Use of ChatGPT
As part of a CSU-wide initiative, all faculty and students now have free access to ChatGPT through CSU-provided education accounts.
The use of ChatGPT or other AI tools is optional and should be used ethically for personal or appropriate academic purposes. "Appropriate academic purposes" depend on the specific policies for use of ChatGPT Edu or other AI tools in your classes — please refer to your syllabus or contact your instructor. While ChatGPT Edu is a helpful tool for learning and exploring ideas, using it to complete assignments may violate your instructor's AI use policy. Always check with your instructors to confirm whether the use of AI is allowed in the course or for a specific assignment.
ChatGPT Edu
ChatGPT Edu is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot technology designed for educational institutions. It leverages AI to process natural human language and generate with intelligent responses.
If you have never used ChatGPT before:
- Go to the ChatGPT login link at:
- Login with your Stan State user ID and password
- “Welcome to the _________________ workspace” displays
- Select the “Okay, let’s go” button to begin
If you have used ChatGPT before:
- Go to the ChatGPT login link at:
- Login with your Stan State user ID and password
- “You’ve been added to a ChatGPT Edu workspace” displays
- At “What should we do with your existing workspace” you will have two options:
- Transfer existing chat history and GPTs, or . . .
- Export and delete existing chat history
- Make the appropriate selection and choose continue
- Confirm your choice. You are added to the workspace.
The CSU Chancellor’s Office signed an 18-month (February 2025-July 2026) contact for ChatGPT with an option to extend the agreement.
No. When you are no longer a current student, faculty, or staff you become ineligible for ChatGPT Edu. Your account will be deprovisioned and you will no longer be able to log into the Stan State ChatGPT Edu workspace. Data within the ChatGPT Edu Stan State workspace is protected and secure within the Stan State workspace, and therefore, there is no available feature which allows the export of conversations. You should document anything in your Stan State workspace that you would like to keep before your departure.
ChatGPT Edu is tailored for universities, ensuring responsible AI deployment. It provides access to advanced models, advanced data analysis, web browsing, document summarization, creating and sharing custom AI assistants, increased message limits, multilingual support and comprehensive administration controls.
The ChatGPT Edu features are the same as those offered by the ChatGPT Plus plan with added security features. ChatGPT Edu does not use data to train Open AI’s models or improve services.
Licenses are available for:
- Current faculty and staff
- Current students
During migration to the Stan State workspace, you will have two options:
- Merge your existing chat history and Custom GPTs into the campus workspace.
- Export and delete your history and move to a new personal email address (manual process required).
Important: Deleting your account before migration is IRREVERSIBLE and will prevent future access to the Stan State EDU workspace.
What happens to existing Plus or Pro subscriptions
- Your Plus or Pro subscription will be automatically cancelled upon migration to the Stan State workspace.
- You will receive a partial refund for any unused portion of your subscription.
There is no direct cost to students, faculty, employees, colleges, divisions or departments for the plan purchased through the Chancellors Office. ChatGPT is being funded by the CSU Chancellor’s Office through July 2026 at which time an extension will be evaluated.
Yes, ChatGPT has a service called Canvas (not to be confused with Stan State’s Learning Management System for submitting coursework and looking up assignments). This can be used to help create, check and even collaborate on code. However, you CANNOT automatically execute code using ChatGPT Canvas.
ChatGPT Edu is tailored for universities, ensuring responsible AI deployment. It provides access to advanced models, advanced data analysis, web browsing, document summarization, creating and sharing custom AI assistants, increased message limits, multilingual support, and comprehensive administrative controls.
Access to third-party GPTs is currently restricted in the ChatGPT Edu environment to prioritize data privacy and security. Institutionally managed accounts operate under stricter controls to protect user information and ensure compliance with University policies. Third-party GPTs typically function outside these secure boundaries, which is why their use is limited at this time.
If you rely on a specific third-party GPT for your work or research, many tools can often be recreated within the ChatGPT Edu environment using custom instructions and prompts. While this may not replicate every feature exactly, it allows you to build a similar experience within a secure, compliant framework.
You can upload:
- Non-sensitive data that does not contain Level 1 (L1) classified information. This includes Social Security numbers, driver’s license or state identifications, banking and credit card information, medical information, health insurance information, etc.
- Public or openly shareable data that does not require special access controls.
- De-identified data that has been stripped of personally identifiable information (PII) or other sensitive details.
- Non-copyrighted material that you have permission to share and process.
- Individual Conversations
- Open the chat you want to keep.
- Click the three dots (⋯) next to the chat title.
- Select “Export” or “Copy to clipboard” (you can also manually copy/paste the text).
- Save to your personal email, Google Drive, or another location.
- Entire Chat History (if available)
- Go to Settings > Data Controls > Export Data.
- Click “Export” – you’ll receive a download link via email.
- Open the ZIP file, which includes a JSON file with your chats.
