School Info, Enrollment & Policies
Student Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Berklee Online recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly part of contemporary creative, musical, academic, and professional practice. Students may use AI in ways that support learning, experimentation, and creative exploration when consistent with course expectations. However, AI may not be used in ways that misrepresent authorship, replace the development of artistic or technical skills, or bypass intended learning outcomes.
This policy establishes baseline expectations across Berklee Online. Individual instructors may add course-specific requirements or restrictions. Students are responsible for following both this institutional policy and course-level guidance.
Core Principles
Academic Integrity and Creative Authorship
Students must ensure that all submitted work reflects their own understanding, judgment, and creative voice. This includes written work, compositions, productions, performances, sound design, arrangements, coding, analysis, and other creative or technical outputs.
Submitting AI-generated creative or academic work as one's own without authorization or meaningful transformation constitutes academic dishonesty.
AI may assist creative exploration, but it cannot substitute for the student's role as the creator, decision maker, and learner.
Authorized and Appropriate Use
AI may only be used for purposes permitted by the instructor and appropriate to the assignment's learning goals. Unless explicitly allowed, AI use is not permitted in assessments intended to measure independent performance or authorship.
Using AI to generate music, lyrics, arrangements, code, analyses, or written work that replaces skills students are expected to practice is considered disingenuous use unless specifically authorized.
Transparency and Citation
When AI use is permitted, students must disclose that use when required and cite AI-generated contributions using the citation style designated for the course.
Transparency allows instructors to evaluate both process and learning, which are central to creative education.
Responsibility for Accuracy and Musical Judgment
AI systems may produce inaccurate information, weak musical ideas, stylistic clichés, unusable code, or fabricated references. Students are responsible for verifying factual claims and exercising musical and technical judgment over any AI-assisted material.
AI output does not replace critical listening, artistic decision making, or technical understanding.
Human Direction and Creative Control
Students must meaningfully direct, evaluate, and transform AI-assisted work. The final submission must demonstrate the student's authorship, taste, technique, and understanding.
Students should be able to explain:
- How the work was created
- What decisions they made
- Why those decisions serve the artistic or learning goals
Data Privacy and Safety
Students must not share personal, confidential, proprietary, or restricted materials with AI tools, including:
- Personal data about themselves or others
- Classmates' work
- Instructor materials not authorized for sharing
- Copyrighted or licensed content when prohibited
Students are responsible for understanding how AI platforms store and use submitted material.
No Disingenuous Use or Bypassing Learning
AI must not be used to bypass intended learning outcomes. If an assignment is designed to develop a student's ability to compose, produce, perform, write, analyze, code, design sound, or think critically, using AI to perform that core creative or intellectual work is inappropriate unless explicitly permitted.
AI should expand creative possibilities, not replace development as an artist or professional.
Instructor Authority
Each class is different. Instructors may allow, limit, or prohibit AI use depending on course goals. Instructor guidance always applies in addition to this policy; refer to your course syllabus requirements for more details on your specific course guidelines.
This policy is the institutional baseline that all students agree to follow.
Consequences of Misuse
Improper AI use may be treated as a violation of academic integrity policies and may result in consequences including reduced grades, assignment failure, course failure, suspension, or dismissal from the college.
Bottom Line: AI can be a powerful creative and learning tool. Students are responsible for using it in ways that strengthen artistic voice, technical skills, and understanding. If AI use reduces the need to think, listen, create, practice, or demonstrate understanding, it is likely inappropriate.
