Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities
The widespread adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools in higher education has necessitated the development of appropriate and ethical usage guidelines. This study aims to explore and assess publicly available guidelines covering the use of GenAI tools in universities, following...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Big Data and Cognitive Computing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-2289/8/12/194 |
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| author | Midrar Ullah Salman Bin Naeem Maged N. Kamel Boulos |
| author_facet | Midrar Ullah Salman Bin Naeem Maged N. Kamel Boulos |
| author_sort | Midrar Ullah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The widespread adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools in higher education has necessitated the development of appropriate and ethical usage guidelines. This study aims to explore and assess publicly available guidelines covering the use of GenAI tools in universities, following a predefined checklist. We searched and downloaded publicly accessible guidelines on the use of GenAI tools from the websites of the top 50 universities globally, according to the 2025 QS university rankings. From the literature on GenAI use guidelines, we created a 24-item checklist, which was then reviewed by a panel of experts. This checklist was used to assess the characteristics of the retrieved university guidelines. Out of the 50 university websites explored, guidelines were publicly accessible on the sites of 41 institutions. All these guidelines allowed for the use of GenAI tools in academic settings provided that specific instructions detailed in the guidelines were followed. These instructions encompassed securing instructor consent before utilization, identifying appropriate and inappropriate instances for deployment, employing suitable strategies in classroom settings and assessment, appropriately integrating results, acknowledging and crediting GenAI tools, and adhering to data privacy and security measures. However, our study found that only a small number of the retrieved guidelines offered instructions on the AI algorithm (understanding how it works), the documentation of prompts and outputs, AI detection tools, and mechanisms for reporting misconduct. Higher education institutions should develop comprehensive guidelines and policies for the responsible use of GenAI tools. These guidelines must be frequently updated to stay in line with the fast-paced evolution of AI technologies and their applications within the academic sphere. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-837d322f7ff946aeaa2626d5de2ee56b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2504-2289 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Big Data and Cognitive Computing |
| spelling | doaj-art-837d322f7ff946aeaa2626d5de2ee56b2024-12-27T14:10:50ZengMDPI AGBig Data and Cognitive Computing2504-22892024-12-0181219410.3390/bdcc8120194Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 UniversitiesMidrar Ullah0Salman Bin Naeem1Maged N. Kamel Boulos2Faculty of Health Sciences Library, The Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, PakistanDepartment of Information Management, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, PakistanSchool of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-028 Lisbon, PortugalThe widespread adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools in higher education has necessitated the development of appropriate and ethical usage guidelines. This study aims to explore and assess publicly available guidelines covering the use of GenAI tools in universities, following a predefined checklist. We searched and downloaded publicly accessible guidelines on the use of GenAI tools from the websites of the top 50 universities globally, according to the 2025 QS university rankings. From the literature on GenAI use guidelines, we created a 24-item checklist, which was then reviewed by a panel of experts. This checklist was used to assess the characteristics of the retrieved university guidelines. Out of the 50 university websites explored, guidelines were publicly accessible on the sites of 41 institutions. All these guidelines allowed for the use of GenAI tools in academic settings provided that specific instructions detailed in the guidelines were followed. These instructions encompassed securing instructor consent before utilization, identifying appropriate and inappropriate instances for deployment, employing suitable strategies in classroom settings and assessment, appropriately integrating results, acknowledging and crediting GenAI tools, and adhering to data privacy and security measures. However, our study found that only a small number of the retrieved guidelines offered instructions on the AI algorithm (understanding how it works), the documentation of prompts and outputs, AI detection tools, and mechanisms for reporting misconduct. Higher education institutions should develop comprehensive guidelines and policies for the responsible use of GenAI tools. These guidelines must be frequently updated to stay in line with the fast-paced evolution of AI technologies and their applications within the academic sphere.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-2289/8/12/194generative artificial intelligencelarge language modelsAI chatbotsguidelineshigher educationuniversities |
| spellingShingle | Midrar Ullah Salman Bin Naeem Maged N. Kamel Boulos Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities Big Data and Cognitive Computing generative artificial intelligence large language models AI chatbots guidelines higher education universities |
| title | Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities |
| title_full | Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities |
| title_short | Assessing the Guidelines on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools in Universities: A Survey of the World’s Top 50 Universities |
| title_sort | assessing the guidelines on the use of generative artificial intelligence tools in universities a survey of the world s top 50 universities |
| topic | generative artificial intelligence large language models AI chatbots guidelines higher education universities |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-2289/8/12/194 |
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