AI is making degree assessments 'unfit for purpose' with students completing them 'in minutes' for top grades, lecturers say - as watchdog calls for more traditional exams
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Lecturers have warned artificial intelligence (AI) is making degree assessments 'unfit for purpose' as the universities regulator called for a return to traditional exams.
A report from the Office for Students (OfS) said AI now presents a 'generational risk' to universities because it enables so much cheating on coursework.
Students told the regulator their peers are completing assessments 'in minutes' using AI - and get similar grades to those who do tasks without it.
Many degrees rely heavily on coursework, but the OfS wants to see greater emphasis on supervised, closed-book exams.
The OfS has today published new guidance threatening fines for allowing AI to compromise assessments.
Josh Fleming, director of strategy and delivery at the OfS, said that while AI had the potential to provide benefits, it needed to be better regulated.
He added: 'It also presents a generational risk to the system as it stands, threatening to undermine students' learning and institutions' ability to assess them.
'We need to see far greater efforts to tackle these risks, including far greater use of AI-free assessment.'
Lecturers have warned AI is making degree assessments 'unfit for purpose' as the universities regulator called for a return to traditional exams (file photo)
Researchers for the report spoke to 300 students and staff from more than 120 higher education institutions this year.
One lecturer said: 'I think we're realising that a number of our assessments may be unfit for purpose, and that pervasive use of AI may render our assessment of students close to impossible in some areas.'
Another said: 'AI has put academic integrity at serious risk... Coursework is now overwhelmingly written in part, or exclusively, with the help of AI. Presentation slides fare no better.'
Students told the researchers that often their peers would use AI to complete tasks and were 'unable to recall basic details about the assessment they had just submitted'.
One student said: 'It is incredibly disconcerting when I plan and write an essay completely by myself, and get the exact same grade as someone who used AI to write it.'
Another said: 'I've had people admit, peer-to-peer: "I wrote this whole essay with ChatGPT."
'Then they don't get caught - they get a good grade, probably - and then because it worked the first time, they do it on their next assessment.'
Previous research from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think-tank found 94 per cent of students are now using generative AI in their assessed university work.
Today's report, compiled in partnership with Advance HE, noted that 'many institutions continue to use unsupervised assessments that can be completed to a high standard using AI tools without substantive engagement from students'.
It added that use of AI in unsupervised assessments 'cannot be reliably detected' and that resulting scores are unlikely to demonstrate 'knowledge and skills'.
'This presents a significant risk to the credibility of assessments... and the reputation of the sector,' it said.
It added that 'secure' assessment methods – such as closed-book exams, presentations and practical or performance-based assessments – can instead provide a 'high degree of confidence'.
A Department for Education spokesman said: 'Universities are already responsible for preventing academic misconduct including misuse of AI and the regulator will intervene if universities fail to deliver effective and valid assessments that result in credible qualifications.
'We expect universities to take this issue seriously and we expect the Office for Students to both enforce the existing standards effectively, and work at pace to ensure its regulatory framework is explicit.'
A Universities UK spokesman also said: 'Many (institutions) have made substantial changes to how they assess students. This includes more in-person exams, presentations, process-based assessment and assessments that integrate AI in a controlled way.
'AI technology continues to evolve rapidly, meaning reviews of how students are assessed cannot be one-off exercises. Not only must assessments be "AI-proof", they must also remain academically rigorous, fair and relevant.'
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