Latest news with #Draftback
The Star
41 minutes ago
- The Star
Panel with AI experts to review appeal of Singapore university student penalised for academic misconduct
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. 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.' - The Straits Times/ANN
AsiaOne
4 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Panel with AI experts to review appeal of NTU student penalised for academic misconduct, Singapore News
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. [[nid:719386]] 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.' [[nid:676571]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Straits Times
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.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
AsiaOne
4 days ago
- AsiaOne
NTU penalises 3 students over use of AI tools; they dispute university's findings, Singapore News
SINGAPORE — The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has confirmed that three students got zero marks for an assignment after they were found to have used generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) tools in their work. They were penalised for academic misconduct as the assignments contained non-existent academic references and statistics or broken web links, the university said. All three students, who were enrolled in a module on health, disease outbreaks and politics, were investigated in April. They were given the opportunity to present their cases during a formal review, NTU said on June 22 in response to queries from The Straits Times. Two admitted to using Gen AI tools while the third claimed to be unaware that the platform they used — which markets itself as an AI-powered essay-writing service — fell under that category, NTU said. But the three students told ST that they were accused of academic fraud over citation-related issues despite submitting evidence of their writing process or intent. They also raised issues with the disciplinary processes. A spokesperson for NTU's School of Social Sciences said the course's instructor — whom ST understands is Assistant Professor Sabrina Luk — had "explicitly prohibited" the use of AI tools for written assignments throughout the semester. 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." NTU said students were reminded multiple times that using Gen AI would result in a zero grade for the assignment, a sanction that was formally communicated to all three students in early May. It accounted for 45 per cent of the overall grade for the module. The university added that citing non-existent sources "undermines the credibility and authority of academic writing", and is a serious form of academic misconduct. NTU did not respond to questions about the situation, including how it assesses citation or reference errors, the rules regarding citation generators and AI summarisers, and instances where students can use AI. Its response comes after a Reddit post by one of the students on June 19 went viral. 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 posted on Reddit told ST 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. The Year 3 public policy and global affairs student, who requested to remain anonymous, said she tried making a formal appeal to the school's academic board. However, her attempts to reschedule the necessary consultations before appeal deadlines were unsuccessful. In response to NTU's June 22 statement, she said that all three students had provided updated citations of the sources they used - challenging the issue of them using "non-existent sources". She added that the professor had acknowledged these updates. In an e-mail exchange seen by ST, she had sent the professor the updated sources and a final essay that corrected the citation mistakes. "I deeply regret not double-checking my citations and rushing through the process," her e-mail said, adding that she understands the "importance of academic integrity". In response, the professor thanked her for the journal articles and the updated final essay in an e-mail. The Year 3 student also claimed she was "shut down" whenever she tried to present her case, and the professor had told her there was "no negotiation". "When I appealed through the academic integrity officer, there wasn't even a panel," she said, adding that this happened over a brief e-mail exchange. A second student from the same degree course told ST he was accused of academic fraud over allegedly fake or inaccurate citations despite his explanations and evidence suggesting otherwise. The Year 4 student said his professor had initially deducted 10 marks from his assignment after accepting his account that he had used AI tools to locate information, not to generate content. However, he said that NTU's School Academic Integrity Officer overruled the decision and issued a zero grade without a hearing, which gave him a formal misconduct record. The student said he appealed the decision without success. The third student, who was also from the same course, told ST she was accused of academic misconduct over allegedly fake and inaccurate citations. The Year 4 student said she had used the website to compile her references. She said her essay did not contain any AI-generated content or fabricated sources. She said she had disclosed using ChatGPT to assist with background research when her professor asked if she had used any generative AI tools after she submitted her essay. The student said she was given a formal review before receiving a zero for the assignment and a formal record of misconduct. She alleged the professor raised her voice at her during the hearing, and she felt she was not given a fair chance to explain herself. She said her subsequent attempts at contacting the school were ignored. In March 2024, ST reported that students enrolled in Singapore universities have been allowed to use AI tools to complete their assignments. However, they cannot flout rules on academic honesty and plagiarism, among other things. All six autonomous universities, including NTU, have adopted this position. [[nid:718541]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Straits Times
NTU penalises three students for use of AI tools, students dispute university's findings
NTU said the students were penalised for academic misconduct as the assignments contained non-existent academic references and statistics or broken web links. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM NTU penalises three students for use of AI tools, students dispute university's findings SINGAPORE - The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has confirmed that three students got zero marks for an assignment after they were found to have used generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) tools in their work. They were penalised for academic misconduct as the assignments contained non-existent academic references and statistics or broken web links, the university said. All three students, who were enrolled in a module on health, disease outbreaks and politics, were investigated in April. They were given the opportunity to present their cases during a formal review, NTU said on June 22 in response to queries from The Straits Times. Two admitted to using Gen AI tools, while the third claimed to be unaware that the platform they used - which markets itself as an AI-powered essay writing service - fell under that category, it said. A spokesperson from NTU's School of Social Sciences said the course's instructor – whom ST understands is Assistant Professor Sabrina Luk – had 'explicitly prohibited' the use of AI tools for written assignments throughout the semester. NTU said students were reminded multiple times that using gen AI would result in a zero grade for the assignment, a sanction that was formally communicated to all three students in early May. It accounted for 45 per cent of the overall grade for the course. The university added that citing non-existent sources 'undermines the credibility and authority of academic writing', and is a serious form of academic misconduct. NTU's response comes after a Reddit post made by one of the students on June 19 went viral. In the post, she claimed that 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 requested to remain anonymous, told ST that she had provided proof of her writing process, including a time lapse of her writing recorded by Draftback, a Google Chrome extension that records one's writing process, but was not met with leniency. She was told she had committed academic fraud, resulting in a permanent academic warning and a drop in her grade point average. The Year 3 public policy and global affairs student said she tried making a formal appeal to the school's academic board. However, her attempts to reschedule the necessary consultations before appeal deadlines were unsuccessful. A second student from the same degree course told ST he was accused of academic fraud over allegedly fake or inaccurate citations, despite his explanations and evidence suggesting otherwise. The Year 4 student said his professor had initially deducted 10 marks from his assignment after accepting his account that he had used AI tools to locate information, not to generate content. However, he said that NTU's School Academic Integrity Officer overruled the decision and issued a zero grade without a hearing, which gave him a formal misconduct record. The student said he appealed that decision without success. In March 2024, ST reported that students enrolled in Singapore universities have been allowed to use AI tools to complete their assignments. However, they cannot flout rules on academic honesty and plagiarism, among other things. All six autonomous universities, including NTU, said they adopted this position. Additional reporting by Emerald Lo Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
