GenAI: Inform

From earlier steps (Analyse and Act), you will have determined to either allow GenAI use within defined acceptable limits or prohibit its use for the assessment task.

For each assessment task, you need to inform students:

  1. Whether the use of GenAI technology is acceptable or prohibited.
  2. Where GenAI use is acceptable, define the limits of use.
  3. The use of GenAI tools in their assessment beyond the defined acceptable limits may result in an academic integrity breach as described in the Student Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct Rules, Section 3.

This information should be provided in the Assessment Brief for each assessment task.

Policy note

From Assessment, Teaching and Learning Policy:

(44) Risks to academic integrity associated with coursework teaching and learning are proactively defended against by:

c. explicitly defining and enforcing the acceptable limits of use of technology (including generative artificial intelligence technology) in teaching and learning with respect to the principles of academic integrity, as set out in the Assessment, Teaching and Learning Policy.

The guidelines for managing breaches are found in the SCU Academic Integrity Guidelines.

Example statements indicating GenAI use is prohibited or restricted

Here is an example where GenAI use is prohibited. This information is provided to students in the assessment brief.

You are not permitted to use any text-generating software, including generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), such as chatbots, to complete this assignment. To ensure the integrity of submissions, you may be invited to attend a Zoom meeting with [Unit Assessor] and asked to share your understanding of the assessment task/s and associated concepts. This invitation might be extended to you as a result of a random sampling process, or because a marker raised concerns about the academic integrity of a piece of writing which, in conjunction with other evidence that may include analysis software, has indicated a high probability that GenAI was used in an assessment. Following this meeting, a formal academic integrity breach may be lodged and, based on the SCU Academic Integrity Guidelines, penalties may apply.

Here is an example where GenAI can be used as part of the assessment task, within defined limits, to support knowledge and skills acquisition.

This assessment requires you to outline a new business or product for allied health, fitness or sport in a one-page business plan and reflection. You may use GenAI tools for ideation. This means you can use tools like ChatGPT to:

  • explore existing businesses or products

  • come up with new ideas for a business or product.

However, you cannot use GenAI tools to write any part of your business plan or reflection. That must be your own, original work.

If you use GenAI tools beyond the defined limits (indicated above) to assist with your assessment task, it may result in an academic integrity breach against you as described in the Student Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct Rules, Section 3.

Informing students beyond the assessment brief

In addition to informing students about acceptable use of GenAI in the assessment task brief, it is recommended that information about GenAI use in the unit be provided in:

  1. the unit orientation module GenAI item
  2. classes or workshops discussing GenAI use in the assessments.

Once you have considered the Inform aspects of your assessment, continue with the rest of the assessment design process by clicking on Educate, Check, Evaluate, Analyse, Design and Act.  


Note: Given the rapidly evolving nature of GenAI technologies and largely opinion-based and low-level evidence on emerging practices for use in higher education, this resource represents the status quo at the time of writing (August 2023). As changes to policies and technology develop and evidence for best practice emerges, practice recommendations as outlined here are likely to continue to change and develop.