A.I. Cheating Allegation for Using Grammarly
We have discussed in previous blog posts the rise in university academic violations stemming from the use of artificial intelligence by students. ChatGPT is the typical culprit used by students to gain an unfair advantage when completing their assignments. On an interesting note, we have a novel situation out of the University of North Georgia. Marley Stevens, a student, faced an academic violation for her use of Grammarly. If found guilty she faces academic probation and the loss of a scholarship.
Grammarly is a popular writing browser plugin that uses generative AI to help the user correct spelling and grammar, check for plagiarism, and it offers word choice suggestions. Thus, it does not provide full write ups and essays like the ChatGPT software. Yet, the student found herself in hot water with her university. To the student’s surprise once she submitted her work to the professor, she received a zero on the assignment. The reason: the professor used an A.I. detection service to review course assignments. That A.I. detection service flagged Ms. Steven’s assignment as using A.I. assistance. Thus, she was deemed to have “unintentionally cheated” and received an automatic zero on the assignment. To make matters worse, the university’s website recommends students to utilize the Grammarly browser plugin to refine their work. The student appealed the academic violation without representation and the university upheld the disciplinary decision.
Now we don’t have the details of the appeal so we cannot determine the university’s position in this case. It is possible that the disciplinary board found that the use of Grammarly constituted cheating despite the language used on their own website. Or maybe the student could not prove that the A.I. detection service flag was solely related to the use of Grammarly. In other words, the student was unable to establish that no other A.I. programs were used other than Grammarly. Or maybe there were other factors not mentioned in the news articles. So, what is the take aways for students who want to use Grammarly in school, but do not want to be accused of cheating.
Students should take proactive steps to protect themselves when using Grammarly. Here are some suggestions if you choose to use Grammarly:
Review your student catalog on the university’s policy on using A.I. software, specifically Grammarly.
Review the course syllabus on the professor’s policy on using Grammarly.
Speak to each professor directly regarding their policy on whether you are permitted to use Grammarly.
Notify you professor that you will be using Grammarly on your assignments before turning them in.
Best practices dictate that you do everything in writing. It is always more effective when defending yourself during an academic violation appeal to show direct evidence of a conversation instead of testifying “I spoke to the professor and they said I could use it.”
If you can’t get anything in writing then you can always send confirming emails to memorialize the conversation with your professors or university administrations.
And as always seek legal representation at the onset of legal troubles. This student’s appeal may have had a different outcome if she had sought legal counsel from the start.