Artificial intelligence in education was brought to our attention with the arrival of ChatGPT in late 2022. Hwang et al. (2020) put forth an overarching descriptive definition of Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIEd) stating

AIEd refers to the use of AI technologies or applications in educational settings to facilitate instruction, learning, and decision making processes of stakeholders, such as students, instructors, and administrators (p. 1).

There is a growing debate on the most effective and ethical approach to the use of Generative AI in higher education (AAIN, 2023). Some ways that people are using AI in learning and assessment, include designing in (using and acknowledging Generative AI to enhance student learning) and designing to minimise the use of Generative AI (discouraging its use in student learning). The approach(es) that you decide to use in your module may depend on the disciplinary nature of your module and your own view/values on the use of Generative AI in this context. Whichever approach you use, you should clearly communicate this to the students in the module documentation and you should encourage dialogue with your students on the use of it in the module. For further guidance to UCD faculty, see our Quick Guide on Generative Artificial Intelligence in Learning and Assessment.

Plagiarism is the inclusion, in any form of assessment, of material without due acknowledgement of its original source  (UCD Student Plagiarism Policy (2021).  This includes traditional ‘copy and paste’ and related intentional (and unintentional) failure to adequately acknowledge source material, collusion,  as well as newer forms of academic misconduct such as contract cheating. 

It can include, but is not limited to: 

• Failing to cite and acknowledge sources properly. 
• Making minor changes to text or paraphrasing from sources like the internet, journals and books, and presenting this as your own words. 
• Working collaboratively with other students but presenting the work as solely your own. 
• Presenting work for an assignment which has also been submitted (in part or whole) for another assignment at UCD or another institution. This is known as ‘self-plagiarism’. 
• Buying assignments from companies such as ‘essay mills’ is never permitted and is a serious breach of the University’s Student Plagiarism Policy and the Student Code of Conduct (Guide to UCD Student Plagiarism, 2021) 

In your assessment design, particularly in early stage modules,  provide students with guidance on what are the different forms of plagiarism (including self-plagiarism), the correct approaches to citation in your discipline including conventions for paraphrasing. Practice what you preach: provide a list of references at the end of each lecture using the citation style that the students are required to use. 

As each school uses different citation styles and versions of styles, provide students with links to the relevant library citation style guides.  Encourage students to organise their references using electronic referencing software. UCD Library provides training in Endnote which allows students to store and manage their references, as well as create a bibliography electronically within MS Word using a number of referencing styles. The Library provides a detailed EndNote Guide. This includes the EndNote course timetable.

UCD Library, as part of the work on information literacy skills, offers a range of supports and resources in this area: a dedicated Academic Integrity Guide, which includes; video tutorials, advice on avoiding plagiarism,  citation styles used in UCD, tips on writing, quotation, paraphrasing and more. 

UCD Librarians work with module coordinators in designing, delivering and assessing information literacy skills, including the ethical use of information.  Librarians are happy to work with you in co–designing and customising inputs appropriate to your discipline and level.

Purchasing of essays/assignments from a third party is often called contract cheating. It is considered a form of plagiarism under UCD’s definition of plagiarism (UCD Student Plagiarism Policy (2021).  In addition, due to the increase in this activity, there has been recent legislation introduced in Ireland, making it an offence to: 'facilitate a learner to cheat in any way; advertise cheating services to learners; and publish advertisements for cheating services to learners'.

• One example of a third party is an ‘essay mill’. These are described as ‘a business that allows customers to commission an original piece of writing on a particular topic so that they may commit academic fraud’. These and similar organisations have assisted in the increase in contract cheating
• Another example of contract cheating is where students sell assignments to other students. 

The first approach is to try to prevent contract cheating occurring in the first place. In a study in Australia (Bretag, et al., 2018), students’ perceptions of cheating likelihood were highest amongst students who: speak a language other than English at home; reported there to be lots of opportunities to cheat; expressed dissatisfaction with the teaching and learning environment; were studying commerce or engineering; assessment tasks that encouraged cheating had short turnaround times and those that are heavily weighted and lack authenticity. Being aware of these variables in your assessment design process in one key approach to reducing its likelihood. 

As many contract cheating sites (‘essay mills’) are very well produced and appear as legitimate learning spaces, it is important to recognise and raise awareness of the ethics behind these sites. At times they provide incentives for students to engage with their products. You need to alert students to the risks associated with engaging with commercial essay mills, including the risk of being blackmailed. 

