Practice Matrix · Meso

Ethical Frameworks and Responsible Use

Institutional governance · Codes of conduct, ethical principles, human oversight requirements and responsible use guidance.

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practices

Who

Where

Source report

The reading of this intersection

The count in the cell shows density; what the intersection says is carried by the reading below.

Two institutional instruments demonstrate the form ethical regulation takes when it is written to be applied rather than merely assented to. The first permits students to use generative AI in support of learning and, unless instructed otherwise, in assessment preparation, and then attaches three prohibitions covering confidential information, personal data and copyrighted assessment content, together with a warning that over-reliance may hinder the development of skills required later. The second refuses authorship to AI outright, confines its use within a journal to the improvement of language or readability, requires citation where it is used, and leaves the author responsible for the validity of what it generates.

Neither instrument argues about whether the technology is beneficial. Both specify what may be done, by whom, and who is answerable for the result.

Who, and where

The actors carrying out the practice and where they are. Where a source does not name the institution, no attribution is made.

Institutions and actors

The Open University
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

Countries

United Kingdom
Spain

Context

Higher education

How it was done

Each record stands with its imprint, its short reading and the sentence found in the source. Quotations are not shortened, so that a reader can check the inference.

Generative AI policy for students with conditional permission and acknowledgement

Students may use generative AI to support their learning and, unless instructed otherwise, in assessment preparation, provided the use is acknowledged. The policy pairs permission with three prohibitions covering confidential information, personal data and copyrighted assessment content, and warns that over-reliance may hinder skill development.

Institution: The Open University
Country: United Kingdom
Delivery model: Fully online
Context: Higher education
Contributed by: not stated in the source
Year: 2024
Maturity: Embedded
Scalability: Embedded
Transferability: Embedded
Source report: D3.1

Evidence

The policy text is reproduced in the partner table in enough detail to show both the permission and its conditions, rather than being summarised as a stance.

Students may use Generative AI to support their learning.

D3.1, p. 33

Library guide on how to declare the use of AI in academic work

A library guide published in May 2025 proposes structures for making the use of AI tools transparent: which tools were used, for what purpose and to what extent. A related journal policy states that authorship cannot be attributed to AI, that its use is confined to improving language or readability, that it must be cited, and that authors remain responsible for the validity of what it generates.

Institution: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Country: Spain
Delivery model: Fully online
Context: Higher education
Contributed by: not stated in the source
Year: 2025
Maturity: Established
Scalability: Embedded
Transferability: Embedded
Source report: D3.2

Evidence

The institution reports the guides with publication dates and public addresses, and distinguishes the recommendatory ones from the mandatory one.

authors cannot attribute authorship to AI; AI (or assisted technologies) may only be used to improve language or readability

D3.2, p. 43