EU Releases ENESET Report on Generative AI's Impact on Higher Education Students' Engagement, Performance and Academic Integrity

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture and ENESET published the report 'Impact of generative AI on higher education students' on 25 September 2026, with ISBN 978-92-68-39032-0 and DOI 10.2766/1244858. Based on a review of international literature from January 2022 to April 2026, the report examines GenAI's impact on student engagement, academic performance, learning outcomes and academic integrity, assesses the strengths and limitations of the current evidence base, and proposes directions for future policy and practice. Its geographical scope is the European Union, its level of education focus is higher education, and its thematic areas are digital education and technological innovation.

Published by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture and ENESET, this report is an EU-level evidence review for higher education policy, and its conclusions may shape member states' policy orientations on academic integrity rules, GenAI usage guidance and teaching practice in higher education. The report also identifies the strengths and limitations of the current evidence base, indicating that conclusions about the relationship between GenAI, learning outcomes and academic integrity remain constrained by the literature scope, so policymakers and universities should note the evidence boundaries when citing it. EU member state universities and policymakers gain an assessment of GenAI's impact covering literature from January 2022 to April 2026, which can inform adjustments to academic integrity rules and teaching guidance. The report explicitly assesses the strengths and limitations of the current evidence base, indicating that causal conclusions about GenAI, learning outcomes and academic integrity still require caution.