Curtin University Dubai, a branch campus of Curtin University in Western Australia, has announced that students will be required to take their exams with pen and paper in order to combat wide-spread cheating amongst students making use of the advanced artificial intelligence application, ChatGPT. As many as one third of the students in an Introduction to Management class were found to be using the smart app to complete essays and take exams. Daniel Adkins, Group Chief Executive of the Transnational Academic Group which runs the university expressed his worry about the app, as it could outdate universities in the near future.
This change comes after Curtin University was assessed and named one of the best universities in Dubai in July by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in partnership with Quacquarelli Symonds. The reaction to this cheating problem has been a call for a permanent return to paper exams, where students will have to be supervised and oral one-on-one sessions may take place. Adkin’s also expressed his hope that this measure would be accepted by the Curriculum Committee and become permanent in the future.
It has also been reported that numerous schools in the UAE have been testing new technologies to prevent cheating and with the rising concern of cheating in the world, other countries have followed suite in banning the Chatbot application. These countries include Russia, China, Iran and North Korea- solely because of privacy concerns.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, online learning tools have become a necessity for students worldwide. But facing the facts about widespread cheating, it could be time for a transition back to something more traditional.
Adkins expressed his worry about the lack of credibility universities would receive if students can easily cheat their way through exams, to the point where the university degree would become worthless. He faced some resistance from faculty, as automated grading makes the teachers lives a lot easier.
The AI chatbot created by the San Francisco-based OpenAI, cofounded by Elon Musk, has been seen to have positive results with language associated tasks and even job interview questions. However, the regulation of this application is still unclear, with no central regulatory body addressing it so far.
Ultimately, the hope is that this measure taken by Curtin University Dubai will become permanent and open a door to other university’s deciding to take similar actions. By doing so, universities can work towards maintaining the true credibility of their exam processes and the qualifications of their degree holders.
