Academic integrity and AI: playing by the rules

Schools, exam boards and universities are writing new rules for AI, and they are not all the same. Knowing how to check the rules, and how to show honestly how you used AI, protects work you have genuinely earned.

The golden rule: check the rules for each task

• There is no single worldwide rule. The University of Oxford says each assessment may have different rules on authorised or unauthorised AI use.
• Many universities sort tasks into categories. The University of Reading uses three: Category 1 (AI may not be used), Category 2 (AI may support learning) and Category 3 (AI use is encouraged and built in).
• At UCL, if there are no explicit instructions, students may use AI only in an assistive role and the final submission must be substantially their own work.
• If the rules are unclear, ask your teacher or module leader before you start, and keep their answer in writing (an email is ideal).

UK qualifications: what JCQ says

• JCQ sets shared rules for UK exam boards. Its guidance on AI in assessments (dated 30 April 2025) says teachers must only accept work that is the student's own.
• Malpractice includes copying or paraphrasing AI content so the work is no longer your own, using AI to complete parts such as analysis, evaluation or calculations, and not acknowledging AI use.
• Misuse of AI can be considered a form of plagiarism and can also involve a false declaration of authenticity, the form you sign to confirm the work is yours.
• JCQ says students cannot be credited for work that is not their own, so AI content you did not independently produce will not earn marks.

How to acknowledge AI properly

• JCQ: name the tool and the date the content was generated, for example 'ChatGPT 3.5 (with URL), 25/01/2025'. Writing only 'AI' or 'ChatGPT' is not acceptable.
• Keep a copy of your prompts and the AI's output in a non-editable form, such as screenshots (JCQ).
• Briefly explain how you used the output, and submit this with your work (JCQ).
• The University of Reading suggests recording the tool and version, the purpose, the stage you used it, the prompts, the outputs you used and how you checked and edited them.
• Any source the AI suggests must be checked by you and referenced in the normal way (JCQ).

What happens if rules are broken

• For UK qualifications, JCQ sanctions range from a warning to losing marks, a zero for a component, or disqualification and being barred from exams for a period.
• At UCL, inappropriate AI use counts as plagiarism, and suspected cases can lead to an investigatory viva, an oral discussion about your work.
• UCL states it does not use AI detectors; a marker talking to you about your work does not necessarily mean they suspect misconduct.
• Teachers may use supervised work, check drafts at intermediate stages or hold short conversations about your work to confirm it is authentic (JCQ).

Protect yourself with good habits

• Keep your drafts, notes and version history (for example in Google Docs or OneDrive) so you can show how your work developed.
• Be ready to explain and defend anything you submit: Oxford says you should be able to do this for all your work.
• Do not let friends paste your work into AI tools or share theirs with you; shared or copied work causes problems for everyone involved.
• When in doubt, leave AI out of assessed work and use it only for revision and practice.