CADEN HAYNOR / NEWS EDITOR

RILEY RAINS / ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Students and faculty alike are confused by the University’s lack of a clear position on the use of AI in the classroom.

The University has no school wide policy regarding the use of AI in classrooms by students on assignments or by professors on syllabi. While professors may have individually decided their policy for AI use in classrooms, students and staff alike are awaiting a unified decision from the University. 

Associate  Provost  for Academic Strategy and Growth Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, PhD, is the co-chair of the AI Steering Committee at USD. Choi-Fitzpatrick explained what the AI Steering Committee is working on for the University.

“We  are  proud  to have launched an AI Steering Committee, which includes a dedicated Working Group on Teaching and Learning tasked specifically with drafting comprehensive guidance on AI use,” Choi-Fitzpatrick stated. “Alongside our Student Experience team, they are designing a proactive framework for ethical engagement… Our focus is on providing students with the clear guidance they need to use these tools responsibly and creatively… Currently, the AI Steering Committee is developing comprehensive, campus-wide guidance for faculty, students, and staff to ensure a consistent and supportive environment.”

Since its implementation in the classroom in recent years, USD students have used generative AI to assist them in their assignments.  In response, many USD professors altered their classroom policies in their syllabi to include methods that combat the usage of AI on graded assignments. Other professors welcomed AI into the classroom, teaching students how to use it as a tool for classwork.

Megan Little,    PhD,    is     a professor  in    the     English   department   and   oversees  the  First-Year Writing program and faculty who teach  advanced   writing   in  other    departments.    Little   explained what some  professors  are doing to combat  AI usage in the classroom.

“We’re trying everything we can,” Little said. “One of [the strategies] is to focus way more on the writing process. So, in other words, instead  of having  an essay be  something  that’s  tacked  onto the class, you  actually   bring  it into class every  day…  On  the other  hand,   some people  are  saying ‘It’s in-class essays   from here  on out’ and we jokingly   call  that  the ‘nuclear option.’ Other faculty are trying really  hard to design prompts that feel   more    meaningful  for   students.”

There are other methods students use to receive writing assistance other than  AI.  The  USD   Writing Center is a student-focused writing support center that helps students through their writing assignments. The students that run the center see student essays regularly. 

USD junior Anthony Walz, the current student coordinator in training  is  learning  the  ins and outs  of the  center  that  he will soon organize. Walz explained how the center deals with papers that have AI elements.

“We   don’t  accept  any   work with AI because our purpose here is that students learn the tools to writing,” Walz  said. “AI  takes away those tools,  so  we can’t  work  with it. When students  come  in  with a paper, it is very noticeable when they have put it in Chat[GPT]. Writing is about learning and AI takes that away.”

AI is not only used by students as a writing tool. Students that work in disciplines which utilize math and computer science also may use AI to assist them. 

USD senior and computer science major Lucca Sebastiani noticed professors and students using AI in his classes.

“I think it is perfectly fine for professors to use AI to create assignments as long as they fact check   it,”   Sebastiani  said. “In   terms of students using it  to complete AI created assignments … my official position is that I am against it. ChatGPT   sucks   at   math  though,   so   it  isn’t ever   that  helpful   for   me.”

While undergraduate  policy is in the works,  USD  Law  has  a  three page PDF and a full website that outlines their policy students use of AI in academia. USD’s master’s programs also has a detailed policy, they even offer a remote masters  degree in applied artificial intelligence. 

USD Associate English Professor  Joseph  McGowan, PhD, noticed disagreements among   professors    surrounding  AI  policy  in  classrooms.

“Professors are all over the board,” McGowan said. “There’s a real fear that we don’t know what we’re seeing is real writing or not. I’m assuming it’s honest, but you can’t trust that. I’m used to trusting students.”

When it comes to professors changing their writing assignments to prevent the usage of AI, the students in the classes have presented mixed results. Some have performed better with timed writing, and others have performed worse under the pressure.

Little    described  the  difference   between in-person, timed writing and writing outside the classroom. 

“Let’s say you’re in a Word document and you can fiddle with your words, move stuff around and then you have some downtime,” Little stated. “And sometimes downtime is where the real inspiration happens. All of that goes away with in class writing… Most professors I talked to are aware that there’s something lost with in-class writing, but they’re also reporting that some students are relieved… it’s just one session of writing, no procrastination — and it feels less stressful.”

The abilities of AI to assist students and professors in completing and creating assignments have altered the educational sector, especially in terms of plagiarism, which has prompted some of the syllabi changes. The ways in which USD as an institution deals with the balancing  act  of   combating plagiarism and  using AI  as  a tool will develop alongside the technology.

Some USD students use AI to assist them on assignments, prompting some professors to change their syllabi. Photo courtesy of @microsoftcopilot/Unsplash