49% of UK universities lack AI usage guidelines according to study
A new StuRents study has found that 49% of UK universities do not provide guidelines on their official websites for using artificial intelligence in academic settings.
Only 82 out of 160 institutions examined have clear instructions for faculty and students. The lack of guidance leaves a lot of uncertainty about whether AI use is permissible and what the best practices are for its ethical application.
The findings come amid increasing concerns regarding AI in education. A study by Preply analysed over 12,000 essays to compare human and AI-generated content highlighted the challenges of detecting AI writing, noting that context and familiarity with students' work are crucial in identifying AI-generated content.
The study revealed regional differences in the availability of AI guidelines across universities:
North East: Only Newcastle University has provided AI usage guidelines for staff and students, leaving 75% of the region's universities without any clear directives.
East Midlands: The region has the highest proportion of universities with AI guidance, though 22% still lack such guidelines.
Universities with AI guidance include:
University of Nottingham: 33,520 FTE students
Nottingham Trent University: 32,545 FTE students
De Montfort University, Leicester: 23,125 FTE students
University of Derby: 16,170 FTE students
Loughborough University: 16,110 FTE students
University of Lincoln: 15,020 FTE students
University of Northampton: 10,145 FTE students
Universities without AI guidance:
University of Leicester: 14,000 FTE students
Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln: 2,115 FTE students
StuRents created a list of 160 UK universities using Times Higher Education Rankings. They collected data on students, websites, and locations. They searched each institution's site for AI usage guidelines and calculated the percentage with and without guidelines to highlight regional differences.
“There’s clearly much work still to do,” said Michael Rainsford, Director at StuRents. “AI usage is becoming far more common. Yet, our findings show little in the way of assisting university faculty with detecting it more accurately, or guiding students in using it ethically.”
