The Central Disciplinary Committee (CDC) on 22 April 2026 via Microsoft Teams, found a student guilty of the following allegation:

The implicated student made improper use of Artificial Intelligence tools in their PhD dissertation submitted during 2025, which is not permitted.

The misconduct is in contravention of clauses 10.1, 10.2, and 9.8 of the Disciplinary Code for Students of Stellenbosch University (“the Code”). And section 2.a. of the SU Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research and Teaching-Learning-Assessment Policy.

The implicated student pleaded guilty supported by written testimony. The CDC was unanimous in finding that the implicated student is guilty of contravening the rules of the Student Disciplinary Code and SU Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research and Teaching-Learning-Assessment Policy as indicated above. However, noted that the student has shown a sense of understanding for the gravity of the situation. It is clear that this situation is not a reflection on them as a research student but rather of a misunderstanding of the use of AI tools and the dangers thereof, especially with referencing.

The CDC panel imposed the following sanctions:

1. The student be suspended from SU for 12 months suspended on condition that the student is not found guilty of similar misconduct for the duration of their studies.
2. The student provide written apologies to their supervisors within seven (7) days of receipt of these written reasons and must copy the Division: Student Discipline in on the email.
3. The student must do a research ethics module before graduation in March 2027 and must contact the department head to select the appropriate module.
4. The sanction is to be published on the faculty noticeboard with the name of the student redacted.
5. Recommendation: that the hallucinated references in the dissertation be removed, and the faculty take the examination process of the dissertation further.