Academic Integrity & Responsible AI Policy
Version 2026-09-03.1 · Effective date: September 3, 2026 · Operator: Third Coast Films, LLC dba MindRiot Labs
Core Guiding Philosophy
"AI Supports Student Authorship. AI Does Not Replace Student Authorship."
IllumiU is built to empower students to discover, organize, and articulate their authentic life experiences. We believe genuine admissions growth happens when students reflect deeply and write in their own voice.
1. Truthful Applicant Presentation
College admissions processes rely on fundamental trust between applicants and higher-education institutions. As an IllumiU user, you agree that all information entered into your workspace and submitted to colleges will be truthful, accurate, and representative of your actual achievements:
- Authentic Academic Records: No fabrication of GPAs, standardized test scores, class ranks, academic honors, or coursework rigor.
- Honest Activity Tracking: Accurate descriptions of extracurricular involvement, leadership roles, time commitments, and athletic or artistic achievements.
- Original Recommendation Context: No falsification of counselor or teacher recommendation requests or credentials.
2. Student Authorship and Plagiarism Prohibition
All personal statements, supplemental essays, short answers, and portfolio descriptions must be authored directly by the student applicant. You agree not to:
- Submit essays written or substantially composed by third parties, commercial writing mills, or unauthorized ghostwriters.
- Copy, adapt, or plagiarize essays, story structures, or substantive prose from other applicants or published sample essays without attribution.
- Use automated tools to disguise plagiarism or bypass institutional academic integrity verification.
3. Responsible AI Boundaries in IllumiU
IllumiU incorporates specialized artificial intelligence and deterministic algorithms to assist with the organizational complexity of college admissions. We maintain strict ethical and technical boundaries:
- Analyze application requirements, deadlines, and word limits from verified public sources.
- Recommend prioritized daily planning steps and timeline schedules based on effort heuristics.
- Cluster and categorize supplemental essay prompts to highlight overlapping themes across institutions.
- Help calculate word budgets and structural milestones for student writing sessions.
- IllumiU does not generate entire ghostwritten essays or fabricate personal reflections.
- IllumiU does not send your Story Vault narratives to external foundation models for training.
- IllumiU does not alter or embellish student accomplishments or academic history.
4. Institutional AI and Submission Policies
Individual higher-education institutions, scholarship committees, and application platforms (such as Common App, Coalition Application, and university-specific portals) establish their own distinct policies regarding artificial intelligence use.
Some institutions permit generative brainstorming tools, while others prohibit AI involvement in prose creation entirely. You are solely responsible for reviewing and adhering to the specific AI policies and honor codes of each college to which you apply.
5. Student Responsibility for Final Submissions
IllumiU is a private strategic preparation and organization workspace. When you transfer your materials to official institutional portals, you certify that:
- You have personally reviewed and verified all content, dates, and answers for complete accuracy.
- The submission accurately reflects your authentic voice, experiences, and academic record.
- You meet all eligibility criteria declared on official application forms.
6. Enforcement and Misuse Consequences
Third Coast Films, LLC dba MindRiot Labs reserves the right to terminate or restrict access to accounts that violate this Academic Integrity Policy, including accounts used for systematic plagiarism, credential fraud, or deceptive commercial services.
7. Integrity Inquiries and Feedback
If you have questions about our responsible AI boundaries or academic integrity standards, please contact our team at legal@illumiu.com.