For Teachers

To answer this question, we will interview selected lecturers in the winter semester 2024/25 and produce video contributions on critical thinking and AI.

In the following, we have listed a number of ways to help students understand the importance and value of independent academic work. You can find more detailed information on the individual points in this pdf document.

• Talking to students about academic writing
• Talking to students about good scientific practice
• Talk to students about what "personal contribution" means in the context of a course
• Talk to students about the framework conditions for the use of generative AI at the University of Graz and what consequences under examination law in the event of attempted cheating can be initiated in the event of attempted cheating
   

You can also talk to students about the importance of writing for their personal learning processes and intellectual development.
Writing during one's studies can be an opportunity...

• ...to acquire knowledge
• ...to deal with complexity
• ...to ask your own questions and search for an answer
• ...learn to use writing as a thinking tool
• ...to communicate knowledge

Trying out academic writing is therefore an opportunity to further develop your own writing and thinking skills. It is particularly important to note that the points mentioned are not specific to academic writing, but also apply to other forms of writing (e.g. in professional contexts).

Click here for more detailed information on the individual points.
 

In the section "Identifying and dealing with suspected cases of unauthorised use of AI", it is explained that the use of AI cannot be reliably proven, but that some indicators can be used to substantiate suspicions of ghostwriting or AI writing assistance. It also describes exemplary scenarios, measures and legal principles for dealing with suspected cases.

If students use generative AI technologies in their work and do not label this appropriately, you can interpret this undeclared use as an "attempt to deceive" and initiate appropriate measures (see § 25 para. 6, § 37 para. 4, § 38 para. 8, § 39 para. 9, § 40 para. 1-4 Statutes of the University of Graz Study Regulations and section "Identification and handling of suspected cases of unauthorised use of AI"). For further information on the labelling requirement, see also the question " How should students identify the use of AI in written work?

When submitting a thesis (BA, MA thesis, dissertation), students must sign a declaration of independence (see e.g. instructions for submitting a BA thesis). In this declaration, students declare that they will cite all sources used and work in accordance with the principles of good scientific practice. This also includes avoiding any violation of the obligation to label the software used and the way in which it is used. This means that students must always document the use of generative AI in their theses (e.g. in the introduction or in the methods chapter), even if generative AI tools are not explicitly mentioned in the declaration of independence.

Furthermore, there are no binding general rules for labelling the use of AI by students at the University of Graz. However, the orientation framework recommends that the use of generative AI should always be labelled and documented. In most disciplines, there is still no consensus on how the use of generative AI technologies should be documented and labelled. Teachers can therefore decide how students should document the use of generative AI in their work. As a guide, this handout presents various ways in which writers can document and label their use of AI in writing and research processes.

If students use AI technologies in their work in a way that contradicts these points, this may be considered an attempt to cheat, which may result in a negative assessment of the examination results (see § 25 para. 6, § 37 para. 4, § 38 para. 8, § 39 para. 9, § 40 para. 1-4 Statutes of the University of Graz Study Regulations and section "Identification and handling of suspected cases of unauthorised use of AI").