Appealing Disciplinary Action Based on Accusations of AI Cheating
| | Student Rights
While academic integrity has always been a key issue on college campuses, the accessibility of generative artificial intelligence and the panic over potential AI cheating have led to a tremendous surge in academic dishonesty cases nationwide. Much of the hysteria is driven by findings of flawed AI detection software. But flawed or not, schools are relying on this technology to inflict disciplinary action on students regardless of whether such action is deserved. Even worse than the disciplinary action itself is the stigma and damage to reputation that comes along with the accusation of academic dishonesty
Any student accused of AI cheating should take steps to defend their reputation and protect their future. The process of appealing disciplinary action based on accusations of AI cheating will vary somewhat depending on the institution and specific actions taken by the instructor and administrative authorities.
As a law firm with decades of experience in student defense, the team at Nesenoff & Miltenberg works to safeguard students’ rights across the U.S. in situations like this. Because schools establish their own rules and disciplinary procedures, we cannot provide a one-size-fits-all guide to appeals in an online article. Here we provide some general steps in the process, but if you contact our team for a confidential consultation, we can provide more detail about the appeal options available in your specific situation.
Understanding the Accusations
Most accusations of AI cheating are based on the results an instructor receives when they run an assignment through an AI detection program such as Turnitin. Not long ago, assignments were checked for simple plagiarism with tools that compared text with content available online through a wide variety of sources. If the software revealed matching text, the source and specific matching text were highlighted for verification and comparison. Those tools were fairly reliable and helpful.
But AI detection software operates in a completely different way. The software looks for patterns in text such as burstiness, which is the variation in sentence structure and length that occurs throughout a document. Writing produced by AI often has a low level of burstiness because the language models used to generate content tend to produce even sentence structures that flow in a predictable pattern. Human writers who pay attention and make a deliberate effort to vary sentence flow can produce writing with a high level of burstiness, varied rhythm, and vocabulary. But when a student has not been trained to write this way, or they are in a hurry, they can easily slip into a formulaic pattern that sounds like computer-generated text. This will become increasingly more common as AI-generated writing becomes a primary source of our reading material. We tend to copy what we are used to.
So, when AI detection software reports that an assignment is likely to have been produced by artificial intelligence, that report should be treated with a high degree of skepticism. Unfortunately for students, however, professors who are panicked at the ease of potential cheating put more faith in detection software than their students’ integrity. They take a report as verification of cheating when it should receive much less weight.
Dealing with an Accusation
It is very difficult to avoid panicking and control your temper if you’ve been accused of cheating. Nevertheless, it is important to respond strategically rather than emotionally. Remember that whatever you say could potentially be twisted out of context and used against you. There is no reason to admit to anything, including the use of AI that you believe to be within the rules. Instead, get the details regarding what you are accused of and how your conduct is supposed to have violated a school policy or class guidelines. You should also gather copies of the class syllabus, any guidance provided by the instructor, and the school’s code of conduct.
Then it is helpful to preserve all the evidence you can find to demonstrate the process you used to create your assignment. Search engine history, research notes, outlines, and previous versions of the assignment can be used to demonstrate the project’s organic evolution.
Grounds for Appealing an Adverse Decision
Based on an analysis of the evidence, you or your attorney should formulate the grounds you can use as the basis of your appeal. Potential grounds may include:
- Lack of substantial evidence of cheating – the report of an AI detection program is not enough on its own
- Evidence regarding the unreliability of the specific AI detection software used
- Showing that the school failed to follow appropriate procedural rules during the investigation or adjudication of the cheating complaint
While it is ideal to come away with a result that clears the student of any wrongful conduct, in some cases, the best outcome is to seek a sanction that avoids damaging information on a student’s permanent record.
The Process of an Appeal
The appeals process will differ depending on whether you are appealing an official adjudication or a professor’s singular action. Sometimes, an informal negotiation between an attorney and an instructor can yield a result that clears the student’s record. Other times, it is necessary to file a formal appeal through campus disciplinary channels. When a school refuses to abide by its own rules or the rules deny a student’s due process rights, an appeal through the court system may be required to achieve the right result.
The Future is Worth a Thoughtful Appeal
The results of a campus adjudication, whether formal or informal, can affect a student’s entire career trajectory and also impact social interactions and self-esteem for decades. While the immediate consequences of a finding of AI cheating may seem minor, the effects of being labeled a cheater can cascade over time. It is wise to set the record straight as soon as possible. An experienced student defense attorney can often convey the message in ways that get taken seriously by academic institutions.
If you are facing accusations of AI cheating, it is helpful to begin refuting them as early as possible. Even if the disciplinary process on campus has concluded, an appeal can often be quite effective in preserving the student’s rights and reputation. To schedule a confidential consultation to learn what may be most beneficial in your particular situation, we invite you to contact Nesenoff & Miltenberg by calling 212-736-4500 or contacting us online.