Draft principles for assuring academic standards in the age of AI
| Date: | October 19 - 2026 |
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QAA has published draft sector principles for assuring academic standards in the age of AI, and is inviting feedback from providers, students and other stakeholders.
Developed with QAA’s Sector Advisory Group, the principles are designed to give providers a shared reference point for one question: does an assessment genuinely show what a student has learned?
The principles are rooted in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education and focus on assessment design and validity rather than particular tools, so they remain agile and relevant as technology changes. They are intended to apply from further education through to doctoral level, and to sit alongside existing regulatory requirements and providers’ own policies.
Developed with leading voices in assessment design, academic integrity, and students
The Sector Advisory Group brings together internationally recognised researchers in assessment, feedback and academic integrity. Alongside them sit institutional leaders, practitioners and student representatives from across the UK’s four nations and beyond.
Meet the Sector Advisory Group
Phil Maull, Nations Enhancement Manager and project lead at QAA, said: “Assessment validity underpins the value of education and it’s critical the sector gets this right. We’ve brought some of the most respected voices in assessment together with students and practitioners, and the result is something providers can reference now, whatever their context. These principles aren’t about banning AI or relying on detection. They’re about designing assessment effectively so that students, staff and employers can trust the outcomes. We want to ensure they work in practice, so please share your feedback with us as the principles are refined.”
The principles are in draft and have not yet been agreed or endorsed. Feedback will shape the final version. It will be published later this year alongside shared definitions of key assessment terms and recommendations for further action.