What recommendations do students have for UBC and UBC faculty about Generative AI? 

Students expressed enthusiasm for GenAI’s potential to improve learning outcomes and noted a need to prepare for an AI-driven future. Rather than prohibiting students from using GenAI, they encourage faculty to explore ways to integrate GenAI into coursework, assessments, and teaching methods. This might include: 

• Educating students on when and how to use GenAI.
• Developing assignments that leverage GenAI capabilities.
• Using GenAI to create personalized learning experiences.
• Developing GenAI activities that provide immediate feedback.
• Creating GenAI-powered tutoring systems to supplement traditional instruction.
• Exploring unique, discipline specific applications of GenAI.

Students also encourage UBC to provide access to paid GenAI tools to encourage equity in access.

Recognizing GenAI’s potential impact on academic integrity, students suggest adapting assessment methods to maintain fairness and encourage genuine learning. Students recommended a variety of potential ways to do this including:

• Shift from assessments that focus on recall to assessments that that emphasize critical thinking and application of knowledge.
• Where possible, consider implementing in-class tests or oral exams, or using presentations and projects to assess student learning.
• Explore alternative assessment formats that focus on the learning process and individual progress, such as mastery-based learning.

For further ideas about GenAI and assessment design, check out Assessment Design using Generative AI.

Students also suggested it would be helpful for UBC to provide faculty training and time to explore how to develop assessments in ways that GenAI assistance would be irrelevant or easily detectable. While some students suggested UBC develop robust AI detection tools and fair procedures for addressing misconduct cases, many students expressed concerns about the accuracy and reliability of AI detection software, particularly its potential for false positives, which many students reported as a source of stress and anxiety. Students recommend either discontinuing the use of such software or, at a minimum, using it cautiously and in conjunction with other methods of assessing academic integrity.

Students overwhelmingly called for UBC to develop comprehensive, university-wide policies on GenAI usage to address inconsistent rules across courses and disciplines. While this ‘one size fits all’ approach to policy may not be realistic for a university as large and complex as UBC, students noted significant challenges with navigating inconsistent and sometimes vague course level policies around GenAI. In lieu of university, faculty or department wide policies, students recommend individual faculty:

• Develop a clear and specific course policy on GenAI usage.
• Explicitly state this policy in the course syllabus.
• When possible, include concrete examples of acceptable and unacceptable use.
• Include when and how students should disclose GenAI use.
• Include how students should cite AI-generated content.
• Recommend GenAI tools relevant to the course or specific activities within the course.
• Openly and often discuss their expectations around GenAI usage with students.

Students request UBC offer a range of learning opportunities (workshops, resources, courses), for both them and for faculty, on topics such as:

• Understanding how GenAI works.
• Understanding GenAI’s capabilities, limitations, and potential biases.
• How to identify AI-generated content and assess its reliability.
• Ethical considerations of GenAI along with learning strategies for responsible and ethical GenAI usage.
• Developing skills in prompt engineering to effectively use GenAI tools for learning.
• Understanding the environmental impact of GenAI.
• Using GenAI to assess and improve learning.

Several students suggested incorporating GenAI education into existing first-year courses or tutorials. Students also express a strong interest in credit courses on GenAI and its implications for and applications to various fields of study.

Students urge UBC to consider the ethical and environmental implications of AI. They recommend:

• Transparency from UBC regarding the use of student, faculty and staff data in GenAI development and training.
• Transparency from individual faculty on whether student produced work or student feedback will be uploaded to GenAI tools and an option to opt-out of this.
• Discussions within and beyond courses on data privacy, copyright, and potential bias in AI systems.
• Open conversations on the harmful environmental impacts of GenAI technologies, what is UBC doing to promote sustainable practices, and what students and faculty can do as individuals.

Further, students urge UBC to consider the broader societal impacts of GenAI, particularly its potential to stifle creativity and diminish critical thinking skills.