The rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly ChatGPT, has disrupted conventional assessment practices in higher education. AI has enabled common tasks like reports and essays to be completed with minimal human authorship, raising pressing concerns about academic integrity, validity, and pedagogical relevance. This systematic literature review synthesizes recent empirical and conceptual papers to examine three interrelated questions: how AI challenges conventional assessment, which design strategies show promise in mitigating misuse, and where significant gaps remain in current research. Drawing on a PRISMA guided review of 28 peer reviewed studies published between 2022 and 2025, the analysis identifies five dominant themes; the structural limitations of traditional assessments, the shortcomings of AI detection technologies, AI resistant assessment design principles, the importance of authentic and process oriented assessment and the need for establishing transparent institutional policies. Findings indicate that relying on ChatGPT detection technologies is insufficient, while authentic, process-based, and AI-integrated approaches are more practical and sustainable. The review argues that the rise of generative AI should not be viewed merely as a threat, but a catalyst for revising assessment designs in higher education.
Alkouk, W. A., & Khlaif, Z. N. (2024). AI resistant assessments in higher education: Practical insights from faculty training workshops. Frontiers in Education, 9, Article 1499495. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1499495
Alvira, N. B., Bannister, P., & Santamaría Urbieta, A. (2025). Validating the PANDORA GenAI susceptibility rubric for higher education assessment: A field test of translation and interpreting BA assignments. Higher Education Quarterly, Article e70056. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.70056
Bhullar, P. S., Joshi, M., & Chugh, R. (2024). ChatGPT in higher education: A synthesis of the literature and a future research agenda. Education and Information Technologies, 29, 21501–21522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12723-x
Chaudhry, I. S., Sarwary, S. A. M., El Refae, G. A., & Chabchoub, H. (2023). Time to revisit existing student performance evaluation approaches in higher education in the era of ChatGPT: A case study. Cogent Education, 10(1), Article 2210461. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2210461
Corbin, T., Dawson, P., Nicola Richmond, K., & Partridge, H. (2025). ‘Where’s the line? It’s an absurd line’: Towards a framework for acceptable uses of AI in assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 50(5), 705–717. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2025.2456207
Cotton, D. R. E., Cotton, P. A., & Shipway, J. R. (2024). Chatting and cheating: Ensuring academic integrity in the era of ChatGPT. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 61(2), 228–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2023.2190148
Dai, Y., Liu, A., & Lim, C. P. (2023). Reconceptualizing ChatGPT and generative AI as a student driven innovation in higher education. Procedia CIRP, 119, 84–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2023.05.002
Evangelista, E. D. L. (2024). Ensuring academic integrity in the age of ChatGPT: Rethinking exam design, assessment strategies, and ethical AI policies in higher education. Contemporary Educational Technology, 17(1), Article ep559. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/15775
Fernández Sánchez, A., Lorenzo Castiñeiras, J. J., & Sánchez Bello, A. (2024). Navigating the future of pedagogy: The integration of AI tools in developing educational assessment rubrics. European Journal of Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12826
Gamage, K. A. A., Dehideniya, S. C. P., Xu, Z., & Tang, X. (2023). ChatGPT and higher education assessments: More opportunities than concerns? Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 358–369. https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.2.32
Gundu, T. (2024). Strategies for e assessments in the era of generative artificial intelligence. European Journal of E Learning, 22(7). https://doi.org/10.34190/ejel.22.7.3477
Güner, H., Er, E., Akçap?nar, G., & Khalil, M. (2024). From chalkboards to AI-powered learning: Students’ attitudes and perspectives on use of ChatGPT in educational settings. Educational Technology & Society, 27(2), 386–404. https://doi.org/10.30191/ETS.202404_27(2).TP05
Kooli, C., & Yusuf, N. (2024).Transforming educational assessment: Insights into the use of ChatGPT and large language models in grading. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2338330
Leaton Gray, S., Edsall, D., & Parapadakis, D. (2025). AI based digital cheating at university and the case for new ethical pedagogies. Journal of Academic Ethics, 23, 2069–2086. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-025-09642-y
Li, Z. (2024). Generative AI in higher education academic assignments: Policy implications from a systematic review of student and teacher perceptions (Master’s thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/155977
Luo, J. (2024). A critical review of GenAI policies in higher education assessment: A call to reconsider the “originality” of students’ work. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49(5), 651–664. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2309963
Lyanda, J. N., Owidi, S. O., & Simiyu, A. M. (2024). Rethinking higher education teaching and assessment in line with AI innovations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. African Journal of Empirical Research, 5(3), 325–335. https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.5.3.30
Moorhouse, B. L., Yeo, M. A., & Wan, Y. (2023). Generative AI tools and assessment: Guidelines of the world’s top ranking universities. Computers and Education Open, 5, Article 100151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2023.100151
Noroozi, O., Soleimani, S., Farrokhnia, M., & Banihashem, S. K. (2024). Generative AI in education: Pedagogical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives. International Journal of Technology in Education, 7, 373–385. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.845
Ortiz Bonnin, S., & Blahopoulou, J. (2025). Chat or cheat? Academic dishonesty, risk perceptions, and ChatGPT usage in higher education students. Social Psychology of Education, 28, Article 113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-025-10080-2
Patrick, P. M., Yip, S. Y., & Campbell, C. (2025). Artificial intelligence and higher order thinking: A systematic review of educator and student experiences and perspectives in higher education. Higher Education Quarterly, 79(4), Article e70069. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.70069
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Perkins, M., Roe, J., Postma, D. (2024). Detection of GPT 4 generated text in higher education: Combining academic judgement and software to identify generative AI tool misuse. Journal of Academic Ethics, 22, 89–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-023-09492-6
Peters, M., & Angelov, D. (2025). Redefining assessment tasks to promote students’ creativity and integrity in the age of generative artificial intelligence. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 21, Article 25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-025-00201-x
Rudolph, J., Tan, S., & Tan, S. (2023). ChatGPT: Bullshit spewer or the end of traditional assessments in higher education? Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(1), 342–363. https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.9
Selwyn, N. (2022). The future of AI and education: Some cautionary notes. European Journal of Education, 57, 620–631. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12532
Smolansky, A., Cram, A., Raduescu, C., Zeivots, S., Huber, E., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2023). Educator and student perspectives on the impact of generative AI on assessments in higher education. In Proceedings of the 10th ACM Conference on Learning at Scale. https://doi.org/10.1145/3573051.3596191
Susnjak, T., & McIntosh, T. R. (2024). ChatGPT: The end of online exam integrity? Education Sciences, 14(6), Article 656. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14060656
Xia, Q., Weng, X., Ouyang, F., et?al. (2024). A scoping review on how generative artificial intelligence transforms assessment in higher education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21, Article 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00468-z
Ghazali, S. N., Ebenezer, J. S., Hamid, N. B. A., & Manokaran, J. (2026). Designing AI-Resistant Assessments in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(5), 834-850.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
