Former BU instructor alleges widespread AI cheating, bias

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This article was published 30/07/2024 (443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former Brandon University instructor Matt MacDonald has alleged widespread AI cheating and biased treatment among his students, but the university is defending its commitment to integrity and fairness.

MacDonald, who taught English literature at Brandon University between January and mid-April, told the Sun last month that more than half of his students cheated on their assignments by using AI tools to write them.

“More than half of my students — about 40 out of 70, give or take — cheated,” he told the Sun. “I had only reported about 15 cases when my contract ended on April 19. The administration allowed me to continue investigating and I voluntarily decided to resolve the grading issues caused by academic misconduct.”

He added that faculty of arts dean Gregory Kennedy asked him to conclude his investigation by the end of April, which he said he could not do because of the number of students involved.

The university, in a statement, outlined the steps taken after the initial reports of academic misconduct were submitted.

“Following this process, after the instructor submitted his initial reports, the Dean met with students himself, reviewed all of the evidence, and consulted with colleagues and resources on AI to decide,” the university said.

“In several cases, the Dean upheld the instructor’s recommendations. In other cases, the Dean came to a different determination, either regarding the allegations themselves, or relating to the sanction he thought was most appropriate to ensure consistency across the Faculty of Arts.

“While we cannot comment on any particular case for reasons of privacy and confidentiality, we are confident that the process produced fair outcomes,” the statement read.

“The fact that the instructor does not agree with the final determination of the appeal committee does not mean that the process or decision was flawed. BU takes academic integrity seriously and will continue to be vigilant in enforcing the policy.”

Kennedy did not respond to the Sun’s email and calls. When efforts were made to reach him through the university’s communication department, a spokesperson said, “Sorry, at this time we are going to limit comment to just the statement that we sent.”

Brandon University Faculty Association president Gautam Srivastava confirmed to the Sun MacDonald reported 15 cases of alleged academic dishonesty to the committee.

“The university did follow the correct process for dealing with academic integrity cases where the instructor, in this case, Matt, raised 15 cases of alleged academic dishonesty, which then gets elevated to the dean,” he said.

MacDonald also alleged there was unfair treatment to some students, especially international students, in handling the cases.

“I observed harsher punishments for males, particularly international students, and leniency for females, especially domestic students,” he said. “I reported this bias to Brandon University’s human rights department, but their power to act was limited.”

The university did not respond to the allegation of unfair treatment but stated that under its Academic Integrity Policy, both the instructor and the student have the right to appeal the dean’s determination, but only the instructor did.

“In some of these latter cases, this instructor exercised that right. They were given every opportunity to express their concerns and to submit their evidence in writing to the appeals committee of the BU Senate,” it stated.

Brandon University Student Union (BUSU) president Charles Adamu, who also sat on the Academic Integrity Committee, confirmed MacDonald submitted allegations of racism against students and academic misconduct to the committee, but no students reported such to the union.

“No students came forward to lodge complaints of racial discrimination with me or the union,” he said. “It was the instructor who raised concerns about racism to the Academic Integrity Committee about three months ago and that was not within the purview of the committee.”

Adamu said the committee “reviewed the entire process to ensure that protocol was followed and that the Dean’s decisions on sanctions were appropriate.”

Srivastava encouraged affected students to use the appropriate channels.

“I would encourage the students that feel they were affected by unfair treatment to reach out to … BUSU,” he said. “I will encourage those students to take the proper recourse through the appeals process if they feel their case deserves a second look.”

MacDonald said he used he used Snapchat’s AI function as a tool to identify assignments written by AI, asking it a number of questions about the subject studied in class and transcribing all of those answers into a Word document.

“Then I took some of my undergraduate assignments from before ChatGPT was released and transcribed those as well. I did a verbal analysis of all the different words and phrases that showed up in each one because the AI uses the same words and phrases over and over,” he said.

This comparison, he said, allowed him to determine which assignments were likely written by AI.

“Assignments that had about the same amount as my old assignments were probably written by people. The assignments that had a huge number of words that the AI content had were probably written by AI,” he said.

BU stated that acceptable AI use varies across courses, from those that prohibit any AI use to those in which AI is integral to learning.

“Between ‘no AI’ and ‘go AI’ there is also plenty of room for ‘slow AI’ where students may be permitted or encouraged to explore AI use in some ways — say perhaps for generating a list of ideas — while other uses would not be permitted,” the university said. “Students should review each course syllabus carefully and ask their instructor if they are unsure whether any particular use of AI would constitute a breach of academic integrity.”

Srivastava added the issue of AI-enabled cheating is a global challenge.

“Many universities, journals and papers are currently grappling with the new ability to generate content using AI and resources like ChatGPT,” he told the Sun. “There is no definitive answer yet on how to handle such cases. I think we’re still learning how to deal with that.”

He said the university is using the case to understand and develop better policies.

“I think one thing that this case has done for Brandon University is to bring the focal point into a real-world scenario,” he said. “This is the first type of allegations towards students of this kind that I’ve seen at Brandon University.”

Srivastava also addressed the association’s perspective on handling allegations of AI-enabled cheating.

“There’s nothing really in our collective agreement with the University to deal with this type of AI-generated content,” he said. “Most of these policies fall under the Board of Governor and Senate policies on academic integrity.”

Srivastava said there is a need for dialogue and collaboration to develop concrete solutions.

“We need to continue dialogue with the administration to make sure that supports are in place for members that teach courses to detect academic dishonesty when it comes to AI-enabled content.”

Sarah Eaton, chair of Leadership, Policy and Governance at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, provided insights into best practices for handling academic misconduct involving new technologies like AI.

“Policies should be developed and implemented at an institutional level to ensure consistency of student experience across courses,” Eaton told the Sun in an email. “AI is relatively new in higher education, and professors need guidance on its fair and equitable implementation. Students should expect a reasonable level of consistency across their courses.”

Eaton said it is not enough for policies to exist, but they must be accessible and enforceable, adding that policies that are either too loose or too harsh are unlikely to be welcomed or enacted regularly.

Regarding the final decision that rests with the academic integrity committee, Eaton, who is also a professor at the University of Calgary, said anti-racism training is essential.

“It would cost the institution little or nothing to ensure that academic misconduct committees receive training to help ensure that institutional commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion are included in the adjudication of student conduct matters,” she said. “Many individuals from equity-deserving groups have already experienced discrimination, so using a trauma-informed approach can also help to ensure that compassion and dignity are maintained throughout the process.”

Eaton also commented on the potential pitfalls of a “one size fits all” approach to student discipline, noting that it can be antithetical to equity, diversity and inclusion principles.

BU agreed AI is a big test for learning institutions around the world, and as it continues to evolve, “so do our responses. We have excellent and well-tested checks and balances in place, and following our policies and processes leads us to outcomes that are fair, consistent, and transparent.”

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