Purpose

LUCA is Lancaster University’s AI-powered careers companion. It helps users improve their CV, tailor cover letters, explore employers, and practise interviews. It works alongside our Careers and Employability Service.

This Acceptable Use Policy sets out the conditions of use, ensuring that LUCA is used safely, ethically, and in compliance with Lancaster University policies, UK law (including the Prevent Duty), and Microsoft’s Responsible AI commitments.

1. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All users of the LUCA platform, whether Bailrigg staff, students, or authorised users.
• Any device used to access LUCA, whether on campus or remotely.

2. General Principles

Users of LUCA must:

1. Act lawfully and responsibly, respecting UK law, University policies, and relevant regulations (including data protection, intellectual property, safeguarding, and Prevent duty).
2. Use LUCA for authorised purposes only, namely academic study, research, teaching, professional development, and institutional operations.
3. Protect institutional reputation by ensuring that outputs are not misrepresented as official University positions or policies.
4. Be transparent when using AI outputs in academic or professional contexts, acknowledging use where appropriate.
5. For Staff – ensure IT security certificates are kept up to date otherwise you will not be able to access

3. Prohibited Uses

You must not use LUCA to:

• Breach copyright or intellectual property rights, including uploading or prompting with unlicensed or confidential third-party materials.
• Engage in academic misconduct, including generating submissions presented as wholly your own work without acknowledgement.
• Input personal, sensitive, or confidential data (including special category data, student records, health data, or commercially sensitive research) unless explicitly authorised.

4. Data Handling and Privacy

• Prompts and outputs are stored only in a secure, time-limited session store (30 days maximum) and then automatically purged. Prompts and outputs are also linked to your account for this period.
• All use is subject to audit logging for compliance, security, and safeguarding purposes.
• Users must not attempt to extract, retain, or share sensitive session data beyond legitimate academic or operational needs.

5. Responsibilities of Users

• Exercise critical judgement – outputs may be inaccurate, biased, or incomplete. You are responsible for verifying content before use.
• Acknowledge AI assistance when required by academic or professional standards.
• Undertake mandatory training on Responsible AI and Prevent duty awareness before accessing the platform.
• Report misuse or concerning outputs promptly via the University’s reporting channels.
• Respect licence conditions of Azure AI Foundry and Microsoft’s Customer Copyright Commitment, ensuring responsible use of outputs.

6. Monitoring and Enforcement

All LUCA usage is subject to monitoring in line with university policy and legal obligations.

Breaches of this policy may result in:

• Suspension of access to LUCA.
• Disciplinary action under staff or student procedures.

Referral to external authorities where required by law (e.g. in relation to terrorism, extremism, or criminal offences).

7. Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside:

• Lancaster University Computer User Agreement.
• Information Security and Data Protection
• Prevent Duty Guidance (Counterterrorism and Security Act 2015).
• Academic Integrity policies.
• Microsoft Responsible AI and Copyright Commitment.

8. Acceptance of Policy

By accessing LUCA, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to comply with this Terms of Use Policy.