Update on GenAI in assessment at UoE

In response to requests from DESE Engage and the SACO forum, we are introducing two new requirements from September 2024 to provide clarity around the use of GenAI in assessments for both staff and students, and to help prevent academic misconduct. This comes in the form of a categorisation framework on use of GenAI to be included in assessment briefs, and a student declaration.

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The purpose of the framework

The purpose of the framework for categorising GenAI use in assessments and accompanying student declarations is to clearly outline expectations and responsibilities for both students and staff around GenAI. The focus is not on enforcement i.e. staff ‘checking’ how the student has used GenAI in line with their declaration, but rather on supporting our existing academic integrity processes. If students use GenAI when it is prohibited, or do so inappropriately (i.e. to generate content for their assessment), the case would be addressed through the established academic misconduct processes.

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Statement on the use of GenAI in assessment briefs

A statement about the use of GenAI must be included in all assessment briefs, stating if the assessment fits in to one of three categories:

1. AI-integrated – where use of GenAI tool is part of the Intended Learning Outcomes of the modules or the assessment brief. In this category, in addition to following our referencing guidelines students are required to provide a history of the GenAI tools and prompts they have used, alongside associated outputs, as an appendix.
2. AI-supported – where ethical and responsible use of GenAI tools in the development of an assessment is supported. This may include using GenAI tools to summarise literature, improve the structure of your work or quality of English language.   All use of GenAI tools should be acknowledged in a statement submitted with their assessment and referenced appropriately. Students are asked to keep a record of the tools, prompts and outputs used so they are able to produce these if necessary at a viva and demonstrate how they have built on this content to ensure the work is original.
3. AI-prohibited – where the use of GenAI tools is prohibited as their use prevents achievement of the module learning outcomes.

It is expected that AI-supported assessments will be the norm, with AI-prohibited assessments requiring approval from the DESE.

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Student declaration

All assessments that come under the category of AI-supported or AI-integrated will be required to include a student declaration acknowledging their use of GenAI in their assessment. Where possible this will be included as an additional page at the front of the assessment. If a declaration sheet cannot be uploaded as part of an assignment (i.e. at the start of an essay), students understand that by submitting their assessment that are confirming they have followed the assessment brief and guidelines about GenAI use.

As we transition this into policy, there will no penalty for students who do not include a declaration at this stage. However, students will be strongly encouraged to include the declaration as part of a transparent approach to academic integrity.

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Resources and support

 To support this, the Educator Development, Learning Design and Academic Skills teams have developed a suite of new resources on GenAI and assessment. These include:

1. A template slide deck to use when introducing students to GenAI, and how to use it ethically and responsibily in their assessments
2. Template text for assessment briefs on the use of GenAI permitted in the task according to our new categorisation
3. A student declaration template, for students to use in all AI-supported and AI-integrated assessments to declare how they have used GenAI
4. Inclusion of 2 and 3 in ELE templates
5. Updates to Study Zone Digital resources and referencing guidance

These resources are housed on a new page on the EduExe Toolkit called ‘Downloadable GenAI tools and templates’ for ease.

If there are further templates that staff would benefit from, please do not hesitate to contact the Educator Development team on eduexe@exeter.ac.uk