Generative AI and assessment

Teachers focus on assessing students’ learning, not on detecting potential cheating. However, there is a justified concern that written home assignments may no longer provide a good basis for assessment if students allow ready-made texts created by generative AI to replace their own intellectual effort. Unfortunately, it has also been shown that generative AI has been used in attempts to deceive during examinations.

All institutions need to review their examination practices, and these pages provide advice on how teachers can use AI to support examinations, how to prevent unauthorized use of AI, and how the examination format itself can be adapted. Additionally, there is a page with links related to examination issues.

All departments need to review their examination practices

and these pages provide advice on how teachers can use AI for assessment, how to prevent unauthorized use of generative AI, and how the examination format itself can be adapted. Additionally, there is a page with links related to examination issues.

Four overarching recommendations:

1. Focus on quality, not cheating! Avoid acting solely defensively! Invest in measures that improve the quality of examinations for all students, rather than primarily preventing cheating by a few!
2. Protect the academic learning environment! To be truly effective in the long term, all individual adjustments to the examination itself need to be part of a broader effort to preserve and strengthen learning environments characterized by curiosity-driven interest, critical thinking, and academic integrity.
3. Work collectively and collegially! This is not an area where all responsibility can be placed on individual teachers. Routines, support from management and administration, collegial discussion, and systematic exchange of experiences are needed.
4. Communicate clearly what applies to each course! Naturally, the majority of our students do not cheat - but many are deeply and genuinely unsure where the line is between permissible and impermissible use of generative AI in the courses they follow. Eliminate that uncertainty, but also explain why the line is drawn where it is!