MS Copilot for staff and students: Essential things to know
What you need to know about the release of Copilot Gen-AI to staff and students at our University.
Just before Christmas 2023, the University of Auckland made Microsoft Copilot (formerly known as Bing Chat Enterprise) available to all staff as a secure Gen-AI option for use at the University. Anyone with a staff email (including doctoral students) were given access when signed in with their UoA accounts (username@uoa.auckland.ac.nz) in MS Edge browser on either a Windows or MacOS computer. See instructions for logging in.
The University has just announced that the same software, MS Copilot, has been made available also to students for their use, which means Gen-AI is now officially part of our academic toolkit.
Things to know
Here are the most important things you need to know.
1. Learn more about MS Copilot, and Gen-AI in general
MS Copilot is based on ChatGPT4 and DALL-E 3. You can find a brief overview of what MS Copilot is, its capabilities, and how it can be used in an educational setting in our page about the updated Gen-AI Usage Standard at the University. More information on Copilot can also be found on the central website.
2. Understand academic integrity at UoA
Regardless of the use of specific AI tools in learning and assessment, both you and your students should be familiar with the University’s regulations, statutes and guidelines on academic integrity and conduct.
Know that all students starting a programme at UoA must complete Academic Integrity course (ACADINT) on Canvas.
3. Make sure you and your students understand usage guidelines on Gen-AI
- Know and make sure your students know
- Advice for students on using generative artificial intelligence in coursework
- Guidelines on permitted use of software in assessment activities
- How to cite artificial intelligence (AI) content generators
- Communicate clearly to your students the Gen-AI usage expectations in your course, including in all assessments and exams. Inform your students about how they can use MS Copilot for help with assignments, research, and other academic activities.
- We recommend adding an academic honesty declaration statement to your course syllabus.
3. Resources for teaching and assessing in the age of AI
Read our comprehensive resource on the use of generative AI tools in coursework, which includes links to teaching cases, example instructions to students, and introductory resources to Gen-AI in education.
More UoA resources for support on teaching with Gen-AI, including information on how to join relevant Communities of Practice (CoPs) and Communities of Interest (CoIs) within our University, can be found in the post about UoA support for navigating Gen-AI from mid-2023.
Visit TeachWell Digital space regularly as we’ll keep posting the best teaching and learning resources from around the world, including links to Gen-AI related teaching podcasts, videos, blogs, articles, practical classroom resources and teaching cases, as part of our monthly top picks, notices and/or events.
See also
Leveraging Microsoft Copilot in higher education
Watch recordings from our in-house IT expert, Karl McGuirk as he unveils the intricacies of Microsoft Copilot. From introducing the tool to best practice use, configuration, and prompting effectively, there’s something for everyone.
Who can help
For support with assessment redesign or incorporating Gen-AI into your courses, book a session with Ranga Auaha Ako, Learning and Teaching Design Team, through its TeachWell Consult service.
If you have general questions about University policy and/or procedures around using Gen-AI, you can email the Academic Quality Office.
For technical support and feedback on the use of MS Copilot, contact Staff Service Centre.