Ask HN: How are colleges adapting to the era of AI-Produced Essays?

5 points·efeC··7 comments

I was wondering that as AI technology gains popularity this year, how might colleges change their application process to stop AI-written essays?

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More writing assignments inside the classroom where gadgets are not allowed. Less take away, home essays. As someone else has pointed out, you could already hire someone to write an essay for you long before AI assistance was available.

Just be mindful with anybody that has a disability in writing that relies on technology like speech to text. This excludes their ability to leverage what they know in the classroom.

I doubt the above commenter's actions involve interfering with legitimate accommodations that students have established with the school. Accommodations around writing have existed well before ChatGPT or AI. Professors don't want to get on the wrong side of a disability dispute at all. It is up to the student to pursue those accommodations, however.

Lots of schools are using AI detection software, however I think this is because ChatGPT has really only been huge for an academic year so course policies are already set in stone.

Going forward a lot more grading emphasis on in-class quizzes and assignments. Most classes already weight the final for 20-30 percent of the grade and I've seen some profs who assign essay finals instead assign in-class writing finals.

One student I talked to said her professor made them use word and share editing history.

I am a lecturer. It makes me smile that we are hounding students on one hand and on the other hand typing, "create a lesson for me".

Put simply universities are utilizing AI detection services for applications and assignments.

Did they ever do anything to adapt to the "essay coach" produced essays?

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