SOAS issues guidance to students on the use of AI
SOAS University of London has provided guidance to its students on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and set out its position on the challenges and opportunities posed by new forms of AI technology, such as ChatGPT.
In its guidance, SOAS said: “Used in the right way, generative AI can support students’ learning and development. At its worst, if abused, AI has the potential to devalue our degrees and detract students from the learning gained through their assessments.”
The University’s guidance presents students with a list of dos and don’ts, covering good practice for using AI in learning and preparing for written assessments.
“The increasing prevalence of AI in society means that prohibiting students’ use of AI tools is unlikely to be effective. As educators, we should approach the use of AI tools with a critical lens but foster a long-term conversation about the effects of AI in collaboration with students, employers and others” said SOAS in its AI statement.
ChatGPT and generative AI – a guide for students.pdf
PDF document, 165.96KB
Academic integrity
SOAS has also set out how academics can help support academic integrity in the way student learning is assessed: “meaningful assessment [can] involve the interrogation of theories and material based on students’ own practices and frameworks of reference. As such, assessments [can] challenge or develop students’ own personal understandings and practices.
“This kind of assessment is difficult for AI to respond to as it requires the answer to come from the students’ experience and develops student agency beyond the accumulation of knowledge.”
Dr Ilana Webster-Kogen, Interim Director for Learning and Teaching (Enhancement and Foundation) at SOAS, said:
"Universities around the world are thinking through the complex issues presented by AI, particularly around assessment. Our guidance and statement aims to support our students and contribute to the fast-moving AI discussion taking place in Higher Education.
"As we learn more about a technology that continues to develop, our approach will need to be reviewed regularly in dialogue with academics and students."
