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We have defined three categories of generative AI (GenAI) use that will help you to understand appropriate academic use of GenAI tools.
The three categories promote responsible GenAI use that will uphold academic integrity. This guidance is aimed at staff, although students may find it helpful as well. Students can find advice for GenAI use here.
Staff are expected to clarify to students how GenAI can and cannot be used in their assessments; these three categories give a framework staff can use to do so. They are designed to support staff in considering and clarifying what is, and is not, acceptable.
There are no circumstances where students may use GenAI to gain unfair academic advantage. This constitutes academic misconduct (see Academic Manual 9.2.5).
Using GenAI to support learning
We recognise that GenAI will be used by students at many different stages in their learning process, including preparing for assessments.
Our goal is to make sure that students are using GenAI in ways that support their learning, enhance their ability to achieve their Programme Learning Outcomes, and prepare them to succeed in their future careers. Inappropriate use of GenAI will undermine all of these benefits and damage their learning.
We must communicate with students so that they are fully aware of the parameters of the assessments, particularly in relation to the use of GenAI.
UCL is not investing in GenAI detection software. Staff must not submit student work into such tools, including GenAI themselves, as this may compromise students' intellectual property and personal data rights. It must also be made clear to students that they must not upload any sensitive data to GenAI systems without taking into account UCL's data protection requirements. Approvals and consents are likely to be required, as such sensitive data usage should be overseen by a staff supervisor. Reference must be made to UCL's separate data protection guidance.
In addition to concerns about students’ personal data rights, there is not yet sufficient evidence that GenAI is able to contribute effectively and without bias to the process of marking student work. As a result, staff should not use GenAI to mark student work.
Keeping up with the developments
GenAI tools are being developed at a rapid rate, and with which educational uses of them are evolving. It’s important that staff refer back to this page and the GenAI Hub, and check for new developments in their own disciplines whenever they have the opportunity. There may, for example, be some emergent tools that are particularly relevant for your subject area. It is important to note that issues may emerge with some GenAI tools which mean they are no longer acceptable to be used.
UCL’s Academic Integrity Policies and Processes are currently being reviewed and updated, and will be available shortly. Student-facing guidance on academic integrity and academic misconduct is available in the Academic Integrity web pages.
Guidance
Colleagues from across UCL have pooled their expertise to offer a three-tiered categorisation of GenAI use in an assessment. They are broadly defined to make sure that for each assessment, staff and students have a shared understanding of whether GenAI tools can be used and to what extent.
These categories help staff to design, set and advise students on their assignments in a way that will enhance student learning. Staff can use these categories to discuss how much students can use GenAI in the assessment and for which parts of the assessment.
Staff should discuss with students the category that their assessments fall into at the beginning of each module, and again as specific assessment deadlines approach.
If you have questions, please discuss them with your Faculty Education Teams, who can advise along with the HEDS-Faculty Partnership Team.
Students should always be strongly encouraged to take a critical approach to the use of any output from a GenAI tool, as they can generate superficial, inaccurate and unhelpful outputs.
The categories of assessment
Category 1. GenAI tools cannot be used*
The purpose and format of these assessments makes it inappropriate or impractical for GenAI tools to be used.
A Category 1 assessment must be secure, and it must be possible to verify that the student did not use GenAI tools (e.g., due to invigilation). An assessment which does not meet these conditions should not be classed as Category 1.
Assessments where the use of GenAI is wholly inappropriate for the delivery of the specific learning activities or skills to be assessed might include, for example, demonstrating foundation level skills such as remembering, understanding, independently developing critical thinking skills, and applying knowledge or demonstrating fundamental skills that will be required throughout the programme. Students may still use GenAI tools in a limited way to prepare for the assessment (e.g. as a revision tutor).
Such assessments are likely to be designed to support the development of knowledge and skills that students will require in order to be able to study successfully and effectively, including with the use of GenAI tools in other contexts and in future assessments.
There should be a clear rationale for the assessment being in this category (for example, pedagogy, employability, etc), and this rationale should be communicated to students.
- Examples of Category 1 assessments include:
- In-person unseen examinations
- Class tests
- Vivas
- Some laboratories and practicals
- Discussion-based assessments
- Presentations with a significant Q&A/ viva component.
Students believed to have ignored the categorisation will undergo the standard academic misconduct procedure.
