“You cannot make policies about some of these tools without understanding how they work,” [Ria Bharadwaj, a principal at Tyton Partners] said. “Your students are using them; they’re not going to stop using them.” 

Fact #1: Students are already using GenAI

• 46% of students entering university as freshmen are already using GenAI and of those, about half have used them to complete their academic work

• 35% of high school students are using the tools at least once/week and 74% use them because they believe it will improve their grades

• 50% of college students say they'll use the tools even when faculty ban them

• 86% of 3,800 students from 16 countries say they "regularly" use GenAI tools, with 54% claiming weekly use and 24% using to draft their academic work

Fact #2: Students are worried about the impact that AI will have on them and on the quality of their educational experience

• 47% of surveyed college students say it's easier to cheat because of GenAI

• 39% feel that their future livelihoods are threatened by GenAI

• 40% of high school students believe that their critical thinking skills will suffer with use of GenAI

• 55% believe that overusing AI devalues their education

Fact #3: Student Use Outpaces Faculty Use

• 36% of instructors are using GenAI compared to 59% of students

• 60% of students use GenAI once/month

• 44% of students will pay for upgraded GenAI tools, while only 13% of faculty will

  • NOTE: because paid versions of the tools are often more sophisticated, instructors who only use free versions will likely underestimate the impact of these tools on their assessments

Fact #4: Instructor Opinions of AI Differ by their Use

• 60% of Instructors who do NOT use the tools believe AI will have a negative impact on student learning

• 36% of regular (at least monthly) users believe the same thing