In February 2025, the UT Board of Trustees adopted a formal AI policy (BT0035), required by Tennessee state law, that sets the rules for how AI can be used in teaching and coursework across all UT campuses. Each instructor must declare one of three positions on AI use for every course they teach.

Policy BT0035 states that the university embraces AI as a tool for enhancing learning, creativity, and analysis, while requiring faculty to choose one of three tiers of AI permission per course: Unrestricted Use, Mixed Use, or Total Prohibition. Using AI in ways a professor has not permitted counts as academic misconduct. The policy also prohibits entering protected university data into unapproved AI tools and explicitly states that results from AI detection tools — such as Turnitin's AI writing detector or proctoring software — cannot be the sole basis for a misconduct finding. A companion procedure (GP-004-02) warns users to assume that all consumer AI products make data publicly available. The UTK College of Law adopted a stricter local policy banning generative AI from all exams.