Note that in UCL’s Language and Writing review in the Academic Manual (9.2.2b), it is permissible for a third party to “check areas of academic writing such as structure, fluency, presentation, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and language translation.” However, “this may be considered Academic Misconduct if substantive changes to content have been made by the reviewer or software or at their recommendation or, in cases of language translation, if the student is being assessed on their ability to translate or use a language other than English.”
- *Students with a Summary of Reasonable Adjustments (SORA)
Students with a Summary of Reasonable Adjustments (SORA) may still be permitted to use other assistive technology required. Staff should clarify if there are GenAI tools that are exempt in each case.
Category 2. GenAI tools can be used in an assistive role*
Students are permitted to use GenAI tools in a limited, critical and responsible way. The student should still be the author of their own work – in other words, GenAI should be limited to supporting and assisting the student in completing the assessment, and should not be completing the assessment (entirely or only in part) on the student’s behalf. Students may not use GenAI to gain unfair academic advantage (see below).
GenAI tools can be used to enhance and support the development of specific skills. For instance, students might use GenAI for tasks such as data analysis, pattern recognition, or generating insights. Here, the use of GenAI is not in itself a learning outcome (and so will not usually be rewarded with marks, as with other assistive tools like referencing software). Different students have different skills; tutors should consider whether individual members of their cohort may face barriers to using different tools, and how these might be overcome or reinforced by assessment guidance. For support with this area, tutors can contact the Arena representative on their HEDS-Faculty Partnership Team.
It is essential that tutors set clear expectations for GenAI use, and are explicit about what constitutes misuse. Note that 9.2.6.c in the Academic Manual states that “each module leader is responsible for informing students of the extent to which they are permitted to use GenAI tools in each assessment. Evidence of use where there has not been a clear direction from the module leader will not be penalised.” UCL’s GenAI Teaching Toolkit has further guidance, as well as a slide deck to help tutors prepare to discuss these expectations with students.
- Examples of how GenAI could be used in Category 2 assessment include:
- supporting the writing process in a limited manner (e.g., as a proofreader or to review academic tone)
- as a support tutor
- supporting a particular process such as testing code or translating content (as relevant to the individual discipline)
- giving feedback.
Category 3. GenAI has an integral role
GenAI can be used as a primary tool through during the assessment process.
Students will demonstrate their ability to use GenAI tools effectively and critically to tackle complex problems, make informed judgments, and generate creative solutions. The assessment will provide an opportunity to demonstrate effective and responsible use of GenAI. The tutor should support and guide the students in the use of GenAI to ensure equity of experience, for example by adding guidance in using the relevant tools to lectures, seminars or workshops. Since it is a key part of the assessment, effective and responsible use of GenAI will likely be part of the marking criteria.
- Examples of where GenAI tools could be used as an integral part of the assessment include:
- generating ideas
- comparing content (AI generated and human generated)
- creating content in particular styles
- producing summaries
- analysing content
- reframing content
- researching and seeking answers
- creating artwork (images, audio and videos)
- developing code
- translating content
- generating initial content to be critiqued by students.
Notes on academic integrity
If GenAI is misused in assessment, this is considered under the category of plagiarism or falsification, not contract cheating.
Students must acknowledge GenAI use, but do not need to cite it. GenAI is not an author, and it rarely repeats responses to prompts. As it does not offer a stable source of information, citations would not serve their usual purpose. Guidance on acknowledging GenAI is below.
In the event that you suspect student work has made inappropriate use of GenAI, you should report it in the same way as any other Academic Misconduct, using the Student Academic Misconduct Report Form (download), to your Exam Board Chair who may initiate an Investigatory Viva. Find more details on the process in UCL's Academic Manual. The purpose of the viva will be to assess whether, on the balance of probabilities, there is prima facie evidence that would support the conclusion that the work, or sections of it, were not authored by the student. Find guidance on conducting an Investigatory Viva for academic year 2024-25.
Note that once submissions have been anonymously marked on merit, they may be deanonymised if it is necessary to discuss the submission with the student to determine if an Academic Misconduct investigation is warranted. See the Academic Misconduct Myth-buster on UCL's Feedback and Assessment SharePoint site, where you can find more information and documents related to the Feedback and Assessment programme (UCL staff members can access with their UCL login).
Guidance on acknowledging use of and referencing GenAI
Where students are using GenAI in assessed work, they should acknowledge how they have used it as part of their assessment submission.
Find guidance for students on how to acknowledge the use of generative AI.