Utilisation of artificial intelligence in teaching and studies at Laurea University of Applied Sciences

General guidelines

1. As a rule, the use of AI is permitted and its utilisation must always be disclosed.
2. AI may be used to supplement and support teaching and learning activities, but it cannot be used to replace the teaching, guidance or other learning materials provided by teachers.
3. Students should be informed of the principles and disadvantages of using AI. AI can be discussed, for example, in the early stages of studies, study-related guidance sessions, and thesis seminars, as well as in connection with methodological surfaces.
4. Remember to always pay adequate attention to privacy issues, data protection concerns, and the terms of use of AI services. The use of AI may sometimes require the disclosure of personal information, such as your name or email address. Students and teachers should ensure that they only provide information they are prepared to share. Never process any confidential data, such as those related to the business operations of a working life partner, in an AI service.
5. Sources must always be referenced, even if the text was produced with the help of an AI. For more information on how to reference your sources at Laurea, see Laurea’s referencing guidelines. AI cannot be used directly as an expert source, and the correctness of the sources used by the AI to produce the texts must be verified.
6. Remember to always use AI ethically. Do not use AI in a derogatory manner or in any way that violates any applicable laws, rules or regulations.
7. Individual courses may deviate from these recommendations for a justified reason. In such cases, students must be clearly informed of the exceptions and their justifications.

Instructions for students

1. Students are always responsible for the contents of the texts they submit. While various AI applications may be able to produce seemingly believable and relevant texts, they may still contain factual errors. AI should never be used to produce a final assignment or thesis text, and students must never attempt to pass off any AI-created texts or images as their own work. Any cases of fraud will be processed in accordance with the Laurea University of Applied Sciences degree regulations.
2. AI-based language models can be used to edit and refine texts. The use of language models for linguistic and text management is justified when the goal is producing a grammatically and structurally coherent text. A language model can be used to format existing texts or generate ideas for the work that will be written by the author.
3. The student must explain what AI has been utilised and how, if they have used it in their assignment or thesis work.
4. Teachers provide guidance on how to use AI, and students must follow these guidelines.
5. Avoid referencing any claims that cannot be sourced. AIs can provide information that has not been verified, so students should ensure that any AI-issued information is reliable and verifiable, for example by referencing a corresponding expert source.
6. We recommend familiarising yourself with the AI tools offered by Laurea.

Educational planning – AI-related considerations

1. When planning learning exercises and evaluations, teachers must ensure that the related studies cannot be completed with the help of an AI or language model alone. For example, learning exercises can be tightly integrated to the learning material at hand or to some other less-known case, applied example, or working life assignment. We recommend testing your learning exercises by entering them into a language model and checking whether it can produce an acceptable answer.
2. Your assignments should emphasise your students’ ability to develop their personal understanding and competence: make, build, select, analyse, reflect.
3. You can ask your students to interpret images or create graphical presentations.
4. You can instruct your students to add personal examples to their analyses.
5. You can encourage your students to document their work and reflect on what they have learned throughout the learning process.
6. Teaching critical thinking is essential. It is important to emphasise that AI is not always right, nor is it able to take every factor affecting it into account in complex situations and circumstances.
7. Focus on increasing the visibility of individual competence. Teachers can utilise “explain in your own words” video exams, group exams, and on-campus sessions to allow students to demonstrate their competence.
8. Consider emphasising future-oriented perspectives in your assignments.
9. Remember to mandate the correct source referencing practices, in accordance with Laurea’s referencing guidelines.
10. Teachers must remain aware of the rapid pace of development of AI technologies.

Referencing the use of AI

The use of AI must be clearly indicated in a text whenever it is utilised in the production or editing of any texts or images. Remember to also explain how it has been utilised, for example in reading information sources and analysing material.

When AI is used to edit the grammar and content of a text, this fact must be disclosed in the introduction to the text, for example in the following manner: "ChatGPT has been used to edit the grammar and content of this report."

You must also specify this at the end of your list of sources. Example:
"ChatGPT (or some other AI program) has been used to modify the grammar of this text."

For more detailed instructions on how to reference the use of AI, see Laurea’s referencing guidelines.

AI-related fraud

The misuse of AI is treated similarly to other forms of fraud. Any cases of fraud will be handled in accordance with the instructions given on cheating and plagiarism in section 28 of the Laurea University of Applied Sciences degree regulations. If a student becomes guilty of AI-related fraud, their performance will be rejected. The teacher who noticed the fraud will notify the teacher responsible for the study unit and the director of the university unit. Fraud always results in the rejection of the performance and loss of the attempt. Reproducing AI-produced materials as one’s own work is prohibited and will result in the rejection of the study performance. A performance can be deemed fraudulent if it is sufficiently likely that it was made by an AI, or the use of AI has not been disclosed or referenced correctly. A student who is deemed guilty of fraud can also be subjected to disciplinary action in the form of a written warning or a temporary suspension for up to one year. Laurea applies the guidelines of the National Advisory Board on Research Ethics in Finland, set up by the Ministry of Education and Culture, concerning good scientific practices and the processing of violations thereof.