Abstract:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) within Higher Education (HE) has risen quickly over the past 5 years (Chu et al 2022). There are now several Artificial Intelligence tools that students in Higher Education can readily access to support their studies, including Chatbot, Cognii and Plaito. The recent attention surrounding Chatbot and the implications for the HE academic community has resulted in many academics questioning if they and their Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are equipped to deal with the challenge of artificial intelligence (Gleason 2022). The Quality and Assurance Agency (QAA) have taken a lead in providing support to universities in the United Kingdom (UK) with guidance documentation on this issue (QAA 2023).

In response to these challenges, two University of Worcester (UW) Academic Integrity Leads were appointed to tackle this growing issue with a brief to design a programme of education and training for staff and students on academic integrity principles and practice. The aim of this programme was to change the culture and values of students and staff and develop ways of working that both recognises the benefits of Artificial Intelligence whilst creating a culture which embraces and encourages ethical practice. This research utilises McNiff and Whitehead (2011) action research model as a form of enquiry to explore and assess the Academic Integrity process, the depth of understanding of implementing the policy in practice and the impact of cases on both staff and students.

McNeil (2022) advocates winning students ‘hearts and minds’ as an approach to rise to this ethical challenge. The programme of education and training developed in UW is fully committed to this approach which is intended to help students develop their understanding and appreciation of academic integrity principles and practice as a corner stone of the academic community to which they now belong.

References:
[1] Chu, H., Tu, Y., & Yang, K. (2022) Roles and research trends of artificial intelligence in higher education: A systematic review of the top 50 most-cited articles. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 38 (3) pp. 22–42. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.7526 (Accessed: 3rd July 2023)
[2] Gleason, N. (2022) ‘ChatGPT and the rise of AI writers: How should higher education respond?’ Times Higher Education, 9th December 2022. Available at: ChatGPT and AI text generators: how HE can respond | THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect (timeshighereducation.com) (Accessed 3rd March 2023).
[3] McNeil, L. (2022) Changing hearts and minds: pedagogical and institutional practices to foster academic integrity. In: Eaton, S.E. and Hughes, J.C. (eds.) Academic integrity in Canada: an enduring and essential challenge. Switzerland, Springer, pp. 487-504. Available at: https://oi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83255-1 (Accessed:16th April 2023)
[4] Mcniff, J. and Whitehead, J. (2011) All you need to know about action research, 2nd edn. London: Sage.
QAA (2023) The rise of artificial intelligence software and potential risks for academic integrity: Briefing paper for higher education providers. 30th January 2023. Available at https://www.qaa.ac.uk/news-events/news/qaa-briefs-members-on-artificial-intelligence-threat-to-academic-integrity (Accessed 3rd March 2023)

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, policy, culture, values, education.