Universities are struggling to balance AI bans with the need to prepare students for workplaces where the technology is becoming increasingly common, leaving many undergraduates facing sharply different rules from one course to the next.
At North Carolina State University, first-year student Amanda Cullen said most of her classes prohibit AI unless its use is properly cited. She is due to graduate in 2030, but questioned whether outright bans were realistic when the technology is already becoming part of everyday careers.
“If it’s such a mainstream thing in careers, we should know how to do it in school,” she said.
The debate has intensified as AI tools have developed rapidly, while concerns remain that students who rely on them for coursework may fail to master fundamental skills. The technology has also made cheating on assignments easier, adding to a longstanding challenge for higher education.
AI is already widely used in the workplace. A McKinsey study from late last year found that 88% of companies were using AI, while a PwC study published in June found an average wage premium of 62% for workers with AI skills.
Lauren Callen, a second-year mechanical engineering student at NC State, said she understood why some lecturers were concerned about cheating but preferred clear rules that allowed responsible use.
“I get teachers not wanting to use AI for anything, but, I mean, the world’s changing, people are using AI everywhere,” she said.
One introductory Python course she took has incorporated AI into its teaching. Students may use AI models to help with assignments, but must submit transcripts of their prompts and the responses they receive.
NC State has no single policy covering the whole university. Instead, its faculty decide whether AI can be used in individual courses.
“Faculty are provided with resources to establish clear, course-specific expectations that may permit, limit or prohibit AI use; students are responsible for following those expectations and upholding academic integrity,” a university spokesperson said.
Universities divided over AI use
Professors elsewhere are also reassessing their approach. Sabrina Habib, an associate professor of visual communications at the University of South Carolina, became the first AI coordinator for its College of Information and Communications.
She said some academics initially opposed students using AI because they feared it would undermine the fundamentals needed for more advanced learning. However, attitudes had shifted as the technology became more prominent in personal and professional life.
“Almost everyone has understood and accepted that it is a skill for the workforce,” Habib said.
Habib still prohibits AI for some assignments. In other cases, students must disclose how they used it and provide evidence, or write a short reflection about their use of the technology.
“We don’t want to eliminate it because then we’re missing the opportunity of teaching how to use it in a way that’s ethical and critical,” she said.
Some students remain wary even where AI is permitted. Cullen said she was limiting her own use of the technology because people should retain the ability to develop ideas independently rather than rely on a computer.
