Teaching & Learning
- For assessed coursework, AI use is allowed only within university and departmental guidance and may vary by assessment
- Students must not use AI to directly answer an essay question as their own work, and any AI use in assessment must be acknowledged
- The university also supports assessment-level instructor discretion through standard statements indicating whether no AI use, some AI use, or expected AI use applies
Always follow the Generative AI usage guidelines set out by the university and your
department. If you have any doubts about using AI for your assessed work, seek
clarification from your module coordinator.
Remember: A Generative AI tool can be useful collaborator and helpful for brainstorming and
refining ideas. However, you must not use AI to directly answer an essay question as your
assessed work should reflect your own understanding and original thoughts on a topic.
Any use of generative AI in assessment should be explicitly acknowledged in the work and should comply with the University and departmental guidance on the use of AI.
There are three statements available in the Learning Object Repository:
* No Generative AI Tool use for this assessment
* Some Generative AI Tool use for this assessment
* Generative AI Tool use expected for this assessment
- In examinations, AI-enabled use through unauthorized electronic devices is prohibited under the university’s examination misconduct rules
- More generally for assessments, any work generated wholly or partly by AI without proper acknowledgement or referencing is treated as unacceptable academic practice
Possession in examination room of mobile telephones and other small electronic devices, including smart watches;
Illegal electronic communication with other people outside examination hall;
An electronic device shall be considered to be within this Regulation if it is capable of any of the following: communicating electronically within or outside an examination room, connecting to the internet, being uploaded with digital data or information, making audio recordings, a digital memory or storing of audio recordings, uploading digital data or information to another device, displaying digital data or information or playing audio recordings.
Any assessments that are generated in whole or part by AI without appropriate acknowledgment and/or referencing shall be considered Unacceptable Academic Practice.
- Students are directed to seek clarification from tutors or module coordinators if they are unsure whether a particular use is acceptable
- The university explicitly supports students using generative AI as a study tool, presenting it as useful for brainstorming and refining ideas while warning students to apply caution
This document provides guidance and advice to students on how they might want to use Generative AI as a study tool. This document uses a traffic light system approach to alert students to the amount of caution they might want to apply in its use.
Remember: A Generative AI tool can be useful collaborator and helpful for brainstorming and
refining ideas.
You should seek clarification from your academic tutors if you are unsure as to whether it is acceptable to use AI in your studies or assignments.
Research
- It also places responsibility on staff and students to ensure the accuracy of AI outputs used in their work
- For research-related AI use, the university requires transparency about when AI has been used and why, and it states that users must not present AI-generated work as their own
Be clear when you have used AI and the reasons for its use whether in developing teaching and assessment activities, research or administration.
Transparency – it should be clearly stated when Generative AI has been used and also to what extent it has been used. Staff and Students must not present work completed by AI applications as their own and must provide appropriate acknowledgement and accurate references.
Staff and Students using Generative AI outputs in their work are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of its content.
- It also states that AI outputs used in work must be checked for accuracy by the staff or students using them
- The university does not set a specific rule for AI-based data analysis or synthetic data generation, but it does require users to protect personal, sensitive, commercially sensitive, and intellectual-property data when using generative AI
Sharing personal or sensitive data with any generative AI platform has the potential for it to become publicly available. Awareness of the risks to personal and also commercially sensitive data and intellectual property, are crucial to maintaining an ethical and legally compliant approach to AI.
Staff and Students should therefore ensure that they familiarise themselves with the University’s Data Protection Policy and the Information Commissioner’s guidance on the use of AI.
Staff and Students using Generative AI outputs in their work are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of its content.
- The university states that academic and ethical integrity must be maintained in AI use in research
- It requires transparency about AI use and extent of use, appropriate acknowledgement and accurate references, prohibits discriminatory outputs, and warns that failures in these areas could affect research outcomes or amount to academic misconduct
It is essential that AU maintains academic and ethical integrity in its use of AI in learning teaching, and research and also in any related ancillary or administrative activities.
Transparency – it should be clearly stated when Generative AI has been used and also to what extent it has been used. Staff and Students must not present work completed by AI applications as their own and must provide appropriate acknowledgement and accurate references.
Discrimination – when using Generative AI, users must not use outputs that discriminate between individuals or groups based on protected characteristics.
Failing to take into account these factors could affect educational and research outcomes and/or be considered academic misconduct.
Academic Integrity
- Disclosure of AI use is required
- The university says staff and students must clearly state when and to what extent generative AI was used, must provide appropriate acknowledgement and accurate references, and students may also be asked to complete a tool-use statement describing which AI tools they used
The University, including its members, have a responsibility to explain to service users how and when AI has been used.
