FAQ

The examination regulations of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena do not yet explicitly regulate or sanction the use of ChatGPT and other bots (hereinafter referred to as "ChatGPT" or "AI") by students during examinations. Nevertheless, such use is currently not permitted from an examination law perspective, unless the examiner has explicitly authorised the use and provided it with framework conditions.

In the Declaration of Academic Integrity, students declare that they will complete the examination independently and without any resources or only using the specified resources and sources. If students use AI applications in written examinations or examinations without supervision, this would constitute deception about the independence of their performance or the use of an unauthorised resource. This must be penalised in accordance with the relevant examination regulations. In the event of deception for the first time and after prior consultation with the student, the examination will be graded 5.0.

However, as the unauthorised use of AI is almost impossible to detect, you should either explicitly allow the use of AI or adapt your examination content so that the use of AI is only slightly or not at all attractive.

Didactic impulses for implementation can be found on the page on "AI in teaching".

In this case, you must explicitly permit the use of AI as a resource. Students must then declare the use of e.g., ChatGPT or other tools for the examination.

In light of the potential use of AI tools in seminar papers and final theses, it became necessary to update the Declaration of Academic Integrity. This was carried out by the members of the „AI in teaching“ working group in consultation with the Legal Department and essentially excludes the use of generating AI tools for the time being.

However, in an additional Declaration of Permitted Resources, which can be adapted by the examiner, the use of AI tools can be permitted under certain conditions and with specific documentation requirements. Both documents can be downloaded from Hanfried de.

Here you will find further information on the Declaration of Academic Integrity de

Didactic impulses for implementation can be found on the page on "AI in teaching".

The examination format of a written online examination under online supervision via Zoom, which was widely used during the Corona pandemic, is no longer recommended due to increased susceptibility to deception, e.g., through the use of generative AI and limited supervision options. 

If you have a larger group, you can request the simultaneous use of several PC pools for the examination period and thus divide the group. Please note that additional supervisory staff must be scheduled for this purpose. 

Some lecturers at the University of Jena are experimenting with the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach to conducting written online examinations in presence on various university premises.  However, this approach creates its own challenges, such as security, data protection and equal opportunities, which need to be overcome. The Office for Digital Transformation is therefore aiming to develop a resilient and scalable BYOD concept for the University of Jena in the near future together with teaching staff and students as part of the digitalization stakeholder groups. 

The official website for ‘AI in Teaching’, which is maintained by the Academy for Teaching Development and the Office for Digital Transformation, provides a comprehensive overview of the latest information, further details, contact persons and event information.. → to the page

A mailing list on the topic of AI has been set up for the exchange between those interested in AI at the university. We would like to invite anyone interested to join the ki-forum@lserv.uni-jena.demailing list. This list serves both as an information exchange and networking platform as well as a platform for discussions.→ to the mailing listExternal link

The Declaration of Permitted Resources is only a template. The permitted AI tools may also be approved outside of the declaration. Decisions regarding approval and the options available should be made in advance and students should be informed in writing. 

Students are advised to always obtain a Declaration of Permitted Resources from their examiners. In case of doubt, students must prove that and to what extent the use of AI has been approved by their examiners. If there is no Declaration of Permitted Resources, any use of AI (by inference from the release options) is inadmissible.

The Declaration of Permitted Resources does not need to be included in the work. The Declaration of Permitted Resources is only a template. Approval of permitted AI tools can also be granted outside of the declaration. However, the student must be able to submit the declaration (or alternative written information) if necessary.

No. The Corona Framework Statutes of the University of Jena, which allowed a deviation from the examination format specified in the module catalogue, expired on September 30, 2021, with the exception of § 3 (examinations in electronic form) and § 5 examination deadlines (effect of the extension of the individual standard period of study according to ThürCorPanG). If, according to the information in the module description, several forms of examination (e.g. written examination, seminar paper) are possible, please inform the students of the form of examination chosen for the current course at the latest at the beginning of the course.

