Using AI in Your Studies – Guidelines for Students

Learning comes first
AI should support learning, not replace it. AI use must never undermine the intended learning outcomes of a course or assignment.

Originality and responsibility
Students remain responsible for all submitted work. Original thinking, analysis, and judgement must always be their own.

Transparency is required
Students should be able to explain when, how, and why AI was used. Assignments may require formal documentation of AI use.

Use AI critically and ethically
AI-generated content should always be verified and evaluated critically. All use of AI must follow Hanken's principles for academic integrity, data protection, and responsible conduct.

AI as a tool, not a substitute
AI can support idea generation, language development, feedback, and problem-solving, but it cannot replace human understanding, reflection, or academic judgement.

The Traffic Light Model helps teachers, examiners, and supervisors communicate how AI may be used in a course, assignment, or thesis. The model provides a common framework, but it does not replace course-specific instructions.

The examiner or supervisor is always responsible for deciding how AI may be used and for communicating these expectations clearly to students. While the Traffic Light category indicates the overall level of permitted AI use, the specific rules, requirements, restrictions, and reporting expectations are determined by the teacher based on the learning outcomes of the course or assignment.

Always follow the instructions provided by your teacher. Two assignments with the same Traffic Light category may have different requirements depending on the purpose of the task and the intended learning outcomes.

🔴 Red: AI is not allowed.

🟡 Yellow: AI may be used as a support tool (students need to report and reflect how AI supported their work)

🟢 Green: AI is allowed but not required.

🔵 Blue: AI use is required (students need to report and reflect how AI supported their work)

🟣 Purple: AI is fully integrated into the assignment.

The purpose of AI reporting is to support transparency, reflection, and learning, not to monitor AI use. By documenting how AI was used, you help make your learning process visible and demonstrate your own contribution, critical thinking, and decision-making.

The examiner decides whether an AI report is required and how it should be submitted. You can find Hanken's AI report template below in both PDF and editable Word format.

Remember to include any AI tools used in your reference list. Including the version number is optional but may be useful in some cases.

Example:

OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT (Version GPT-5.2) [Large language model]

Using AI does not change the principles of academic integrity. You are always responsible for the work you submit, regardless of whether AI was used during the process. AI can support your learning, but it cannot take responsibility for your work, your decisions, or your academic judgement.

What Does Academic Integrity Mean?
Academic integrity means being honest, transparent, and responsible in your academic work. When using AI, this includes:

- Following the AI instructions provided for your course or assignment.
- Being transparent about AI use when required.
- Verifying information generated by AI.
- Taking ownership of the final work you submit.
- Ensuring that your analysis, reasoning, and conclusions remain your own.

Using AI Responsibly
AI can be valuable for supporting learning, idea development, feedback, language improvement, and problem-solving. However, AI-generated content can contain mistakes, biases, fabricated references, and incorrect information. You are expected to critically evaluate AI outputs rather than accept them uncritically.

A useful rule is:

If you cannot explain, defend, or justify a piece of work yourself, it should not be part of your submission.

What May Constitute Academic Misconduct?

Examples include:

❌ Using AI when it is not permitted by the course or assignment instructions.
❌ Submitting AI-generated text, analysis, code, or other content as your own work.
❌ Hiding or failing to disclose AI use when reporting is required.
❌ Submitting AI-generated facts, references, data, or quotations without verification.
❌ Allowing AI to replace your own analysis, interpretation, or conclusions.

Whether AI was involved or not, all cases of suspected academic misconduct are handled according to Hanken's procedures for academic integrity and misconduct.

How Can You Avoid Problems?

✅ Follow the Traffic Light category and course-specific instructions.
✅ Save drafts and important versions of your work.
✅ Document AI use when required.
✅ Verify facts, references, and sources generated by AI.
✅ Be prepared to explain your work and your decisions.
✅ Ask your teacher or supervisor if you are unsure what is allowed.

Remember
AI can assist your work, but it cannot replace your learning.

The goal of your studies is not simply to produce an answer, but to develop knowledge, critical thinking, judgement, and professional competence. Your learning process matters just as much as the final result.

