Abstract:

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, have had an increasingly disruptive influence on higher education (HE) since first emerging in late 2022. GenAI tools answer questions and generate responses in various forms including text, images and video/audio. Although there is evidence of societal benefits and improvement of the student experience, the education sector is concerned about ethical use of GenAI by students, e.g. in students completing assessments. Indeed, studies reveal widespread use of GenAI amongst students. Many staff at HE institutions, however, are only starting to understand the disruptive impact of GenAI on student learning and assessment, with barely three years of published research on the topic.

Whilst current literature reports increasingly on student use of GenAI tools, very little has been reported on such use by postgraduate students. This paper will report on a case study in a Masters degree programme in a business context, and will explore the students’ use of GenAI tools in terms of their perceptions, expectations and preferences. Data gathering methods included inspection of materials and activities in the course learning management system, a classroom observation, a questionnaire and a student focus group, with the aim of answering the two research questions:
RQ1: In which ways do postgraduate business students use GenAI in their studies?
RQ2: What are postgraduate business students’ perceptions and expectations of the use of GenAI in their studies?

The results and conclusions of this case study research will enrich the instructors’ and programme management’s understanding of their students’ use of GenAI tools in their studies and will recommend changes related to:
(i) GenAI usage policy and training, and
(ii) activity and assessment design.

In addition, others might benefit from this unique glimpse into the minds of postgraduate business students as they grapple with the disruptive influence of GenAI.

Keywords:

GenAI, artificial intelligence, postgraduate business studies, student use of GenAI.