Guidelines for allowing student GenAI use in assessment
This guide provides statements defining several levels of AI use that subject coordinators can add to their assessments.
Student use of GenAI is a critical part of building student AI literacy and is therefore increasingly encouraged across the University in various learning activities, including as part of assessments. The University position on the use of GenAI tools by students in producing work for assessment requires that students acknowledge any use and do not misrepresent content generated by a tool as their own. It also provides for individual subject coordinators to set rules for their subjects or for each assessment that determine the extent to which GenAI may be used by students.
To support subject coordinators in communicating these rules to students, this guideline outlines statements defining several levels of AI use, which may be selected in isolation or in combination, as determined by subject coordinators. Careful consideration of the learning goals of each task should guide judgements about the desired and permitted level of AI use, and coordinators should note the limitations on accurate identification and evidencing of AI use.
When using the guidelines to create statements for subject outlines or assessment rules, coordinators are encouraged to add specific details relevant to the task and discipline.
Coordinators should be mindful that if GenAI use is not just allowed but expected, then guidance and support for students learning to use GenAI will be required and student access to tools may need to be supported to promote equity. The University has developed a set of resources to support student learning with GenAI that provides foundational knowledge about tools, prompting, and suggested practices which uphold learning and academic integrity.
You may also wish to check if your faculty, department or school has developed guidelines or a library of example uses relevant to your discipline.
Best practice tips
- Carefully consider the assessment aim and the type of submission when considering what type(s) of AI use may be allowed.
- Be aware of limitations of detection practices re: enforcement.
- Consider giving students specific guidance on common tools and their features as well as on aspects of individual assessment tasks where use might be effective and where it should be avoided.
- It may be useful to illustrate what sort of prompts might reflect reasonable use and what sort of prompts might cross a line.
- Model best practice in acknowledging and citing your own tool use where relevant.
- Discuss with students your reasoning behind the rules, the learning aims of the assignment, and how you believe inappropriate use might harm their learning.
- Where students are asked to describe how they have used a tool, consider making this description part of the assessment rubric and providing guidance on how to do this well. The University has developed a generic template for acknowledging AI tools and technologies which may be adapted as needed. The library has likewise updated advice for referencing GenAI outputs for referencing styles commonly used at the University.
University policy statement
Applicable to all use cases. It is recommended that this appears in all subject outlines.
All work that you submit for assessment at the University must be your own, original work. Where the ideas or words of other people, or outputs produced by tools, including AI and other software tools are included, these must always be appropriately acknowledged and cited. This includes editing and translation assistance or tools (e.g. Grammarly), if permitted. Failure to do so will be reported as potential academic misconduct and subject to appropriate penalties.
All submissions must be produced as authorised and specified in the assessment task as set by the subject coordinator. You are responsible for the quality and content of your final submission.
Specific use-case statements
Note that these are not ‘cumulative’
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Intended mode of AI use
Student works with AI to iteratively develop an original response to a task.
Characteristics of assessment
May be appropriate for those which:
- Assess creative or original outcomes
- Authentically recreate activities common in professions where GenAI tools are embedded in practice
- Focus on the refinement of students’ evaluative capacity.
Assessment rule statement
You may work with AI to produce the final product that you submit for this assessment, blending the work together. The tool used and examples of the ways in which you used it must be described and acknowledged in accompanying text. Failure to do this will be reported as potential academic misconduct and subject to appropriate penalties.
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Intended mode of AI use
Student prompts and evaluates the outputs of GenAI tools to create particular sections or parts of submitted work.
Students plan, coordinate, evaluate and refine the tool outputs.
Characteristics of assessment
May be appropriate for those which:
- Develop skills and knowledge through known learning strategies
- Aim to develop skills relating to management of AI tools and outputs
- Explicitly focus on students’ evaluation of AI produced work including the disciplinary basis for this judgement
Assessment rule statement
You may use AI to produce part of the work that you submit for this assessment, identifying clearly the content that was produced by the tools you used and the content you produced yourself. You must properly acknowledge and identify all AI produced content. Failure to do so will be reported as potential academic misconduct and subject to appropriate penalties.
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Intended mode of AI use
Student works with AI to iteratively develop an original response to a task.
Characteristics of assessment
May be appropriate for those which:
- Assess creative or original outcomes
- Authentically recreate activities common in professions where GenAI tools are embedded in practice
- Focus on the refinement of students’ evaluative capacity
- Aim to develop skills in working with specific AI tools.
Assessment rule statement
You may work with AI to produce the final product that you submit for this assessment, blending the work together. The tool used and examples of the ways in which you used it must be described and acknowledged in accompanying text. If directed to use a particular tool, you must follow this instruction. Failure to comply with these conditions will be reported as potential academic misconduct and subject to appropriate penalties.
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Intended mode of AI use
Student completes the work and AI is used towards the end of the process to edit, refine or clarify, but not to produce original work or rewrite.
Characteristics of assessment
May be appropriate for those which:
- Do not focus on expression / communication skills
- Focus on individual skill development and knowledge acquisition
Assessment rule statement
You may use AI, other software tools or other people’s assistance to help you edit and refine your work. This assistance may only be for the purposes of correcting grammar, spelling and clarity and must be acknowledged appropriately. Failure to acknowledge this, or assistance that is beyond appropriate limits will be reported as potential academic misconduct and subject to appropriate penalties.
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Intended mode of AI use
Student uses AI towards the start of the process to set a plan of action.
Characteristics of assessment
May be appropriate for those which:
- Do not focus on structured / strategic development of a response
Assessment rule statement
You may use AI or other software tools only to help you structure or plan your work. Outputs of these tools may not be submitted as part of the assessment, and you must identify and properly acknowledge the tools you used in this way. Failure to do so will be reported as potential academic misconduct and subject to appropriate penalties.
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Intended mode of AI use
Students may not use AI at any stage of the assessment.
Characteristics of assessment
May be appropriate for those which:
- Focus on building specific and foundational knowledge/skill
Assessment rule statement
You are not permitted to use an AI tool in any way when completing your work. Any use suspected will be reported as potential academic misconduct and subject to appropriate penalties.