Unlike coursework, different parts of the thesis process may require different levels of AI use.

AI can support learning, productivity, and research processes, but it must never replace the student' own critical thinking, academic judgement, methodological competence, or responsibility for the final work.

Students remain fully responsible for the content, quality, accuracy, and integrity of their thesis, regardless of whether AI tools have been used.

Guiding principles:
- AI should support, not replace, academic work.
- Originality, critical thinking, and independent judgement remain essential.
- AI use must be transparent and documented when required.
- All AI-generated information must be verified before use.
- AI use must comply with academic integrity, copyright, data protection, and research ethics requirements.

Examples of permitted AI use

AI may generally be used to support:

✅ Brainstorming and topic development

✅ Planning and project organisation

✅ Literature search support

✅ Language review and proofreading

✅ Translation and language assistance

✅ Coding and programming support

✅ Data processing and data visualisation assistance

✅ Generating alternative explanations or perspectives

✅ Creating draft interview questions, surveys, or research instruments for further refinement

Examples of restricted or prohibited AI use

AI should not be used to:

❌ Generate research findings that are presented as the student's own results

❌ Produce the final academic analysis without substantial human contribution

❌ Draw conclusions on behalf of the student

❌ Replace critical evaluation of sources

❌ Fabricate references, citations, data, or research results

❌ Circumvent ethical review, confidentiality requirements, or research regulations

Documentation and transparency

Students are expected to document AI use in accordance with programme, subject, and thesis requirements.

Supervisors may request:

- AI usage reports
- Prompt examples
- Version histories
- Drafts showing the development of the work
- Documentation describing how AI contributed to the process

The purpose of documentation is to support transparency and demonstrate the student's own contribution to the work.

The role of supervisors and examiners

Supervisors and examiners are responsible for communicating clear expectations regarding AI use within their discipline.

Requirements may vary between subjects, methodologies, and thesis components. Examonators and supervisors may therefore permit, restrict, or prohibit different forms of AI use depending on the learning objectives, research methods, and ethical considerations of the thesis.

Important

Documentation is intended to support responsible and transparent AI use in thesis work. AI can be a valuable academic tool, but it never replaces independent thinking, scholarly judgement, or responsibility for the final thesis.

Can I use ChatGPT or other AI tools to write my assignment?

It depends on which Traffic Light category the assignment belongs to. In the Red category, AI use is prohibited. In Yellow, Blue, Purple and Rainbow, AI is permitted or recommended – but you must report its use according to the instructions. However, Hanken recommends that all students use Copilot, which protects data.

 

What happens if I use AI in an assignment where it is prohibited?

It counts as cheating. You risk disciplinary action according to Hanken's action plan. AI detection tools can be used by the examiner, and even though they sometimes give false positives, you must be able to show your writing process and save versions of your work.

How do I report AI use correctly?

Use Hanken's AI report template. Describe:

•    What you used AI for

•    How much AI influenced your work

•    How you reflected on the role of AI

•    How you ensured academic integrity and data protection

•    How your work developed before and after AI



See example (copy content is prohibited):

What does AI literacy mean?

That you:

•    Understand how AI works and affects society

•    Can collaborate with AI in a critical and ethical manner

•    Use AI as a support – not as a replacement

Do I have to save old versions of my work?

Yes. Save all half-finished versions until the work has been approved and assessed. Use, for example, the date in the file name. This helps you to show your own contribution and protects you against false accusations of cheating.

What is my responsibility if AI provides incorrect information?

You are always responsible for the content of your work – even if it has been generated by AI. You must verify facts and references. Submitting fabricated data or references is always cheating.

Can my teacher prohibit the use of AI?

Yes. Teachers have the right to prohibit AI if it hinders the achievement of the course learning outcomes. 

What AI tools does Hanken offer?

•    Microsoft Copilot (chatbot/language model)

•    Panopto (automatic transcription)

•    Feedback Fruits (peer review with AI support)

•    Scopus AI (literature search)