Tuesday 16-05-2023 - 14:27

 

PLAIN TEXT VERSION

STUDENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE

UNIVERSITY

 

“AI is here to stay. We shouldn’t be scared of it, nor should the sector bury its head in the

sand and pretend that ChatGPT is a passing storm. These tools will be as ubiquitous as

Google or OneSearch so we need to learn how to incorporate them into our work. I’m

thrilled to have been part of the reinvigoration of our Academic Rep scheme this year

(not that I can take much of the credit) thanks to our phenomenal student leaders and

the Students’ Union’s Voice Team. We hope to hold more events like this in the future so

thatour Academic Reps have the opportunity to live the values of co-creation that are so

important to achieve excellence in our curriculum.” - Noah Katz, VP Education 2022-2023

 

On Wednesday 3rd May, Academic Reps from across the University came together to

discuss the implications of recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) software

on assessment in higher education.

 

The twenty student representatives present had an interesting and intellectually stimulating

debate before coming together to collaboratively write a set of recommendations for the

University. These were then collated and harmonised by the Students’ Union to create a

succinct and accessible list.

 

These are their recommendations:

1. Staff should be taught how AI works and what it’s capable of doing.

2. Staff should teach students how to use AI as a tool which will benefit them both now and in their future

careers. The aim should be that students develop competency in AI and avoid dependency. The Library

and Maths & Stats Hub could help with this.

3. The University should make sure it is continuously aware of AI innovations and regularly update its

guidance for students accordingly.

4. Each department needs to create specialised guidance on what they consider acceptable use of AI.

5. Each method of assessment requires its own guidance with regards to use of AI.

6. In the same way that plagiarism is consistently discussed with students each year, the use of AI should be

regularly discussed with students.

7. Staff should consider that student use of AI in assessment may be symptomatic of a lack of confidence in

that area of study. Where there are clear trends of use, staff should consider how they can better support

students in these areas.

8. Staff should consider alternative methods of assessment - such as verbal. Students may benefit from more

variety of assessment methods and the withdrawal of assessment methods which have become obsolete.

9. Students need to be able to demonstrate clear understanding of learning objectives. No work should be

submitted which has been completely written by AI.

 

The Students’ Union will be presenting at the University’s 2023 Education

Conference on this topic and students’ perceptions on assessment more

broadly.