The rise of Artificial Intelligence in higher education

By Morgan Dickens and Zyheim Bell

More and more, students are using artificial intelligence to complete assignments, creating a predicament for college professors. While some Rider professors have limited allowances for AI use, others are concerned that students are relying too much on popular programs, such as ChatGPT, to complete assignments. 

English Professor Vanita Neelakanta is against the use of AI and found her students were relieved when she announced in-class writing assignments would be written in blue books.

“I think a lot of people wanted that reassurance that somebody else in the class was not going to cheat,” Neelakanta said. “This was one way of leveling the playing field and making sure that everybody was at least producing honest work.” 

Junior political science major Zack Leshner noticed that, during a trip with his Model United Nations team, other competitors had used AI to come up with their position papers, which he felt was unwarranted.

“In that type of circumstance, when there’s anything competitive … I think it’s kind of stupid and not really fair,” said Leshner.

AI has been a mainstay in education since 2022 with the debut of ChatGPT, a generative AI chatbot, whose popularity has skyrocketed since November 2022. As a result, professors would be met with students turning in assignments completely generated by AI or students would get ideas from AI and pass it off as their own. 

Educators can use AI detectors or often recognize AI-use based on different writing styles or inconsistent citations.

A 2025 article from the University of St. Augustine found AI has benefits to higher education, which contains inclusive education for unique learning styles. It also can provide resources for individuals who traditionally would not have access to them, such as translations for non-English speaking individuals. The article said it can also “improve administration efficiently, freeing up time for a professor to better support students.”

Colorado State University found that their students and staff also believe AI can have a positive impact in higher education. The University conducted a 2025 survey of more than 12,000 students and staff. Results showed that 68% of Colorado State professors said they do not use AI detectors.

Some students who do use AI find that the programs’ aid in brainstorming helps them with ideas that they could not develop themselves. Senior accounting major Asia Adkison found that AI has helped her with grammar and sentence structure, whereas some professors see AI as a hindrance to education. 

English professor Megan Titus, said she began recognizing inconsistencies in students’ “voices” on assignments compared to how they articulate themselves in class. She said plagiarism has always been an issue, and AI-cheating follows similar principles.

“It’s always been a tell that you get an assignment from a student, and you know their writing, and you know their voice, and this sounds nothing like them at all, and AI does have a very particular kind of style,” said Titus.

Titus teaches a variety of writing classes, including “seminar in writing and rhetoric” and “professional writing and emerging technologies.” In this class, AI is used to analyze how AI can build resumes and assist with research. 

Outside of that class, Titus said she has a strict “no AI policy.” Most English majors steer away from using AI, she said, adding that many of her students were supportive of her decision. 

Titus, like other professors, includes specific instructions for assignments that AI programs can not meet. If students use AI on the assignment, they receive a zero and are given the option to redo the assignment. 

History and philosophy chairwoman Nikki Shepardson has similar practices as Titus when it comes to designing her assignments to spot AI use. Shepardson also teaches history courses that require writing analyses of historical documents.

Shepardson became an educator because she likes “to see light bulbs going off over people’s heads.” As AI emerged, she said students appear less engaged.

She believes that students are becoming reliant on AI. One assignment in a history class asked students to answer “What is enlightenment?” She shared that the importance of this assignment is “Thinking for yourself. To use AI to write a paper on thinking for yourself seems contradictory.”

For this assignment, she has gotten responses back that show students used AI. 

“This is really scary, because it [AI] actually is taking away the analysis,” Shepardson said.

Neelakanta said she found students who use AI are often those who are anxious about their grades, and use the programs for assistance, which evolves into continued use.

Tazabrie Morales, a junior graphic design major, has avoided AI for that reason, not wanting her teachers to believe her to be “lazy” by using AI to take over her own work.

Professors fear that once a student relies on AI, they could lose literacy and necessary skills. However, some students at Rider do not share this sentiment. They view AI as an aid rather than something that does their work for them. Senior cybersecurity major Jordyn Bostick is one of these students.

Bostick said that AI has helped optimize her resumes to match job descriptions and company values, and has been helpful in the brainstorming for projects. In some of her classes for cybersecurity, her professors want their students to learn how to use AI. She said, “They’re very big on us learning how to use it to help ourselves.” While she uses AI for these purposes, she does not use it to write a full paper.

Outside of an academic setting, Bostick shared that AI has been helpful in breaking down tasks and overall management in her day-to-day life.

Bostick said, “Being able to do time management and just being able to prioritize things, it’s helped me in that regard.”