On the Perception of AI’s Role in Higher Education

Usage of AI among the student population is nothing surprising in today’s university and college. However, it would seem that faculty are scrambling to decide just how it fits into the realm of higher education. I’ve personally encountered faculty that were convinced that AI would herald in the doom of higher education. It’s a thought amongst some faculty who are more accustomed to an older, more traditional way of doing things. It’s among those who don’t like change or are convinced that their way is the only way to do things.

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This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this…

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?? Perhaps though, AI isn’t the monster some faculty have made it out to be. Many of my readers will maybe wonder where these AI averse faculty are and why I would even have to posit the first sentence of this paragraph. Firstly, none of us should be surprised that there are still those on campus who dislike or outright hate the use of AI technology in the classroom and maybe elsewhere on campus. Secondly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this…

?? A cold Connecticut morning dawns as Yale students pile into class. Trouble is brewing though as a professor has brought something into the classroom that the students consider an insult to their intelligence. Prior to this, the students and faculty of Yale University have prided themselves on the rigorous standards by which they hold themselves. Now though, it’s as if the university has told these students that they are not capable of learning as well as previous generations and must be given a crutch to be able to perform in class. Outraged, the students protest and rebel against the university’s introduction of this foul object into their classes, leading to what was ultimately a temporary expulsion from the university for them. This object that caused such an offence? It was a chalkboard (Anselmo, 2014).

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In modern times, the sentiment on AI largely resembles the distaste that the chalkboard once faced.

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?? In the above historical example, the students were upset about the introduction of a new technology into the classroom. They thought the chalkboard would do away with the hard work that came with painstakingly memorizing material and the subsequent recitation of that material (Anselmo, 2014). In modern times, the sentiment on AI largely resembles the distaste that the chalkboard once faced.

?? But what about AI is that is truly horrible? It has the potential to write the paper for a student, sparing them the work of actually having to write it themselves for one thing. You know, quite like the chalkboard spared the Yale student from having to keep memorizing content. Now, make no mistake, I am not advocating for academic dishonesty, but what I am advocating is for us in higher education to take a long, honest look at what AI on campus really is. AI is just a tool that has the morality of its wielder.

?? Faculty looking to outright ban or dismiss the use of AI will be disheartened to hear that AI is here to stay. So, perhaps the best way to approach the topic is to consider the many ways AI can be used in the classroom as ethically and efficiently as possible. There are suggestions and budding guidelines even now to help point us in an appropriate direction. One suggestion is to have the use of AI, or the forbearance thereof, should be explicitly stated within the syllabus, and another is to mention of assignments where AI can be used and where it cannot be used (Aaron et al., 2024). Though, those two sound like the same suggestion with one being more macroscopic than the other.

?? This same source also suggests that if we expect faculty to welcome AI into their classes, and if also expect their students to make use of it ethically, then the burden falls on the faculty to adopt ethical AI use behaviors (Aaron et al., 2024). This is a notion I can certainly get behind. Perhaps it’s just me speculating as much, but I would not be surprised if data revealed that students only knew of AI’s ability to help them cheat, and not of its more ethical uses.

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AI cannot be considered this scary forbidden thing shunned away in the corner.

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?? Another important thing to consider is to maintain an open dialogue between faculty and students (Aaron et al., 2024). AI cannot be considered this scary forbidden thing shunned away in the corner. It needs to be out in the open and acknowledged for what it is. Regardless, faculty should be keen on articulating what AI is to them and its role in the classroom. Faculty should also let students know the extent to which it is allowed. For example, if AI is allowed to a moderate extent, the onus falls on faculty then to specifically note what is and is not ok. The proper utilization of AI has only to flow from there.

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References

Aaron, L., Abbate, S., Allain, N. M., Almas, B., Fallon, B., Gavin, D., Gordon, C. (Barrett), Jadamec, M., Merlino, A., Pierie, L., Solano, G., & Wolf, D. (2024). Suggestions for Faculty AI Use. In Optimizing AI in Higher Education: SUNY FACT2 Guide, Second Edition (pp. 43–44). State University of New York Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.20522984.25

Anselmo, K. (2014, January 18). Fear of new technologies and Chalkboards. Experiential Communications. https://experientialcommunications.com/fear-of-new-technologies-and-chalkboards/