Students ‘not using AI as much as academics think’

Universities could be overestimating the level of artificial intelligence use among students, risking over-regulation and creating an atmosphere of distrust, new research suggests.

Academics believe that students are using AI to complete nearly half (43 per cent) of their university work, whereas students themselves self-report that they are only using it to complete a quarter (24 per cent) of tasks, according to a survey of 1,000 UK university students and 501 academics run by edtech company Coursera. A further 21 per cent of students say they did not use AI at all in their studies.

These discrepancies between actual and perceived student AI use risk prompting overly cautious university responses, warned Marni Baker Stein, chief content officer at Coursera.

She said such overestimations “could drive a misalignment in policymaking, where universities might overregulate based on this perception, or create a rift or a sense of mistrust from universities that are clamping down on a perceived behaviour, when learners are actually more measured than [universities] might imagine in how they’re using these tools”.

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Cautioning against imposing an “overly aggressive” blanket ban on AI use, Ms Baker Stein said universities should instead focus on ensuring students learn how to use such tools “ethically” to ensure they “continue to be competitive in tomorrow’s workplace”.

According to the study, academics themselves report using AI in greater numbers than students, with almost half (48 per cent) of those polled saying they often use AI in their work, and 21 per cent using it “all” the time.

Ms Baker Stein said this high adoption rate among academics could be driving their perceptions of student usage, leading them to “overestimate the role that AI is playing in learners’ experience”.

More academics (85 per cent) than students (67 per cent) also feel AI is having a positive impact on higher education by providing more personalised feedback and greater student support. Some 72 per cent of academics believe that the quality of higher education has improved as a result of AI, compared with 44 per cent of students who agree.

These findings echo previous studies that found that students fear the rising use of AI in higher education will bring into question the quality and value of education they receive, with courses primarily created and delivered by AI being viewed less favourably by students.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com