Permission Granted? Navigating AI Use in Graduate Speech-Language Pathology Education

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI (GenAI), is transforming higher education and raising important questions about its role in graduate professional training. Speech-language pathology (SLP) programs face the dual challenge of preparing students to engage with AI technologies that are increasingly present in clinical and academic environments while also safeguarding academic integrity, ethical practice, and skill development. This tutorial paper describes the development and delivery of a one-hour, synchronous virtual AI training created for graduate students in a hybrid online Master of Science in SLP program at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. The training was developed by a faculty-led AI Task Force and was designed to improve students’ AI literacy, clarify institutional and course-level AI policies, and promote responsible and ethical AI engagement. The training content included: (1) foundational definitions of AI and distinguishing GenAI from AI assistants, (2) orientation to university AI resources and policies for allowable use, (3) description of a checklist designed to scaffold ethical decision-making, (4) explicit instruction on key risks associated with AI use, including hallucinations, bias, privacy concerns, and potential skill attrition, (5) AI applications to support student learning, research, clinical preparation, and time management, and (6) interactive application of AI knowledge to clinical and academic scenarios. By describing the case study and sharing accompanying resources, this manuscript offers a practical framework for SLP programs seeking to proactively address AI integration in graduate education. AI literacy training can help graduate SLP programs move beyond reactive policy development toward intentional, transparent, and ethically grounded AI engagement that supports both student learning and professional competence.