There has been a growing emphasis in higher education policies and practice to support students to collaborate in their learning through work with peers, in groups and in teams. It is an important skill required by students beyond the institution in the workplace. However there has been a growing uneasiness in higher education around the boundaries between acceptable cooperation or collaboration and unacceptable collusion (see also, Smith (2013). 

Collaboration is a positive aspect of human behaviour, as working with and helping others is a powerful learning experience. Students in particular like to support their peers in informal and formal learning contexts.  Collaborative assignments are on the increase in higher education.   UCD Code of Practice (2021) sets out some guidance on the use and assessment of group work.  In  particular it emphasises the importance of clarity to students around how collaboration is graded: ‘ It shall be made clear how the module will be assessed and whether the assessment strategy is based on the product of the group work, the process of the group work or a combination of both the product and process’ (3.4). In addition, UCD Teaching and Learning gives some guidance on the advantages and disadvantages, design consideration and to prepare students for group work. 

Collusion on the other hand is often described an unwanted behavior and one definition is: 

           ‘Collusion is the presentation by a student of an assessment task as his or her own which:

• In whole or in part is the result of unauthorised collaboration with another person/persons.
• Is plagiarised due to inappropriate collaboration during group work. 
• Involves working with others without permission.
• Is the product of two or more students working together without official approval. 
• Is the product of unauthorised cooperation between the student and another person. 
• Is a form of academic dishonesty (cheating) because it is the same or very similar to that of another student’ (Smith, 2013, p51)

One common area for collusion is gaining ‘significant support’ from family and friends. 

 Given that staff and students struggle with the boundaries between what is authorised and what is not, a key element in addressing this is explaining to students, with examples, what is allowed and what is not allowed. Transparency is key. For example, 

• Sharing answers in an open book exam, where it has been specified that this is not allowed, is collusion. 
• Students studying together in study groups is collaboration. 
• Emotional support and advice from family/friends is appropriate, however, their significant input, or writing/doing aspects of your assignment, is collusion. 

La Trobe University gives some useful advice and examples for students on how to avoid collusion.  It may also be helpful for Schools to have an agreed position on much help is permissible (in terms of proof reading etc.) and to communicate that clearly to students

Another area that students need to be made aware of in relation to their assessment is the issue of copyright. 

Copyright is a form of intellectual property that grants rights to the creators ("authors") of certain categories of works, such as books, songs, plays or films. When you are the owner of a copyright work, you have the exclusive right to copy the work, make the work available to the public and make an adaptation of the work.

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Copyright Guidance 

Copyright allows a person to protect their original material and stops others from using their work without the author’s permission. Students need to respect this ownership and abide by the licences/permission in their assessments when using, for example, text, images, artifacts, etc.

In using copyright materials, however, there are a number of ‘exceptions’ that may apply to those in Higher Education. These enable one to use copyright protected works without the need to seek permission, so long as certain conditions are met.

One particular exception is ‘Fair Dealing’, which relates to any individual in relation to their work. This allows one to copy limited extracts of a work provided its use is for non-commercial purposes (such as education and research) and that will not prejudice the interests of the copyright owner.  Such use must be accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement identifying the author and title of the work. Examples may include: using an excerpt in presentations - however it must be a ‘reasonable proportion’ of the original work, i.e. a volume that is considered fair. Another exception, specific to education,  is ‘Educational Usage’, where one may use copyright materials in the preparation of and delivery of teaching, including in an online environment (E.g. within an authenticated site such as our VLE Brightspace). One may also use such materials in the course of an examination. 

To prevent students (or indeed yourself) in breaching copyright: 

• Be familiar with the UCD Library Guidance on Copyright for Students; Copyright for Teaching 
• Give sufficient acknowledgement of the source material
• Be  aware of the different educational licenses and the boundaries of ‘fair dealing’, i.e. User guidelines for the Higher Education Licence for universities and colleges. 
• Encourage students to provide links (DOI) to online articles/journal papers that they use to capture ‘use data’ and ensure appropriate renewals of licenced materials.
• Become familiar with, and alert student to, other key resources in this area: UCD Library Guides: Copyright Basics; The key legislation for Ireland, i.e. Copyright & Related Rights Act, 2000 and the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act, 2019.