A joint study by the Office for Students and Advance HE found that AI-generated work often goes undetected by staff, producing uniform submissions and sparking ethical tensions among peers. The findings raise urgent concerns about remote coursework and exams, formats that expanded during the pandemic and remain active at 93 UK universities. To protect academic validity, the regulator has suggested reintroducing invigilated, in-person testing methods. Non-compliant universities could face strict sanctions, including limits on student recruitment and freezes on tuition fee increases.
Key points
The Office for Students recommends shifting back to practical and closed-book exams to sa…: The Office for Students recommends shifting back to practical and closed-book exams to safeguard the credibility of higher education.
Surveyed university staff noted tensions between students employing AI tools and peers ab…: Surveyed university staff noted tensions between students employing AI tools and peers abstaining for environmental or ethical reasons.
Student representatives argue that AI disruption highlights the necessity of replacing tr…: Student representatives argue that AI disruption highlights the necessity of replacing traditional essays with innovative learning models.
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Too many university students can use AI to complete assessments without staff finding out, the higher education regulator in England has said.
The Office for Students (OfS) said "a significant proportion" of assessments are unsupervised and many can be completed to a high standard with AI, sometimes in minutes.
It said this posed a "significant risk" to their credibility, and closed-book and practical exams were the most effective forms of assessments.
Universities UK said many institutions had "made substantial changes" to make assessments "AI-proof".
Universities that do not meet OfS quality standards could soon be banned from charging increased tuition fees or have caps imposed on their student numbers, under proposals that are now being consulted on.
The new research from the OfS and Advance HE, a charity that gives awards for teaching excellence, is based on the views of 244 higher education staff and 91 students from at least 127 universities.
It said "a significant proportion of assessments" were in "unsupervised, non-controlled formats where AI can be accessed by students completing them".
Escalating infrastructure and development costs continue to weigh heavily on the artificial intelligence sector as profitability remains elusive for top players. While top-line growth surged, the widening deficit underscores the massive capital required to sustain advanced model operations. These disclosures coincide with heightened investor scrutiny over fiscal viability, setting a critical backdrop for rival offerings across the market.
The National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University has updated its postgraduate curriculum to address the pedagogical challenges posed by generative technology in classrooms. Designed for educators, the programme examines ways to deploy artificial intelligence while preserving critical thinking, student agency, and collaborative engagement. This shift reflects growing institutional demand to ensure automated assistance deepens rather than undermines foundational learning processes.
Underwriters handling the public market debut are evaluating higher target metrics to capitalize on strong interest from the investment community. Adjusting the initial terms would push the artificial intelligence developer into a market capitalization tier of at least $1.5 trillion. This potential shift reflects significant institutional appetite for premier artificial intelligence assets ahead of the offering.