AI Rules and Responsibilities

Abertay supports the responsible and critical engagement with Generative AI as part of your studies. However:

• Misuse of AI can lead to academic misconduct, depending on your level of study and the rules set in your assessment brief.
• Using AI to generate work on your behalf and presenting it as your own, without acknowledgement, may be treated as academic misconduct under the University’s Code of Student Discipline.
• Tutors and assessment briefs have the final say on what is permitted.

AI may sometimes be permitted to support your learning. For example, some tutors allow you to use AI for:

• Brainstorming ideas or planning early drafts
• Getting simpler explanations of complex concepts
• Exploring background material or generating an initial outline
• Synthesising perspectives before refining them in your own words

Always check your assessment brief, as requirements vary. For more practical examples of how AI might be allowed to support your studies, see AI for Study Skills, AI for Writing, and AI for Researching a Topic.

AI is not normally allowed to create or replace substantial parts of your academic work. Doing so may be treated as misconduct. Examples include:

• Submitting AI-generated text or images as if they were your own
• Using AI to write large sections of an essay, report, or project
• Copying AI outputs into your work without acknowledgement

To understand more about why these uses are risky see AI Risks and Limitations.

Always check your assessment brief, as requirements vary. 

Transparency is key to responsible AI use. To maintain academic integrity, you should:

• Always work in Abertay’s Microsoft 365 account so your version history is automatically created to evidence your own work (see Essential Digital Know-How: Saving, Backups, and File Versions for more guidance).
• Acknowledge AI use where it has contributed to your work (see Acknowledging AI use).
• Follow the University’s guidance on referencing AI — normally you should acknowledge AI use (not cite or reference it), unless your tutor or assessment requires otherwise (see Referencing AI).
• Be open with tutors about when and how you’ve used AI.
• If you have a SP&D plan, use your AI Digital Sticker (if this is included in your plan).

The University’s Code of Student Discipline: Academic Misconduct treats misuse of AI as a form of academic misconduct — specifically, using AI tools to generate work and presenting its ideas as your own without proper acknowledgement.

Misusing AI in this way is treated in the same way as other offences, including plagiarism, contract cheating, and falsification of data. The policy applies to all assessed work (in-class, online, off-campus).

If a suspected breach occurs, the University may investigate under its academic misconduct procedures and impose sanctions depending on the severity of the offence. When you submit written work, Turnitin’s AI Indicator tool may be used to check for possible AI-generated text. You will not normally see the results yourself. The tool does not decide misconduct — your tutors and Academic Discipline Officers use it as part of their academic judgment. For more information, see our page on the Turnitin AI Indicator Tool.

The university provides important support when it comes to AI use:

• You must be told clearly if AI use is restricted in a module or assessment.
• If your work is flagged for possible AI use, you will have the chance to discuss this with staff.
• You are entitled to guidance on using AI responsibly, both from your tutors (in assessments) and from the Study Skills team.