Panel with AI experts to review appeal of NTU student penalised for academic misconduct
The student is one of three who were given zero marks for an essay as part of a module on health, disease outbreaks and politics. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
SINGAPORE - A panel with artificial intelligence experts convened by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will assess the appeal of one of the three university students who were penalised for AI usage in their submitted work.
All three of them were given zero marks for an essay as part of a module on health, disease outbreaks and politics at the School of Social Sciences.
In response to queries, NTU said on June 26 that it had met two of the students in separate face-to-face consultations this week to discuss their cases.
The objective of the consultation for the first student was to assess the grounds for appeal and not to make any conclusions about the specifics of her case, said a spokeswoman.
For the second student, her request for an appeal was rejected, as 'the student had admitted to using Gen AI for the essay and had shared how it was used prior to the preliminary inquiry in April', she added.
The third student told The Straits Times that he did not submit an appeal.
NTU said the first student has formally submitted her appeal to the university, adding that details cannot be provided while this process is ongoing.
This student had first recounted her experience of being questioned if she had used AI for an essay by her instructor, Assistant Professor Sabrina Luk, in a Reddit post on June 19. In the post, she claimed she was accused of using AI for a final essay for a particular module because she had made errors in her citations and used a reference organiser.
A reference organiser is a software tool that helps collect and organise references and citations.
The student, who is in her third year reading public policy and global affairs, said she had provided proof of her writing process but was not met with leniency. This included a time-lapse of her writing recorded by Draftback, a Google Chrome extension that records one's writing process.
She was told she had committed academic fraud, resulting in a permanent academic warning and a drop in her grade point average. She requested to remain anonymous.
She told ST that during this week's consultation, a panel consisting of senior academics reviewed her essay paragraph by paragraph and allowed her to explain her writing process, and show how she used the reference organiser.
In a Reddit post on June 26, she said that she would do her best to get grades for the other components of the assignment apart from the citations.
'But if this last attempt fails, then I'll treat this as a lesson that sometimes things are unfair, but we move forward,' she said.
The second student told ST that she felt 'hopeless' at the outcome of her request for an appeal. She said she had used AI only for background research and did not include any generated responses from ChatGPT in her essay. Her ChatGPT history and essay was shown during the proceedings.
She said she was not aware that using ChatGPT for background research was not allowed because of NTU's AI policy and was not asked to submit any academic integrity form.
University's stance on using AI
In general, students are allowed to use Gen AI in their assignments, the spokeswoman told ST.
'As part of academic integrity, students are asked to declare any use of AI and how they are being used,' she said. 'When using AI, students are ultimately responsible for the content generated. They must ensure factual accuracy and cite all sources properly.'
She added that some instructors may disallow the use of Gen AI for specific pedagogical reasons. In this case, the professor had disallowed AI use for a specific written assignment to assess students' research skills, their originality and independent thinking.
The professor's briefing slides to students, which were seen by ST, said: 'The use of ChatGPT and other AI tools are not allowed in the development or generation of the essay proposal or the long essay.
'You will receive a zero mark for the assignment if you are caught using ChatGPT and other AI for writing assignments.'
The spokeswoman said the university remains committed to its goal of equipping students with the knowledge and skills to use AI technologies 'productively, ethically and critically'.
'If AI is not allowed, the reasons are communicated to students, so they understand the course instructor's desired learning outcomes.'
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'Be meticulous about the procedures, record the right evidence, and know that you have every right to speak up — for yourself, and those who don't know how.' Reddit Users Applaud Student's Efforts, Question NTU's Initial Handling Under her Reddit post, many users congratulated the student for her persistence and courage in standing up for herself. Several noted that her actions had not only helped her own case but also opened the door for the other students involved to receive fair hearings. However, some users expressed disappointment at how NTU had initially handled the matter. One user remarked that it was disgraceful that the university 'only acted like a respectable, competent institution when faced with pressure from media'. Others argued that the university should have conducted a hearing from the outset, especially given the seriousness of the misconduct allegation. One user wrote that a proper review 'should've been the first thing NTU did when a professor slaps a student with such a serious offence'. One user who claimed to have previously worked in an academic support role expressed shock at how the case was handled. They criticised the university staff for failing to carry out basic steps, such as listening to the student and verifying the facts, before concluding that academic fraud had occurred. The user felt that although the professor had mishandled the situation, responsibility also lay with the wider academic staff. Calls for Accountability Some Reddit users also called for accountability on the part of the professor who issued the zero mark. One commented that the student 'deserved an apology' and hoped the professor's actions would have lasting consequences. Another user suggested that the professor should be removed from teaching, arguing that the mistake showed poor judgment. Grade Appeal Still Ongoing Despite the positive outcome of the hearing, some users expressed confusion and concern over whether the student's grade would remain at zero. 'If you're proven not to have cheated, why is the academic board keeping the zero?' one user asked. The student clarified that the hearing was separate from the grade appeal process, which was still ongoing. She said it could take several weeks to be processed but expressed hope that the final result would not remain a zero. She also provided an update that the two other students involved in the case were scheduled to have their hearings later in the same week. 'I've reached out to them on things to prepare for the meeting and will be supporting them as well. We'll be appealing our grades together,' she wrote.
