ensure ethical, legal, and secure use of AI tools in academic, research, and administrative work.
Key policies and guidance for GenAI use
UW-Whitewater institutional data
Data classification and protection (SYS 1031)
- Defines how to handle sensitive data securely
- Outlines how to protect personal and institutional data
- Covers security risks in IT, including AI-generated code
Acceptable use of IT resources (RPD 25-3)
- Defines responsible and prohibited uses of university technology
Universities of Wisconsin AI guidance
- Overview of ethical and secure use of AI in the UW System
Data classification
| Classification Level | Risk if Confidentiality / Integrity / Availability Is Lost | Typical Data Types | Usual Audience / Access Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Risk | Negligible operational, financial, legal, or reputational impact | Public Data – openly published for anyone Internal Data – shared only within the university, not posted publicly |
Public (for Public Data) or all campus personnel (for Internal Data) |
| Moderate Risk | Moderate operational, financial, legal, or reputational impact | Sensitive Data – limited to specific users, roles, or groups; default category for any data not otherwise classified | Authorized units, faculty, staff, and researchers with a legitimate business need |
| High Risk | Significant operational, financial, legal, or reputational impact | Restricted Data – highly confidential information accessible to a very small, clearly defined group | Select individuals on a strict need-to-know basis; heightened safeguards required |
Quick reference: If a dataset hasn’t been explicitly labeled Public, Internal, or Restricted, treat it as Sensitive (Moderate Risk) by default.
Warhawk Bold AI implementations
UW-Whitewater prides itself in bold innovations in the AI space. Faculty, staff, and students engage in cutting-edge uses cases, research, and real-world applications using ethical platforms vetted by our Information Technology Services team in partnership with UW System Administration representatives.
UW-Whitewater is the first Universities of Wisconsin school to provide ChatGPT EDU licenses to its users. In November of 2025, UW-Whitewater rolled out 1,000 ChatGPT EDU licenses to faculty, staff, and students in courses and roles across the university to implement in innovative projects, assessments, and real-world applications. Warhawks across all colleges and divisions have built applications, agents, and use cases to enhance their research, provide key student services, and solve problems in their fields of study.
Based on faculty, staff, and instructor expertise, UW-Whitewater acquires numerous AI-enhanced platforms to best serve students in preparing them to be career ready. Below are several examples of paid AI tools that UW-Whitewater has made available by request for users.
Allowable use
Public instances of generative AI tools may be used in limited and appropriate ways that do not involve confidential, sensitive, or restricted information. Allowable uses include activities that support research, teaching, learning, productivity, creativity, and communication while adhering to academic integrity standards and university policies.
Examples of acceptable uses include:
- Brainstorming ideas or topics for research, projects, or writing
- Summarizing publicly available articles or resources
- Proofreading or generating drafts of non-confidential documents or communications
- Assisting with coding or technical tasks using public, non-proprietary data
- Supporting course-related learning, provided usage complies with instructor guidelines and is properly cited when required
- Drafting general educational or outreach materials intended for public audiences
Users are responsible for ensuring that any AI-generated content is accurate, ethical, and does not violate university policies on plagiarism, privacy, or appropriate use of technology.
Students must follow course-specific AI use statements and cite AI tools when used in academic work, as outlined in the syllabus or assignment instructions. Please check with your instructor on their AI use policy if you have any questions.
Generative AI should be considered an aid — not a replacement — for critical thinking, academic integrity, or human judgment.
Prohibited uses of GenAI at UW-Whitewater
Currently, Universities of Wisconsin System Administration states: “ … any use of public instances of generative AI tools should be with the assumption that no personal, confidential, proprietary, or otherwise sensitive information may be used with it. In general, student records subject to FERPA and any other information classified as Medium or High Risk (relevant policy SYS 1031) should not be used in public instances of generative AI tools.
Similarly, public instances of generative AI tools should not be used to generate output that would be considered confidential.
Examples include (but are not limited to)
- proprietary or unpublished research;
- legal analysis or advice;
- recruitment, personnel, or disciplinary decision-making;
- completion of academic work in a manner not allowed by the instructor;
- creation of non-public instructional materials; and grading.”
To protect privacy, security, academic integrity, and university resources, the following uses of generative AI are strictly prohibited under UW-Whitewater, Universities of Wisconsin, and Board of Regents policies.
Do not enter any of the following into AI tools:
- FERPA-protected student records
- HIPAA-protected health information
- Employee performance data
- Unpublished research, funding proposals, or confidential materials
- Intellectual property not publicly released
- Information subject to export control regulations
Relevant policy: SYS 1031, SYS 1040, Regent Policy 25-3
You may not use AI to:
- Generate or distribute malware, phishing, or spam
- Create content that enables harassment, threats, stalking, or discrimination
- Produce or share sexually explicit or obscene material
- Help others violate federal, state, or institutional laws or contracts
Relevant policy: Regent Policy 25-3
Do not implement AI-generated code in university systems unless it has been reviewed and approved by a human expert to ensure it’s safe and secure.
Relevant policy: SYS 1039
Do not:
- Upload copyrighted material into AI tools
- Use AI to generate content that infringes on copyrights or patents
- Share research results that could compromise patentability
Relevant policy: Regent Policy 25-3, SYS 346