Betty C. JungCollege students, professors are making their own AI rules. They don't always agree
www.npr.org/2026/03/03/n...
College students, professors a...
College students, professors a...
Inside Higher Ed and the Generation Lab survey: ~85% of undergraduates were using AI for coursework, including to brainstorm ideas, outline papers and study for exams. Roughly 19% of students also reported using AI to write full essays.
More than half of students who used AI for coursework had mixed feelings about it, reporting that it helps them sometimes but can also make them think less deeply. Cryer believes educators should use AI tools as little as possible in their teaching. (I agree!)
"It seems to be one of the main purposes of these tools is to keep you from having to think so hard," he says. "What we need is students to go through the process of writing research papers so they can become better thinkers,
so they can put together a cogent argument, so they can differentiate between a good source and a bad source," Cryer says.
And if students rely on AI to do their work for them, Cryer says, it could end up cheating them out of the education they signed up for.
Learning how to formulate her own ideas and beliefs and communicate them through writing has been one of the most valuable parts of her college experience, Elder says. She worries that if students lean on AI to do that for them, they won't learn to think for themselves.
My 2 Cents: The main problem is students don't know how to manage their time. Unfortunately, studies come last on their list of priorities. And, that's when they look for shortcuts, like AI. Thinking is hard, having AI do that for you is really cheating yourself from learning who you really are.