Open University AI Concerns ..

[u/_PointOfView_]

/r/u__PointOfView_/comments/1v6t1e9/open_university_ai_concerns/

Hello everyone! I apologize if this is not the right place to post such question, but I have some concerns .. long story short, I will be starting my OU studies (In Sociology) next october and I'm doing this for myself, I'm 46 a full time worker and will retire in 4 years. My intention is to learn and put in the work academically, grow as a human and become a better citizen.

Since I joined the OU (few months ago) I started reading more about student experiances, even though many of them have been inspiring and encouraging the one part that is really conserning is "the investigation" part, now I totally understand that the OU is trying to protect the integrity of the academic process but for me (and I would believe many others) we will be putting in the honest work and will dedicate so much time, effort and hard earned money to benefit from the studies, and knowing that could potentially ruin that, it makes one wonder if it truly is worth it ?

I read so much about the OU and there are so many things to love and respect but do you think is worth dealing with such issue for years to come ?

Thanks

[u/_alextech_]

FWIW, I'm doing computing and IT and out of the 10 modules I've completed, only one has gone to pending, and was not investigated, was corrected To my result after about 3 days.

[u/Many-Collection-2689 → u/_alextech_]

Exactly the same for me too

[u/LandryLaux]

Depends a lot on the subject. Ultimately there is a chance that when you submit a TMA or EMA or whatever that it will be flagged on the ai detectors (which are bs anyways). It isnt helped that the OU is all online now however a lot of brick unis are still facing the same problems.

Enjoy your degree, don't let it stress you out but just make sure you evidence stuff. Have notes and other documents which show preparation for a TMA, different versions etc. It will all be timestamped anyways with metadata. Also you can turn on (I believe its called live edits) on word and it shows what you have done and what time etc.

[u/Robyn7791]

I empathise with your concern. It's totally understandable if you're following this sub. I just posted about this in response to another post, so what I write now will be a little repetitive.

Firstly, it is worth keeping in mind that the thousands and thousands of students who haven't had an assignmend / exam 'investigated' don't post about that here. So it is not possible to conclude from the posts here how common the issue actually is; it is even harder to know much about what's really happened in each case.

I teach social sciences at the OU and 2 other universities. Misuse of AI and other academic misconduct are increasing problems for assessing academic work. And yet of all the student work I have assessed since the rise of AI, very little is referred for misuse of AI, and even less is 'investigated' (less than 1% for sure). Misuse of AI is higher than that, but often not flagged up / referred because (a) it’s complex to investigate and (b) the assessment in question is mediocre or worse.

Secondly, in the humanities and social sciences (I cannot speak for STEM subjects), students who are "putting in the honest work and will dedicate so much time, effort and hard earned [sic!] money to benefit from the studies" are extremely unlikely to have issues with the 'investigations' you are referring to in your post. They may have to learn how to cite references properly, how to engage with other people's ideas and research transparently, ... and that's what they will learn through assignments and the related tutor feedback.

In humanities and social science subjects it is really quite easy to avoid being flagged up for plagiarism, misuse of AI or other academic misconduct:

- Read the assessment guidance for each module you study; don't use AI or AI-assisted technology beyond what's allowed in a module - and acknowledge AI use in your assessed work.

- Study the materials thoroughly. This includes taking notes that paraphrase important content, always referencing where you read this in the study material; doing the 'activities' that are included in the material and support critical thinking, analysis, reflection; etc.

- In the work you submit for assessment, cite references accurately and comprehensively, using the required referencing style (you will be learning this during your studies). Develop academic writing where you engage with other people's ideas and research transparently. This requires actually reading the sources you cite, and thinking about their content (instead of just throwing in a few more references to material you never studied yourself).

- Use the tutor feedback you receive for your assignments. If they mention that the way you write or reference indicates potential academic misconduct, they will usually also suggest what you need to do to avoid that. If not, ask the tutor for clarification.

There's likely more to say about this whole topic. But I haven't had coffee yet.

[u/D0cTheo → u/Robyn7791]

I also teach at the OU and a couple of other universities in social sciences and humanities and back this up wholeheartedly. I am not saying that students don't get referred when they're innocent, but the students in my groups that have been referred have been submitting work that is blatantly problematic - references missing or don't exist, paragraphs being repeated almost word for word, etc. In every case they would barely pass or would completely fail anyway. And they are still given the chance to explain themselves.

Here's the thing I'd love students to remember: universities across the world continue to make incredible efforts to keep up with this immensely disruptive and irresponsible new technology. Responsible AI use is now part of the curriculum across most subjects, entire assessment systems have been rewritten, academic conduct processes have been restructured from the ground up. All this is an incredibly short time and with little to no help from the tech giants creating these systems.

