Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how we teach, learn, and create. At California College of the Arts, we approach AI in ways that reflect the values of our studio practice: a tool that can extend creativity and inquiry when used with honesty, transparency, and critical reflection.

This page provides guidance and resources for faculty and students as we navigate an evolving AI landscape together. It connects collegewide policies, ethical frameworks, and program-level guidance to help ensure that our use of AI aligns with CCA’s values of integrity, inclusion, and creative innovation.

CCA’s AI guidelines continue to evolve in collaboration with the AI Working Group, Academic Affairs, Curriculum Committee, and Technology Services. This page will be updated as new tools, resources, and program policies are introduced.

Our approach to AI is grounded in shared principles that connect creative practice to ethical responsibility:

Honesty & Attribution: Cite the tools, datasets, and prompts that contributed to your work.

Transparency: Disclose where and how AI was used in creative or academic processes.

Critical Engagement: Ask not only what AI can do, but what it should do.

Innovation: Explore AI as a medium for ideation, iteration, and experimentation.

Respect & Fairness: Uphold copyright, privacy, authorship, and consent.

Accessibility & Inclusion: Use AI to broaden access and participation in learning.

AI tools and platforms should be used responsibly, protecting both personal and institutional data. The following policies define CCA’s current expectations for faculty and staff:

Responsible Use of Generative AI at CCA

Audio Recording / Note-Taking Assistance Policy

Approved AI Tools

These are not the only AI tools permitted at CCA, but they are the ones that currently comply with CCA’s FERPA and institutional data policies. Faculty and staff are encouraged to use tools that meet these same standards of privacy, security, and non-training of user data.

Google Gemini for Education — FERPA-compliant and secure when logged in with a CCA account. Prompts and responses are not used to train Google’s public AI models.

Google NotebookLM — A research assistant that summarizes and synthesizes only from the sources you provide (no external data scraping).

Zoom AI Companion — For meeting notes and summaries. Use requires participant consent and an @cca.edu login.

AI tools present opportunities and challenges for creative learning, prompting reflection on when their use enhances or detracts from authenticity, process, and authorship. Faculty are encouraged to approach AI as a site of inquiry through experimenting, questioning, and, when appropriate, choosing refusal as a form of creative or ethical practice. Faculty are encouraged to define expectations for AI use in their syllabi and classroom discussions.

Sample Syllabus Language:

Students may use approved digital tools and AI resources to support creative and academic projects only when permitted by the instructor. Any material generated, altered, or enhanced by AI must be clearly cited and referenced. Students must describe how AI contributed to their process, including prompts, tools, or datasets used. Some assignments will prohibit AI use entirely. When in doubt about whether AI use is allowed, or how to cite it, students are expected to ask for clarification before proceeding.

Assignments can invite students to disclose how AI tools influenced their process, to compare analog and digital methods, or to analyze ethical issues around authorship and consent.

Data Security: Never upload student, financial, or confidential data to AI tools not reviewed or approved by CCA.

Copyright: AI-generated text and images are not copyrightable under current U.S. law. Consider how attribution and context affect fair use.

Authorship: Student work must reflect their creative intent and understanding, even when AI tools are part of the process.

Accessibility: CCA-approved tools (Genio, Zoom AI Companion) support transcription and captioning through Access & Disability Services and comply with college privacy standards.

AI Working Group — A cross-disciplinary team exploring how AI can support creative, ethical, and inclusive teaching and learning.

AI Moodle Forum — Moodle-based forum for discussing a wide variety of AI topics from innovation to ethics.

Workshops & Trainings — Ongoing professional development on Gemini, NotebookLM, and other classroom tools.

To receive access to the AI Moodle Forum and/or notification of upcoming AI workshops, please fill out this form.

Each academic program develops its own AI guidance that complements this collegewide framework. These policies clarify expectations, examples, and assessment methods relevant to each discipline.

Coming soon

This framework is stewarded by Academic Affairs in partnership with the AI Working Group, Curriculum Committee and Technology Services. It is reviewed regularly to ensure compliance with evolving laws, tools, and best practices.

Feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please contact Matt Silady, Director of Academic & Faculty Development with questions.