Transparency – it should be clearly stated when Generative AI has been used and also to what extent it has been used. Staff and Students must not present work completed by AI applications as their own and must provide appropriate acknowledgement and accurate references.
You must always acknowledge any use of Generative AI in your work.
To assist with transparency, you might be asked to engage with a Tool-use statement that outlines which AI tools you have used.
- No explicit policy on AI detection software is defined in the provided sources
- The university frames undisclosed AI-generated assessment work as unacceptable academic practice and plagiarism
- It states that suspected cases will be investigated through the UAP process, and it also instructs university members to report misuse of AI technology or outputs that might breach rules or legislation
Any assessments that are generated in whole or part by AI without appropriate acknowledgment and/or referencing shall be considered Unacceptable Academic Practice.
The University has updated its regulation on Unacceptable Academic Practice, noting that plagiarism includes presenting work generated by AI as if it were your own.
The University will investigate any cases of potential UAP it is alerted to.
Be prepared to report any misuse of AI technology or any results from AI tools which might breach University rules or UK legislation.
Institutional & Administrative
- The university permits staff use of AI in teaching, assessment development, research, and administration, but requires transparent and responsible use
- Staff are expected to support students' effective and appropriate use of generative AI, and colleagues are encouraged to communicate acceptable assessment-level AI use to students through standardized Blackboard statements
Staff should be equipped to support students to use generative AI tools effectively and appropriately in their learning experience.
Be clear when you have used AI and the reasons for its use whether in developing teaching and assessment activities, research or administration.
Individuals and groups using AI technologies are responsible for their actions and must use AI in a responsible and ethical manner.
Colleagues should explain to students the acceptable levels of Generative AI use in their assessments. You are welcome to make use of standardised statements which are available in the Blackboard Learning Object Repository.
- For students, the university identifies Microsoft CoPilot as its recommended AI tool for licensing and data security reasons
- The university warns staff and students not to expose personal, sensitive, commercially sensitive, or intellectual-property data in generative AI systems and requires compliance with the university’s data protection policy and GDPR-related guidance
Sharing personal or sensitive data with any generative AI platform has the potential for it to become publicly available. Awareness of the risks to personal and also commercially sensitive data and intellectual property, are crucial to maintaining an ethical and legally compliant approach to AI.
Staff and Students should therefore ensure that they familiarise themselves with the University’s Data Protection Policy and the Information Commissioner’s guidance on the use of AI.
To ensure compliance with licensing and data security expectations, Aberystwyth University’s
recommended AI tool is Microsoft CoPilot, which is included in the Microsoft 365 package
provided free of charge by the University
- The university has an institution-wide AI statement covering education, research, and administration, and says it will regularly review and update AI-related documentation
- It has adopted the Russell Group principles for generative AI, committed itself to AI literacy for staff and students, and describes collaborative institutional work to communicate assessment expectations through Blackboard materials
Aberystwyth University recognises that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing area that has the potential to transform all aspects of education, research, and administration across the Higher Education sector.
This statement sets out, in broad terms, the benefits and risks of using AI in learning and teaching, research and other University business together with principles which should be adhered to.
Because of the evolving nature of AI, the University will regularly review and, where necessary, update AI-related documentation.
AU has adopted the set of Principles proposed by the Russell Group regarding the use of Generative AI:
1. Universities will support students and staff to become AI-literate.
This is part of the work that Library and Learning Services are undertaking in collaboration with UndebAber and Academic Registry.
The aim of this work is to make it clear to students the expectations regarding their engagement and use of Generative AI in learning and teaching.
DocuMark: Responsible AI Use for Academic Integrity
Knowing your institution's AI policy is step one. DocuMark helps enforce it fairly by empowering universities to manage AI-generated content, prevent cheating, and support student writing through responsible AI use.
Common Questions About University of Aberystwyth's AI Policies
University of Aberystwyth has defined AI policies in 11 of 12 categories, with an overall coverage score of 92%.
Disclosure of AI use is required. The university says staff and students must clearly state when and to what extent generative AI was used, must provide appropriate acknowledgement and accurate references, and students may also be asked to complete a tool-use statement describing which AI tools they used.
The university frames undisclosed AI-generated assessment work as unacceptable academic practice and plagiarism. It states that suspected cases will be investigated through the UAP process, and it also instructs university members to report misuse of AI technology or outputs that might breach rules or legislation. No explicit policy on AI detection software is defined in the provided sources.
The university warns staff and students not to expose personal, sensitive, commercially sensitive, or intellectual-property data in generative AI systems and requires compliance with the university’s data protection policy and GDPR-related guidance. For students, the university identifies Microsoft CoPilot as its recommended AI tool for licensing and data security reasons.