Singapore – Nanyang Technological University (NTU) confirmed that after it was discovered that three students used the Generated Artificial Intelligence (GEN AI) tool for their work, they acquired a Zero Mark for their assignment.
The university said they were punished for academic misconduct because the assignment contained non-existent academic references and statistics or broken web links.
All three students registered in the Health, Illness outbreak and Politics module were surveyed in April. They were given the opportunity to present their case during a formal review, the NTU said on June 22 in response to a question from the Straits Period.
NTU said the two admitted to using Gen AI tools, but claimed they were unaware that the AI-powered platforms are selling them as AI-powered essay writing services.
A spokesman for NTU's School of Social Sciences said the instructors in the courses understood by ST said Assistant Professor Sabrina Rukh had “explicitly banned” the use of AI tools on written assignments throughout the semester.
The professor's briefing slide, in a slide to students seen by ST, states:
“If you get caught using ChatGPT and other AI to write an assignment, you will receive a zero mark for your assignment.”
NTU said it has repeatedly reminded students that using Gen AI will result in zero grades to the assignment, a sanction officially communicated to all three students in early May. It accounted for 45% of the overall grade of the module.
The university cited non-existent sources, saying it “undermines the credibility and authority of academic writing,” adding that it is a serious form of academic misconduct.
NTU did not respond to situational questions, such as how to evaluate citations and reference errors, rules regarding citation generators and AI summaries, and instances where students can use AI.
NTU's response comes after a Reddit post made by one of the students went viral on June 19th. In the post, she claimed that she was accused of using AI in the final essays of certain modules because she made mistakes in the quote and used a reference organizer.
Reference Organizer is a software tool that helps you collect and organize references and citations.
All three students told ST that they were accused of academic fraud over citation-related issues despite providing evidence of the writing process or intent. They also raised the issue of the disciplinary process.
A student who posted to Reddit told ST that he provided evidence of the writing process but never met generosity. This includes the time lapse of her writing recorded by the draftback, as well as a Google Chrome extension that records the writing process.
She was said to have committed academic fraud, resulting in permanent academic warnings and a drop in grade point averages.
A third year public policy and global affairs student said he wanted to remain anonymous and tried to make a formal appeal to the school's academic committee. However, her attempts have sought to reschedule necessary consultations before the appeal deadline failed.
In response to NTU's June 22nd statement, she said she provided the latest quotes of the sources used by all three students. She added that the professor had approved these updates.
In an email exchange seen by ST, she had sent the professor an updated source and a final essay correcting the error in the quote.
“I deeply regret not checking quotes twice and rushing through the process,” her email said, adding that she understands “the importance of academic integrity.”
In response, the professor thanked her by email for the journal article and the updated final essay.
The third grader also claimed that she was “closed” whenever she tried to present her case, and the professor told her there was “no negotiation.”
“When I sued through the Academic Integrity Officer, there weren't even panels,” she said, adding that this happened in a short email exchange.
A second student in the same degree course told ST that he was accused of academic fraud against fake or inaccurate citations, despite his explanations and evidence suggesting that they were not the case.
The fourth grade said his professor had deducted 10 marks from his assignment after first accepting his account.
However, he said the NTU school academic integrity officer rejected the decision and issued a zero grade without a hearing.
The student said he appealed the decision without success.
A third student from the same course told St that he was accused of academic misconduct over fake and inaccurate citations.
The fourth graders said they edited the reference using the website “CitationMachine.net”. She said her essays didn't contain AI-generated content or manufactured sources.
The student said he used ChatGpt to assist with background research after asking if the professor used the generator AI tool after submitting his essay.
The student said he received a formal review before receiving a formal record of zero quotas and fraud. She argued that during the hearing the professor felt that she was not given a fair opportunity to speak up and explain herself.
She said subsequent attempts to contact the school were ignored.
In March 2024, ST reported that students enrolled at the University of Singapore were allowed to complete their assignments using AI tools. But they cannot underestimate the rules of academic integrity or plagiarism.
All six autonomous universities, including NTU, have adopted this position.
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