An essay that is copy and pasted from ChatGPT is considered plagiarizing. There are now plenty of tools and software to be able to tell if your students have used AI to write their papers, so do not worry about trying to figure it out yourself.
If using ChatGPT or other AI software to find information (not having it write for the student) is allowed, there are correct ways of citing these sources.
Student Code of Academic Conduct
In fulfillment of obligations to the college community, each SPCC student is expected to comply with the Student Code of Academic Conduct. Therefore, students are prohibited from engaging in any conduct that materially or adversely affects the educational process including, but not limited to, the following:
Violation of Academic Integrity Policy
AND/OR
Violation of program specific guidelines as outlined in program handbooks and distributed materials.
At this time, students are NOT permitted to use generative AI in any capacity to complete their academic assignments without explicit instructor permission.