Survey of American College Students 2025, College Rules on Student Use of AI

This study looks at how US college students experience their college, and individual instructors’ rules on the use of artificial intelligence in college coursework and assignments. The study helps its readers to answer questions such as: how are colleges regulating the use of AI by their students? How are they integrating it into instruction? How different are the rules propogated by various instructors? How clear are these rules or guildelines? How many students have been reprimanded for their use of AI? Data in the report is broken out by a wide range of personal and institutional variables including age, gender, academic major, income level, year of class standing, school size, school tuition level and many other characteristics. Just a few of this 125-page report’s many findings are: About 20% of students seem quite confused by their institution’s policies on use of AI. 7.5% of respondents have been reprimanded by an instructor for what the instructor considers to be improper or duplicitous use of AI. About a quarter of all students have highly negative attitudes towards the use of AI Business and Engineering tend to be more supportive of selective AI use, while a larger share of humanities students lean toward discouraging or even banning AI. Students feel that the college agenda or roadmap for AI use should be presented at student orientation. Some ask that the policies include clear citation formats (e.g., citing ChatGPT as a source using MLA or APA).