Artificial Intelligence, Assessment and Academic Integrity

The use of generative AI does not automatically constitute academic misconduct. Whether its use in individual courses and specific assessment items is acceptable needs to be communicated by Course Coordinators to student. To assist in any future conversations about how particular assessments have been crafted or developed, all students are advised to retain copies of drafts/versions of submissions. This message should be reinforced in course level discussions around assessments.

However, there is legitimate concern about the use of artificial intelligence for plagiarism, and therefore, University of Newcastle students must follow the Academic Integrity and Ethical Academic Conduct Policy and all students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module (which was updated in January 2024 to include generative artificial intelligence specific information).

Artificial Intelligence Detections

In March 2023, Turnitin announced new functionality for detecting the use of generative AI in written student submissions. Following endorsement by the University Teaching and Learning committee in October 2023, suppression of Turnitin’s AI detection functionality has been removed since January 2024 and is now available.

More information is available on the staff Academic Integrity page and via the Artificial Intelligence SharePoint site.

Accreditation Considerations

The paper Assessment reform for the age of artificial intelligence was released by TEQSA in late 2023.  This document, constructed through expert collaboration, draws on this body of knowledge and outlines directions for the future of assessment. It seeks to provide guidance for the sector on ways assessment practices can take advantage of the opportunities, and manage the risks, of AI, specifically generative AI.

The Artificial Intelligence Working Group has begun considering options for aligning institutional assessment reform with the guiding principles and propositions put forward by TEQSA.

Further Information

"We cannot underestimate the institutional commitment that will be required to respond to AI
- genuine investment in staff development, support, and time to do transformational work"
(Harper, R. TEQSA/CRADLE Webinar ChatGPT - what do we need to know now? 2023)

The Australian Academic Integrity Network (AAIN) identifies “the need for sustainable and adaptable responses to generative AI in learning, teaching and assessment and academic integrity policies and procedures”. The AAIN also stipulates that students must appropriately cite output from generative AI models.

While large language model generative AI technology like ChatGPT is not new, its recent availability has raised concerns about potential misuse among students.  Although AI detection technology has been praised as a solution, it has proven to be unreliable in discerning between AI and human-generated text.

Student motivations for academic misconduct are varied, and to combat this, we might focus our attention on understanding student motivations for cheating.  Jesse Stommel has pointed to a ‘culture of suspicion’ that tends to permeate the space around university assessment and suggests that we aim to instead refocus our attention on improving student engagement.  This could be achieved by incorporating assessment that instructs in how to develop strategies for self-regulated learning, towards becoming “curious and critical thinkers and collaborators” (UON graduate attribute 5).

The Artificial Intelligence Working Group’s Terms of Reference include reviewing “current assessment policies and procedures and make recommendations to TLC about changes to ensure appropriate use of AI, consistent with the University’s academic integrity principles.”

Guided by the Principles and Propositions put forward by TEQSA, the group are progressing these considerations and recommendations.

References

Further Reading

Visit the Artificial Intelligence Working Group SharePoint page for additional resources.

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