As ChatGPT Edu enters campus, students, faculty and staff consider the ways campus learning will be impacted by the new tool.
ChatGPT Edu is a large language model geared for academia. It was acquired by the Chancellor’s Office for nearly $17 million over a 36-month contract for all 23 CSU campuses. While some campuses have already rolled out ChatGPT Edu, Chico State is rolling it out in a series of emails Tuesday through Thursday.
What are students saying?
Students have most likely heard of ChatGPT. When ChatGPT 3.5 was released to the public it sent shockwaves throughout all of academia. Immediately, universities made efforts to crack down as more and more students began to submit work created by artificial intelligence. Now, people have a plethora of AI tools to choose from.
Owen Messer responded to The Orion’s Google form regarding the ChatGPT Edu launch and said he doesn’t plan to sign up for the platform.
“I think the toll this will take on both academic integrity and the environment far outweighs any potential benefits,” he said. “I think this is a horrible and rushed decision that will have clear consequences.”
Freshman Lukas Buhler, who’s studying business information systems, was unaware of the ChatGPT Edu launch, but was familiar with ChatGPT. Buhler uses ChatGPT to help expand on his learning in classes and plans to make a ChatGPT Edu account.
Freshman Hannha Fritsch, who is studying child development, was unaware of the roll out, but knows about ChatGPT. She said that she plans on using ChatGPT Edu to help her with classes.
“I feel like some teachers I’ve noticed already use AI, so I don’t feel like it’s totally bad at all.”
Ryan Younger, a business major with junior standing, shared that he plans to make an account. He’s already seen AI integrated into his classes, specifically for revisionary purposes. He thinks plagiarism needs to be rethought.
“Who knows what has been plagiarized?” he asked.
While Younger isn’t sure how he plans to use it he sees the benefit.
Natalie Gonzales, a mechatronic engineering major in her third year, said she thinks she’ll make an account. She’s proud that the university is encouraging the use and establishing boundaries rather than fighting AI. However, Gonzales is worried about people using it for basic skills like writing emails. Currently, Gonzales uses AI to help summarize and further learn concepts from her classes.
Diego Perez, a mechanical engineering major in his third year, said that he most likely will make an account. He thinks it’s a “pretty useful tool as long as you use it for the right stuff.” He said the feedback from AI is good, but it’s bad at giving the correct answers. He hopes this will be seen as an opportunity for people to learn how to use AI.
Freshman Macey Taylor, majoring in media arts, said she has concerns about AI in general, but no concerns for how it affects class.
“Easier for me I guess, less work,” she said.
She anticipates she’ll use it to help with assignments, giving the example of outlining essays and expanding on concepts from class.
Freshman Elijah Swatt, majoring in mechanical engineering, wasn’t aware of ChatGPT Edu but would consider signing up. He said he was “surprised because ChatGPT is well known to fake stuff — surprised it’s being implemented and integrated into Chico.”
Swatt has concerns for the professors, and the possibility of an increase in AI work being submitted, explaining, “ChatGPT is now inside the school, you’re kinda allowed to use it now.”
Marysa Taylor, a music education major in her third year, said she was aware of the roll out but won’t be using it.
“It takes away from creativity,” she said.
Taylor thinks it “will make students reliant on AI, which is the opposite of [what] a university is about.”
Taylor doesn’t have faith in students using it ethically, explaining, “Students won’t use it for help, they’ll use it to do the whole thing.”
Taylor characterized the entire roll out as “incredibly stupid.”
Freshman Joel Randall, majoring in civil engineering, wasn’t aware of ChatGPT Edu but he thinks if it’s free then he doesn’t see any harm. He shared that he likes the idea, and currently uses AI to help further expand on concepts and do homework.
What are faculty saying?
Some instructional faculty have been transparent about how they use AI in their classrooms. Some choose to have their students critique work and expand from AI work, while others use it to help design classes, curate discussion questions and create scenarios to experiment with.
Instructional faculty still have the option to choose the ways in which their students engage with AI in their classrooms.
Assistant Professor of Art Education Sangmin Lee was aware of the ChatGPT Edu roll out. He shared his awareness of the growing popularity of AI, but feels it is important as educators to strike a balance between the robots and creatives.
Assistant Professor Stephen Caldes, from the journalism and public relations department, shared his skepticism about AI. He wishes that the campus knew more about it before the university just accepted it. Caldes wonders why it’s being integrated into the university, later clarifying that to form a more concise opinion he would need to know more and see the downstream effects.
Professor Jeanne Clark in the English department said in an email “We won’t be using ChatGPT in my poetry writing classes.”
Steve Stewart, a lecturer in the social science program said he was aware ChatGPT Edu was coming to campus. He already uses ChatGPT, Dall-E and NotebookLM to help with work. He currently allows, and encourages, his students to use AI in his classes.
“It will help level the playing field for students so that I can know they all have access to the most current AI from ChatGPT. That will be helpful when I am designing assignments for them,” Stewart said.
Dylan Sanders, a lecturer in the mechanical and mechatronic engineering and advanced manufacturing department, said he teaches a hands-on class on manufacturing labs, so students using AI isn’t an issue for him. However, he currently uses it himself to make working instructions and video tutorials.
Italo Lima, an associate professor in the college of agriculture, shared that he was aware of ChatGPT Edu. He believes that students should be trained on how to use it and understand that the benefit versus risk of ChatGPT Edu comes down to how you use it, comparing it to how a car can transport you from one place to another or kill someone.
Currently, Lima uses AI to help communicate, since English isn’t his first language he utilizes the AI tools to help make what he’s trying to say more clear for his students.
What are staff saying?
Staff across Chico State use AI to expedite mundane or repetitive work. Many have shared that they use it to help draft and summarize emails along with distilling information. Provost Leslie Cornick has shared that her and the Provost Advisory Council used ChatGPT to summarize feedback on the restructuring of academic affairs.
Maria Barriga, a student success advisor in the college of communication and education, shared she wasn’t sure how to feel due to the uncertainty of how it’ll be implemented and used. She voiced fears about plagiarism and students not creating original work. Barriga sees uses for AI in her own job, with some examples she gave being summarizing emails or sifting through research.
Jocelyn Ahern, an admin support coordinator in the anthropology department responded to The Orion’s Google form and said she was planning to use ChatGPT Edu. Ahern currently uses AI to summarize articles and organize notes.
“In order to prepare students for the workforce, they have to be AI literate. Just check any discussion about job skills employers are looking for from new employees,” Ahern said. “The university has to be proactive, especially when it comes to training faculty and staff on how to use it ahead of students.”
Elizabeth Quivey, a resource librarian for the department of music theatre and dance shared her lack of enthusiasm about the system. She said that she doesn’t plan on using ChatGPT Edu but isn’t too worried about its arrival.
Theresa Mundy, a senior assistant to the dean of the college of humanities and fine arts, shared that she went to the forum on ChatGPT Edu and remains curious about how it’ll be used and implemented throughout the university. Mundy shared it’s important that we learn to think for ourselves and to think critically about how to use these systems responsibly. She said she sees its uses, for example, mundane tasks.
“It remains to be seen.” Mundy said.
It is unclear how ChatGPT Edu will reshape the culture in our classrooms and campus at large. The future of the world is moving toward AI and embracing it has the opportunity to help students learn more about the systems that they will work side by side with when they leave academia and enter the workforce.
Chris Hutton can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]