Class Use, Academic Integrity, Accessibility
Check your syllabus for the AI policy in the course, check with your professor, and check per assignment. If your syllabus does not have an AI policy, ask your instructor whether you may use generative AI before using AI for course work/assignments.
You can use ChatGPT to support your learning through:
- Brainstorming ideas or outlines
- Clarifying confusing concepts
- Suggesting grammar or structure
Do not use AI to:
- Write your entire assignment
- Generate answers for quizzes, tests, or labs
- Pretend AI-generated content is your original work
Using genAI to complete assignments may violate academic integrity policies so always check with your instructor and cite AI use when required.
Academic integrity is core to quality education. This tool, like other tools, can be used unethically, so it’s important to work with your faculty members to understand when and how it is permissible to use generative AI. You are responsible for everything you submit. AI tools are not a replacement for understanding, analysis, or effort. Ask yourself: Do I understand and stand by what I’ve written?
At Stan State, we expect all users to:
- Use AI as a support tool, not a shortcut
- Cite AI-generated content when appropriate
- Maintain academic integrity
- Follow campus and CSU policies on responsible use
While AI-generated content can provide valuable information, the output provided by AI may produce false, biased, or generic information. Do not copy-paste the AI output. You should use your own understanding to revise and improve the AI results. Additionally, AI cannot capture your personal experiences, critical thinking, or academic voice.
You should not rely only on the output of any AI tool. Double check that the outputs you receive have accurate and relevant information. GenAI makes mistakes. A good way to go about this is finding another source online to corroborate the information in the output you received from the genAI chatbot.
Be transparent in your AI use. If AI tools contribute significantly to an assignment, students should disclose their use and properly cite the tool.
Check the Stan State Research Guide on Generative AI for more information.
A full suite of self-paced tutorials and deep-dive guides is now live in the CSU AI Commons, including:
- OpenAI, LLMs & ChatGPT (05:34)
- Multimodality Explained (10:24)
- Introduction to Prompt Engineering (05:52)
- Introduction to GPTs (06:40)
- ChatGPT Search (05:43)
- Advanced Prompt Engineering (08:50)
- ChatGPT for Data Analysis (04:48)
AI learning resources are available in the CSU AI Commons. You can also browse the official ChatGPT Help Center for detailed docs on Models, Projects, Deep Research, Connectors, Record mode, and more.
At this time, the web browser version of ChatGPT has known accessibility barriers. These barriers may interfere with assistive technology, including screen readers. The contract for ChatGPT Edu from the CSU Chancellor’s Office includes a commitment from OpenAI to fix the accessibility barriers.
The CSU has a policy on responsible use of technology resources, as well as existing standards on student conduct and defined student conduct process for addressing issues that may arise. The CSU will continue to update policies, procedures and guidelines as necessary to enable the safety of our community.
Privacy
Open AI commits to data privacy and security by ensuring that conservations and data are not used to train their models. The ChatGPT Edu plan includes commercial data protection features like SAML SSO, domain verification, custom data retention windows, SOCL 2 Type 2 compliance, and data encryption at rest and in transit.
The CSU agreement with OpenAI includes language that ensures your ChatGPT interactions and data are not used to train their underlying large language models or improve their services.
Stan State and the CO have access to aggregate user analytics data. This data includes active user, message, and tool counts. This data does not include interaction content or metadata.
No. ChatGPT Edu does not provide that information. As with all supported apps that might store data, we are required to respond to legal requests for information, such as litigation or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. This is not part of the day-to-day administration of ChatGPT.
The CSU is strictly committed to user privacy and, as the CSU Safe and Responsible Use Guidelines lay out, the CSU has legal and operational obligations that may require access to user data in the services we offer. These activities are not intended to restrict, monitor, or utilize the content of legitimate academic and organizational communications.
ChatGPT is just like other CSU-provided tools. Like email, your data is not shared with or reviewed by anyone, except as a part of an officially sanctioned investigation. Your professors cannot see your conversation history or custom GPTs, even if they ask.
CSU policies on privacy and ethical AI use are being refined to reflect new tools like ChatGPT. The CSU GenAI Committee – comprised of leaders and faculty – provides systemwide guidance on responsible AI integration.
Environmental Impact
AI systems—especially those involving large models like GPT-5—can consume significant computing power and energy. Help promote sustainable AI use through:
- Using AI only for complex, generative tasks
- Optimizing prompts to reduce energy load
- Turning off unused AI integrations
OpenAI’s sustainability efforts include:
- Funding AI tools aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Hosting hackathons for clean energy innovation
- Running operations on Microsoft Azure, which is committed to being carbon negative by 2030
ChatGPT itself does not generate electronic waste, but the hardware used to run AI models (such as GPUs and servers) requires periodic upgrades, which can contribute to electronic waste. Sustainable technology practices, such as hardware recycling and energy-efficient chips, help mitigate this issue.
Updated: September 02, 2025