With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies starting to reshape teaching and learning at universities, the University of Cape Town (UCT) aims to provide an enabling environment and systematic approaches to shape and support staff and students in responsible and ethical use of AI.
Professor Brandon Collier-Reed, deputy vice-chancellor: teaching and learning at UCT, yesterday (15 July 2025) announced that the Senate’s Teaching and Learning Committee has endorsed the UCT AI in Education Framework.
Prof Collier-Reed says the endorsement of the framework was as a result of UCT moving with the times as AI technologies become part of our daily lives.
“Staff and students are using tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in innovative and productive ways; while at other times these technologies present significant challenges, requiring us to rethink teaching pedagogies, assessment practices and the fundamentals of what a university experience should be, and what our qualifications should signify in a changing world.”
Prof Collier-Reed says the framework, focusing primarily on generative AI, represents an institutional position on how UCT’s teaching and learning community can best respond to and shape the advent of AI technologies.
Given the rapid development and take-up of AI technologies, the framework provides both a set of overarching principles for ethical and responsible use and promotes three pillars for AI engagement:
- Promoting AI literacy for staff and students.
- Promoting and ensuring assessment integrity.
- Exploring and investing in AI-enabled opportunities for innovation in teaching, learning and curriculum design.
Prof Collier-Reed says the pillars were designed to give focus to core initiatives that can support the UCT teaching community through providing a roadmap of activities for the short- and medium-term, as well as outlining the roles and responsibilities for different stakeholder groups in operationalising the framework.
“Responding to AI in teaching and learning will require the commitment of the entire teaching and learning community as we come together to shape our future with intention and integrity,” he says.
The endorsement of the framework comes after an extensive engagement process with stakeholders which included faculties, support departments, student representatives and the UCT AI Initiative.
“Some key messages from the consultations were to foreground academic integrity practices, ensure equity for staff and students in accessing AI technologies in teaching and learning, and promote staff and student AI literacies and capabilities.”
Given the rapidly changing space, the framework’s roadmap and set of activities will be updated regularly to keep pace with new developments.
Meanwhile, Prof Collier-Reed says the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee has agreed to discontinue the use of Turnitin AI Score, which flags passages of writing in student work considered to be AI-generated.
“AI detection tools are widely considered to be unreliable and can produce both false positives and false negatives,” he adds. “The continued use of such scores risks compromising student trust and academic fairness.
“The Senate Teaching and Learning Committee has now agreed that use of the AI Score should be discontinued, and this feature in Turnitin will no longer be available at UCT from 1 October 2025.”