Abstract
Academic misconduct/dishonesty is not a new problem for student conduct officers. What is (relatively) new, is the role that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now playing, or overtaking, in a student’s learning experience. Traditional first-year students entering college all spent a portion of their K-12 experience in a global pandemic. Some students utilized AI to get through middle and high school, which has left them ill-prepared for the academic rigor of college courses. Students still have much to learn about how to appropriately use this technology in the context of obtaining a college degree. This scenario examines the role that a student conduct officer plays in support and accountability for students relying on and potentially misusing AI to complete coursework.
Characters
Maria (she, her, ella) – The Director of student conduct. Responsible for overseeing academic misconduct.
Matt (he, him) – First year student. Utilizes AI for most assignments. Matt’s high school years were interrupted by the pandemic, as toward the end of ninth grade the pandemic began, and the world shut down. For the next year and a half, he relied on AI to complete assignments for him on time. Matt would often procrastinate his assignments since there was no structure to facilitate staying on track with completion of assignments. Matt assumed that using AI was acceptable, as AI policy had not been enforced at his high school. This developed into the norm for him, as he then put off assignments until the last minute and then would use AI to do his assignments for him.
Institutional Context
This case is set at Rainy State University (RSU), a regional, public four-year institution located in the northwest region of the United States with an enrollment of 4500 students. Over 45% of students at RSU are first-generation college students. At RSU, academic misconduct rates have steadily risen over the last three years. More specifically, plagiarism using AI has gone from virtually no cases three years ago, to about half of all academic integrity cases involving AI in the past year.
Case Study
As the Director of Student Conduct at RSU, Maria receives all reports related to student misconduct, including academic misconduct cases. She is currently reviewing an academic integrity report from a faculty member in the English department. The report explains that a first-year student, Matt, has been documented for plagiarism. Matt’s professor explains that she runs all student papers through a plagiarism detector. When she ran Matt’s assignment through, the detector identified that his paper was reported to be 72% plagiarized.
Maria starts a formal academic misconduct case for this incident involving Matt. In the days leading up to their meeting, Maria reviews the university policy for plagiarism, the class policy for plagiarism, recommended sanctions for students who are found responsible for plagiarism, and reviews similar cases to ensure she is following policy while centering equity within the student conduct process.
Matt meets with Maria and openly admits that he utilized ChatGPT for his assignment. He further explains that he’s used AI for the majority of his assignments over the previous three years, including high school assignments. Matt states that he even used AI on his admissions application. Considering that he’s never been in trouble for using AI before, Matt is confused as to why this is a violation.
Maria explains that ignorance is not an excuse to avoid accountability, and shares that the process is meant to be a learning one. She says that he will be found responsible for violating the academic integrity policy. Matt is at first frustrated that he’s being found responsible and then becomes extremely anxious as he is concerned that he won’t be able to be a successful college student without the help of AI.
Discussion Questions
- How does Matt’s experience before college with AI and his misunderstandings of its appropriate use enter this scenario or is that context irrelevant and why?
- What are educational and equitable solutions and sanctions to this case?
- What follow up (if any) should there be with Matt? Who should be involved?
- What resources might Maria connect Matt with to support his transition to college and help build his belief in himself as a student?
Author Bio
Carlos Fonseca Jr (he/him) is a master’s student in the Higher Education Student Affairs program at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and serves as a Graduate Hall Director. Prior to attending NIU, Carlos graduated from Western Oregon University where he worked as a Resident Director. As a practitioner, Carlos aims to integrate the practices and philosophies of restorative justice and transformative justice into student conduct offices.