Otterbein offers flexible approach to AI usage

Class syllabi now include a generative AI policy, thanks to the committee who is at the forefront of the university’s approach to adopting the new technology. 

“Instead of trying to fully adopt it or discard it institutionally, we’re trying to go with a hybrid way,” said assistant professor Semih Çal, who was on the AI committee. “We’re just trying to be precautious about how we can use the AI.” 

The faculty-led committee created the policy that each syllabus must include a generative AI policy, but they left it up to faculty to decide what their class-specific policies are. They offered suggestions ranging from absolutely no AI usage to full ability to use it. The committee's only rule was that its use needed to be disclosed and also reviewed for inaccuracies and bias.  

According to assistant professor and committee member Barry Wittman, they also made suggestions to HR about how faculty and staff should be using it in their roles, but they have not been implemented just yet. “You might not want all of your exams or all the presentations in class created by AI, just the same way that we don't want all student work to be.”  

Other Ohio colleges have taken different steps toward integrating AI. Ohio State University has started a “groundbreaking” initiative this year that will require all students to become fluent in applying AI to their field of study. Ohio University has added more AI-focused courses and even an AI graduate certificate program at their business school. 

The state government has also added new policies. This includes a grant program which incentivizes community colleges that prioritize AI integration, as well as a requirement for all state higher education institutions to evaluate their general education curriculum and “consider adjusting” it in areas including AI. 

Generative AI comes with many risks that policies, like the ones at Otterbein, are trying to address. “I'm just worried that it's so hard to stop students from leaning on it as a crutch and make sure that they still go through the process of thinking and writing and learning,” said Wittman. He also mentioned the vast environmental impact of AI and how important it is to find more energy-efficient ways to use it. 

Çal said that he was concerned about how quickly it has been adopted so widely. It has only taken two years for people to widely adopt AI, while the internet took five years and computers took 12 years. In his classroom, he does not allow freshmen or sophomores to use AI in their work because they need to learn the basics first. He allows flexibility for juniors and seniors to use it since they have already learned the fundamentals. 

Otterbein’s approach to AI is all about using it as a tool instead of a crutch. Çal said, “Instead of asking what AI can do, I think we should ask what can I do with AI?”