Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming higher education at speed. However, integrating AI into the student journey from induction to teaching and learning, and student outcomes, requires careful consideration of the pedagogical, ethical, and disciplinary implications.
Academics who are positive towards AI are seeking to harness it for enhancing teaching and learning experiences, or evolve their discipline, and administrative and professional services colleagues are aiming to understand the broader implications of AI in academic settings.
A year of development for Generative AI in Higher Education
The expansion of the capabilities of Generative AI was a big theme and widely discussed within higher education in 2023, which was then followed by a year of fact-finding and planning – now, 2024 should turn into a year of action.
As complex institutions, universities acknowledge that the speed of adoption can be an issue, which is also exacerbated by student expectations. Increasingly, students from all demographics are proficient consumers of technology, bringing assumptions into their study experience.
More and more students are also engaged in employment while completing their university studies and the changing student experience, including that specifically of international students, is well documented.
Global study of AI-based support among university students
So what do we know about student expectations for their institutions, focusing on AI-based support as a critical area of change and innovation?
We commissioned YouGov, as part of our Global Student Wellbeing Survey, to conduct research among students across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Singapore, and UAE. The survey ran over five weeks in November and December and gained 10,189 responses, of which 2,422 were in the UK, with 149 higher education institutions represented.
Here are three key emerging themes from the study:
1. Students’ expect AI study support tools
In the UK, a growing 39% of students across all demographics now expect their institution to offer AI support tools (i.e. a trained, digital helper that gives personal feedback and other 24/7 study help), and this is consistent for all age groups.
However, this is significantly higher among international students in the UK (57%) compared to their domestic counterparts (37%). Business students are more likely to want their university to innovate and provide AI support (57%) and Humanities and Social Sciences students are the least likely (29%). Males are more likely (47%) than females (35%) to expect their university to provide AI-based support.
The majority of students in most countries expect their university to offer AI support tools (57% overall). UAE and Saudi Arabia students have some of the highest expectations in the world for AI learning support (84% and 79% respectively).
2. Why? Speed of feedback, improving confidence
Speed of feedback – ‘only waiting minutes, not a day or several days’ – is the main reason that UK students would use their university’s AI support or feedback (26%), followed by improving confidence, specifically to check they are ‘on the right track through their assignment’ (17%).
Both speed and confidence are universal across all demographics of the students surveyed. The exception is that international students in the UK are slightly more likely to choose ‘confidence’ over speed (22% v 21%). Postgraduate students have the highest amount of need for speed of feedback and support. As a large proportion of postgraduates are in full-time employment (38%), this is not surprising to educators.
The main reason given by students in the majority of countries for using their university’s AI support or feedback was ‘speed’, apart from New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and UAE where ‘confidence to check they are on the right track’ was more prevalent than others.
3. Universities are not adapting quickly enough
64% of UK students say their university is not adapting quickly enough to include AI support tools to help with their study and accelerate the integration of AI tools for learning – and this is the picture across the board.
Analysis shows that students who feel stressed, ranging from ‘more than a few times a year’ through to ‘constantly’ (i.e. more than twice a day), also say the speed of feedback would be the biggest driver for them to use AI support or feedback (26%), followed by building confidence by being able to check they are on the right track (17%).
As well as the UK, students in Australia (55%) and Canada (60%) strongly perceive their university is not adapting fast enough to include AI support tools.
Addressing students’ perceptions of AI potential
Our UK study also found that a large proportion of students are confused about what AI is, and how it can be used in their educational setting. Many students expressed concerns about the ethical use of AI or its reliability, over AI potentially replacing human support, and there were also reports of university-wide bans.
However, whilst many students believe that AI can have an ethical and valid role in supporting their studies, they also feel their university does not have this understanding yet and is slow to react.
We recognise the opportunity, in particular, around AI learning technology to support all university students’ academic literacy skills. Importantly, universities can see students’ progress, and critical thinking development, pinpoint challenges, and take the next steps.