Electronic examinations are a separate form of examination and should be listed in the module description, e.g., as a Moodle test. In any case, inform students about the electronic examination format at the beginning of the course at the latest.

You can provide this information in Friedolin, e.g., in the comments, so that students know which format to expect before their exam registration. Please send the students the legally required data protection information for electronic examinations de in the same email.

The electronic examination under online supervision was a very common examination format during the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the increased susceptibility to deceive (e.g. through the use of generative AI and limited supervision options), this is no longer recommended.

Some lecturers at the University of Jena are experimenting with the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach to conducting electronic examinations in person in various university rooms. However, this approach poses its own challenges, such as security, data protection and equal opportunities, which need to be overcome. The Digital University department is therefore aiming to work with lecturers and students within the framework of the digitisation stakeholder groups to develop a reliable and scalable BYOD concept for the University of Jena in the near future.

Until then, we therefore recommend taking the electronic examinations in the university's PC pools.

No. Friedrich Schiller University has been offering a dedicated examination server for electronic examinations since 20 July 2020. The system is based on the Moodle system familiar from teaching, but has been adapted for the examination context. The server can be accessed at exam.uni-jena.de. It must be used for electronic examinations.

Examination rooms can be requested via the UCC Service Desk.

The Safe-Exam-Browser was developed by ETH Zurich to put students' computers into lockdown mode for the duration of the exam. However, its use represents a major intrusion into the students' computer systems, as the browser has to be installed and is given control of the laptops for a certain period of time. Furthermore, the configuration is not trivial and therefore relatively prone to errors. Furthermore, independent tests have shown that students with relatively little technical knowledge can already find ways to circumvent the Safe-Exam-Browser.

For data protection and security reasons, please refrain from using them.

However, the Safe-Exam-Browser can be used for electronic examinations under presence supervision in the university's PC pools, as it is already pre-installed on the pool devices.

You will need a UCC account for this. Anyone with a med.uni-jena.de email address automatically has such an account. If you have forgotten your access data, please send a short e-mail to the IT service of the University of Jena: itservice@uni-jena.de

If technical problems occur, reassure the examinees and check whether the fault can be rectified or compensated for, for example by extending the writing time.

In any case, it is recommended that some examinations be printed out on paper and that individual additional devices be available on site so that a quick response can be made in emergencies.

In general, students who are unable to take the examination through no fault of their own may withdraw from the examination. If the withdrawal is approved, the student is entitled to retake the examination. If students experienced major technical problems during the examination that were not their fault (e.g., due to failure to follow the instructions provided in advance, participation in a mock examination, etc.), their participation in the examination will not be graded and will not count as an examination attempt. However, this only applies if the disruption cannot be remedied during the examination or compensated for, e.g., by extending the writing time.

• Instructions for setting up a writing time extension to compensate for disadvantages.pdf, 113 kb · de

If you have evidence of deception, investigate this suspicion. 

In this case – as with pen-and-paper examinations – a record of the incident must be made. If a dispute arises, you can contact the Legal Office. A hearing is mandatory before the exam is marked 5.0 for deception. However, the examination may always be completed and handed in with reservations. The student must indicate this. Please inform your students accordingly.

The process of archiving digital examinations is currently being set up. The examinations will remain stored on the UCC servers until the digital archive is available. In future, there will be an interface on the examination server that will allow lecturers to generate signed PDF-A files at the click of a mouse and then send them to the archive. You will be informed as soon as the interface is available.

The Friedrich Schiller University has been offering a dedicated examination server (exam.uni-jena.deExternal link) since 20 July 2020. The system is based on the Moodle system familiar from teaching, but has been adapted for the examination context and must be used for electronic examinations. For security and data protection reasons, it is recommended that unsupervised written examination formats, e.g., seminar papers that were previously submitted by e-mail, also be submitted via the secure examination server exam.uni-jena.deExternal link.

This way, both you as the examiner and the students can ensure that assignments are submitted on time and provide evidence of this. In addition, assignments (which may have been corrected and graded paperlessly) can also be automatically archived digitally in future.