Are Colleges Using AI Detectors?

In response to the advancements and availability of AI, educators have been looking for ways to create transparency when it comes to AI writing in the classroom. 

Since AI detectors can quickly determine the potential presence of AI content in a paper, these tools are a promising option for educators. This leads to the question, are colleges using AI detectors?

Read on to learn about the use of AI checkers in colleges and the benefits of AI detection in education.

Key Takeaways (TL;DR)

• Students are using ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) in schoolwork.
• Some — but not all — colleges and universities use AI detectors to check student assignments, while others use them for research.
• There are benefits to using AI checkers in the classroom.
• False positives are part of AI detection, so AI detectors shouldn’t be the only method that determines cheating in academia.

Is AI Used in Schoolwork?

According to a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 46.9% of college students use LLMs like ChatGPT in their work (review a summary of the 2024 study on students using LLMs).

The researchers further noted that students aren’t always sure about the ethical vs. unethical use of LLMs to inform their work. 

So, although the study found that there is significant use of LLMs in college coursework, this number could drop in cases where educators establish a transparent AI policy.

Ways to help students navigate AI use

1. Educators should become familiar with AI tools

Get to know AI tools and their outputs to understand their pros and cons. This should provide a better idea of whether they have a place in a particular course, and if they do what role they can play.

2. Provide clear AI guidelines and policies

Establish clear, written guidelines about acceptable and unacceptable use of AI in schoolwork. The University of Toronto offers an excellent resource on the type of syllabus language to use regarding generative AI in assignments.

3. Discuss and review AI expectations

Verbally discuss expectations regarding AI use with students and teaching assistants (TAs) at the beginning of the course. This is also a great time to clarify whether you will check their work with AI detection methods.

Do Colleges and Universities Use AI Detectors?

Yes and no. As with many other academic rules and regulations, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to AI content detection in education. Whether colleges and universities choose to use them — not to mention, how they use them — depends on the institution.

Yes, some educational institutions use AI detectors

Some educational institutions are embracing AI technology. For example, take the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). Since they believe AI isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, they want their students to know how to work with it appropriately.

The keyword there, though, is appropriately. To ensure that students are only engaging in acceptable AI use in their coursework, RMIT specifies they may use tools to identify AI.

However, it should be noted that not all universities are on board yet with using AI content detectors to evaluate AI use in student work, and some have turned off AI detection software. 

To learn a specific institution’s stance on AI content detection methods and student assignments, visit their academic policies page.

Many universities use AI detectors in research and studies

Although not all universities use AI detection software for coursework, many use it in research and studies. For example, the University of Florida used AI detectors to explore the impact of AI-powered academic writing on scholarly practices.

Like several other studies that used AI detectors, they found Originality.ai’s to be the most effective. Try it yourself by signing up today.

Benefits of AI Detection in Education

If you decide to try AI content detection technology, you’ll find that there are plenty of advantages to AI detectors in education.

With Originality.ai’s AI checker, for example, you can:

• Identify likely AI-generated content to increase transparency.
• Share scans to help students learn about AI tools and detection.
• Feel confident that your data is secure with end-to-end military grade 256 bit encryption.
• Better support student learning. 

There are a lot of benefits to AI content detectors. However, it’s important to remember that false positives do occur.

A Note About False Positives in AI Detection

False positives do happen in AI detection, so it’s best not to use an AI detector as the only indication of cheating. The Originality.ai Lite model for educators (which permits light AI editing like Grammarly’s spelling suggestions) has a 98% accuracy rate and an under 1% false positive rate.

There are also a few things both teachers and students can do to reduce the risk of false positives:

• Have students complete articles in Google Docs and download Originality’s free Chrome extension, which shows the entire writing process. 
• Stay informed about how AI detection scores work. For example, a score of 60% original and 40% AI is not a false positive. It simply means that the tool has 60% confidence that it is human-written text.
• Remind students that incorporating AI into their work at all (including AI editing) can cause the article to flag as AI-generated content.

Ultimately, so everyone is on the same page, educators and students should stay informed about how AI content detection works.

Final Thoughts

There are several benefits to AI detection in education. When educators and students are informed and aware of how the technology works, AI checkers can be a great partner to establish the transparency of content in the classroom.

Ready to check it out for yourself? Try Originality.ai’s AI detector for education today.