AI Has Hurt Academic Integrity in College Courses but Can Also Enhance Learning, Say Instructors, Students

New Wiley survey reveals students far more likely than instructors to use AI in their classes

Hoboken, NJ-College instructors and students have mixed feelings about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in postsecondary classes, with worries about academic integrity countered by the hope that AI can also be used to enhance learning. But despite their mixed feelings, both instructors and students agree that AI is here to stay.

These findings come from The Latest Insights into Academic Integrity: Instructor & Student Experiences, Attitudes, and the Impact of AI 2024 Update, a new report from Wiley(NYSE: WLY), one of the world's largest publishers and a global leader in research and learning. The results were gathered in surveys with college instructors and students across North America.

The results of Wiley's survey show both instructors and students believe cheating is on the rise in college classrooms. Nearly all instructors (96%) say they believe at least some of their students cheated over the past year, a substantial increase from 72% in Wiley's 2021 survey. And more than half (53%) of students say there's more cheating now than last year, with 23% saying significantly more.

The majority of both students and instructors also believe cheating will increase in the next few years, largely because of increased use of AI. And instructors worry that AI could negatively impact student's critical thinking and writing skills.

On the other hand, both students and instructors believe AI can help generate ideas, save time, and assist learners with understanding difficult content if used appropriately.

"While students and instructors have a general belief that AI will be used in ways that are detrimental to academic integrity, they also seem to sense that AI can benefit learning when used the right way," said Lyssa Vanderbeek, Wiley group vice president for courseware. "These beliefs will continue to change as instructors and students gain more experience with AI and as the tools that leverage AI continue to evolve."

"These data drive home the need for faculty to rethink our learning outcomes, teaching strategies and assessments," said David A. Rettinger, applied professor of psychology at the University of Tulsa and coauthor of the book Cheating Academic Integrity: Lessons from 30 Years of Research. "AI will affect every aspect of learning, and faculty must determine whether the impact is positive or negative. AI is disruptive. It is not a fad that we can ignore and hope it goes out of style."

Use of AI Limited

The findings suggest many of the attitudes expressed by students and especially instructors may not be based on actual experience. Use of AI is much more widespread among students than instructors, yet fewer than half (45%) of students say they've used AI in the classes the past year. Only 15% of instructors say the same.

Students are most likely to have used generative AI tools to help with writing assignments, to brainstorm and generate ideas, and to help understand difficult concepts.

Students who have not used AI in their classes in the past year say it is because they don't trust AI tools, they are concerned their instructor would think they were cheating, and/or they're not familiar with how to use AI tools.

Deterring Cheating

Instructors plan to make a variety of changes to help protect academic integrity and avoid misuse of AI. These plans include using different types of assessments, such as more in-person exams, and more communication to students on the negative consequences of cheating and methods used to detect cheating attempts. The findings suggest demonstrating how classes are relevant to students and their career goals could also help.

Instructors clearly express a need for guidance on how to properly use AI and tools to deal with academic misconduct enabled or encouraged by AI.

Wiley includes an academic integrity assignment for students in all of its WileyPLUS, Knewton Alta, and zyBooks courses which gives them feedback on what behaviors are and aren't appropriate from an academic integrity standpoint. It also employs techniques and enhancements within its courseware to promote academic integrity, including specific toolssuch as Similarity Checker, Coding Trail, and Playback History.

In addition, Wiley works to educate instructors about teaching strategies proven to reduce academic dishonesty and has conducted research on methods to improve academic integrity, such as Impact of Several Low-Effort Cheating-Reduction Methods in a CS1 Class, which found that low-effort actions by instructors can lead to substantial behavior improvements.

Methodology

The results of this report are based on surveys completed in March 2024 by 850 college instructors and 2,067 students across the U.S. and Canada.

The full report can be accessed here.

About Wiley

Wiley (NYSE: WLY) is one of the world's largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today's biggest obstacles into tomorrow's brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedInand Instagram.

###

Contact:

Ed Colby / [email protected]

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.