Spotlight
Good afternoon all,
In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be working on refreshing our online repositoryof policies and guidelines from Canadian and global post-secondary institutions. If your institutions’ resources are not yet on our website, or if the ones that are there are no longer the most updated versions, please send the links our way so that we can continue building this helpful collection of resources!
In the meantime, let me highlight a few of the most relevant guidance documents I have stumbled across over the past few weeks – in case your institution is still looking to improve its own guidelines, or develop additional resources to better support staff, faculty and students.
The University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney in Australia, has developed the Levels of AI Assistance framework. The framework is “designed to help Convenors communicate to students how much, or how little AI can be used in the process of planning, creating and producing an assignment.” The guidebook, developed by student-as-partners, elaborates on the different levels of AI assistance that can be permitted and suggests AI tools for each level, and provides more guidance related to prompting and referencing AI use. See images below for a sneak peek.
Another useful resource is the Perkins, Furze, Roe and MacVaugh’s AI Assessment Scale (AIAS). If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve already heard of this one, as I’ve already talked about it here. But late August, the authors released a revised AIAS. The main changes in the revised AIAS aim to take into consideration technological changes and pedagogical changes that took place over the past year, as well as incorporate an updated perspective on assessment security and validity.
Finally, a helpful one for librarians. Andrew Cox, senior lecturer at the Information School of the University of Sheffield, just published a paper called Developing a library strategic response to Artificial Intelligence. This paper “poses nine key questions for consideration and reflects on some answers that might support a more strategic library approach to AI”. Those questions include “How will AI impact your library?” and “How should the library position itself in relation to wider strategies and context of AI?”.
Good stuff!
Have a great week-end, all.
– Sandrine Desforges, Research Associate
Mark Your Calendars
Date: March 6th-7th, 2025
AI-CADEMY: Canada Summit for Post-Secondary Education
There are only a handful of early bird tickets left for HESA’s AI-CADEMY. Make haste – get yours now!
AI-CADEMY is Canada’s premier event dedicated to exploring the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in post-secondary education.
Don’t miss out on:
- Thought provoking keynote speakers;
- Multiple panels – Presidential Panel, Canada’s Policy Response to AI, Global Perspectives on AI and Education, Student Panel and Industry Panel;
- Presentations selected from our open Call for Proposals on topics at the intersection of AI and Teaching and Learning, Research, Academic Operations and Services, and more;
- Tech Demos and AI Marketplace;
- Interactive Workshops; and
- Networking opportunities!
We have started sending responses to individuals and organizations that submitted a proposal through our open Call for proposals – and will continue sending them over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned! You can consult the updated list of speakers here (even more to be revealed over the coming weeks!).
Interested in becoming a sponsor or exhibitor? Learn more here.
AI-CADEMY is organized in partnership with Bow Valley College and SAIT.
Additional Resources
Global Policy
Minister calls for development of AI capabilities in HE
Sawahel, W. University World News. August 29th, 2024.
Muhammad Al-Qeeb, Lybia’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, released a letter that outlines a roadmap for the implementation plan of the country’s 10-year national higher education and research strategy (2024-2034) that aims to reform education, teaching and scientific research and promote their roles in achieving the United Nations’ SDGs. In his letter, the minister states that “the building of human and technical capacities in the field of AI technologies and its applications for achieving the SDGs must be considered one of the most important priorities of Libyan universities, higher education institutions and scientific research centres.”
Education ministry, universities launch AI alliance
Lin, R. Taipei Times. September 3rd, 2024.
Taiwan’s Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao, along with representatives of 25 universities, announced the establishment of the Taiwan Artificial Intelligence College Alliance to enable students to take intercollegiate courses on artificial intelligence and obtain certificates. The alliance aims to prepare more than 10,000 students with AI-related expertise in the next three years.
Institutional AI Frameworks
Struggling to Create AI Policies? Ask Your Students
Coffey, L. Inside Higher Ed. August 22nd, 2024.
A professor at Florida International University tasked her students with devising an ethical guide to using AI in their classes — and found them to be stricter than she would have been.
Why there’s no standard AI policy in higher education, and what professors are doing about it
Ruhalter, K. and Rath, A. GBH. August 29th, 2024.
Navigating the AI revolution in higher ed: Crafting effective policies for ChatGPT and beyond
Johnston, J. eCampus News. August 30th, 2024.
Workforce Preparation
Prepare your students to meet the demand for generative AI-related jobs
Gonzalez, A. EAB. August 15th, 2024.
“Between July 2023 and June 2024, national job postings for master’s- and doctoral-level professionals declined by over 17% overall, while job postings with generative AI-related skills increased by over 50% within the same timeframe.”
Upskilling, Reskilling or Retiring: Responding to the Advent of AI
Schroeder, R. Inside Higher Ed. August 29th, 2024.
Where exactly are all the AI jobs?
Gross, P. Oregon Capital Chronicle. September 2nd, 2024.
The desire for artificial intelligence skills in new hires has exploded over the last five years, and continues to be a priority for hiring managers across nearly every industry, data from Stanford University’s annual AI Index Report found.
Environmental Impact of AI
UM has given an AI assistant to every student. That could have an environmental impact.
Brooker, J. Bridge Detroit. October 16th, 2024.
In September, the University of Michigan announced that each of its 52,000 students would be given a personal AI assistant. This is made possible by a partnership between UM and Microsoft. However, that announcement raised concerns amongst the UM community regarding the environmental footprint of the university’s increasing use of AI.
Research
Publish or Profit: AI companies face commercial pressure to clam up
Hemmadi, M. The Logic. August 27th, 2024.
Academic Integrity
Can AI Be Used to Cheat on Multiple-Choice Exams?
Coffey, L. Inside Higher Ed. August 30th, 2024.
Florida State University’s Kenneth Hanson and Ben Sorenson have developed a method to detect the use of GenAI tools to cheat on multiple-choice exams.
AI Literacy and Adoption
A New Digital Divide: Student AI Use Surges, Leaving Faculty Behind
Coffey, L. Inside Higher Ed. June 25th, 2024.
Recent studies by Pearson and Ithaka S+R show that while AI adoption by students keeps increasing, faculty lag behind, still unsure about how to integrate it in their classrooms.
AI literacy a critical component in 21st-century learning
Adendorff, H. University World News. September 5th, 2024.
More Information
Want more? Consult HESA’s Observatory on AI Policies in Canadian Post-Secondary Education.
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