Higher Education Administrators Discuss the Implications of ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence on Student Learning
ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool that allows the user to ask a question and get answers, has gained immense popularity among students who use it to complete their assignments. However, the use of AI in education has opened up a complicated conversation among education administrators about the ethical and fair use of technology in learning.
Mark R. Hagerott, the Chancellor for the North Dakota University System, said that they are leading a study group of 11 campuses to understand the positive and negative implications of ChatGPT AI on student learning. While AI can have many positive benefits, it also raises concerns about plagiarism as it can write essays and even pass MBA sections of exams.
Students have varying opinions on the use of AI in education. Emma Bock, a freshman at Bismarck State College, said that she would not use ChatGPT as getting her education is important to her and she wants to learn how to do her job.
Bismarck State College has established guidelines for using ChatGPT, and using it without proper referencing violates the school's academic honesty policy. Hagerott noted that ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, giving administrators and educators little time to regulate it.
As AI is developing rapidly, educators are shocked at how quickly it is impacting students' learning. Dr. Amy Juhala, the Dean of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences at Bismarck State College, said that as a former English teacher, she thought about what to do if people start using artificial intelligence to write their papers.
Bismarck State College is holding faculty development days to help the faculty gain a better understanding of AI. Juhala noted that faculty members can make sure that students do not use AI by including specific information and referencing from textbooks that AI does not have access to. Furthermore, BSC has introduced ZeroGPT, which detects if a student has used AI to write their paper.
The North Dakota University System will continue to discuss the implications of ChatGPT and similar platforms to ensure that technology is used in ethical and fair ways in higher education.