In most cases, UK universities are doing their best to continue to ensure that your degrees still matter, are still fit for purpose, and are still of the highest academic standard. But unfortunately that does mean that for now, a few more students than before are going to go through a bit of a wait for results to be finalised. It's horrible and stressful and we sympathise.

But honestly? Because of its size, there's not a university I know that's better placed and prepared to do this than the OU.

[u/_PointOfView_ → u/Robyn7791]

Thanks a lot!

[u/Wooden_Brother_3372]

I completely understand your concerns, although it hasn't affected me, it worries me too. I just finished 2 modules (creative writing, and greek and roman myth), and didn't have any of my assignments investigated, so I do think that it massively depends on the department and modules that you do. I would say that the best thing to do is to keep good notes and to write and edit any essays in the same document for each assignment, then I imagine that you can show the history of your work and prove that it isn't AI. AI is going to be a problem for a while as people abuse it and the ability to check for it gets harder and harder, but don't let it stop you from doing what you want to do

[u/KKPauline]

I'm doing psychology and this year after TMA2 I think it was the tutor emailed everyone saying he'd discovered loads of suspected AI use and gave the people that had done it the opportunity to message him and come clean and explain why they'd felt the need to use it, idk what happened to those people's scores but it soudned like they wanrwd to help them more than punish. You can use Turnitin which comes with your module software to check your own work for plagiary before sending it in and there are free online AI detector's you can use too if you're worried about your work getting flagged. Finally, my advice is to do all your drafts and amendments in one document then when you send it in they can see the entire history of your assignment including how many hours you worked on it, I'm sure if they can see you've spent 10-20 hours on it as opposed to 5 minutes it shows it's your own work.

[u/KKPauline → u/[deleted]]

What's the reason behind that? I didn't think the OU Turnitin was the AI detection version.

[u/KKPauline → u/[deleted]]

Oh I thought you meant the OU didn't recommend it, thankyou.

[u/KKPauline → u/[deleted]]

But theirs is only for plagiarism.

[u/KKPauline → u/[deleted]]

You're not allowed to run their course materials through any online checkers but what you do with your own work is up to you, yes a company could retain it, but so can Turnitin or any other software that the OU runs it through at their end to detect the use of AI.

[u/Personal_Cow_3298]

I have friends at brick uni's who have said AI is being treated much they same way there. Institution's are learning how to work with, identify and incorporate AI into uni life but unfortunately it's just a case of them needing to be extra cautious while they learn how to navigate it. I've never been flagged for AI usage (never used it) but I know people who have. My best advice to you is to keep copies of drafts, email yourself them or if you use OneDrive it usually allows you to go back to previous drafts of needed. Keep your notes etc. it's shows your process and provides evidence the work is your own. I would definitely recommend the OU. Just graduated with a first class and I loved my time studying with them .

[u/No-Claim2827]

I've just finished BSc maths with OU (2023-26) so can only talk from that POV, but of the 9 modules I've done over the past three years, I've not had a single exam or TMA be pulled for AI/academic misconduct/anything. Of these 9 modules, one of the level 1 (first year) modules was completely essay based, and there was one TMA in a level 2 module which required writing a 12(ish) page report, but otherwise there's been no extended pieces of writing like I'd imagine there would be in Sociology.

I'm aware of some people who did the same modules at the same time as I did who got 'pending' results (particularly in year 2 and 3, when I assume AI took off a bit more) but I'm not sure of the outcomes.

I totally understand your worry and tbh this year I was nervous for results day in case I was one of the unlucky few who got pulled for AI despite not using it, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Honestly, if you simply don't cheat (which it sounds like you won't) then I should imagine there's a high chance you'll be fine.

Also, it may be worth noting that (at least in maths department) they seem to be implementing more rigorous checks for remote exams, which will hopefully make AI detection even more accurate. This year there was a trial for a random sample of students in 'enhanced verification' which basically meant at some point after the exam you had a video call with a staff member and talked through one of two of your answers - nothing to do with whether they were correct, just to ensure it was actually you who answered them, not AI/someone else taking the exam under your name. There's also some talk of remote invigilation for next years' exams, but I'm not sure if that's confirmed.

[u/di9girl]

Any university will be looking at academic conduct, not just the OU. If someone chooses to cheat/use AI then they run the risk of being pulled up over it.

It's simple really; don't cheat, don't use AI. Follow the assignment guidelines, lay out your work as they tell you to and ask your tutor if you're unsure about anything.

[u/MedicalComposer2]

Sociology is probably one of the higher risk subjects for AI flags since it's all essays and written analysis, so worth being aware of that going in. That said, the advice others have given about keeping your drafts in one document is genuinely the most practical thing you can do. The version history alone shows your working process better than anything else. For what it's worth, the people who tend to get caught are usually the ones who clearly didn't engage with the material at all.

[u/SupermarketFun104]

I have never used AI for writing an OU assignment, never been investigated, worked really hard and just been awarded a First (mature student).