(125) Student and Faculty Perspectives on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Misconduct in Pharmacy

Objective : This study sought to determine pharmacy student and faculty perspectives on the appropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI) with respect to academic misconduct.

Methods: Students and faculty at a Midwest public pharmacy school were solicited to complete an anonymous, online survey regarding their perceptions of AI’s role in academic misconduct. The survey consisted of three domains: demographics, experience with AI, and 13 fictional AI use scenarios. Participants indicated if they felt the scenario student’s behavior was academic misconduct or acceptable behavior, and asked if the participant would report the behavior. Student and faculty perceptions were evaluated using chi-square, with an a-priori alpha of 0.05.

Results: A total of ninety-two students and nine faculty members completed the survey. Students were predominantly in their second year (39.1%) and faculty were predominantly in the Department of Pharmacy Practice (77.8%). Twelve (92.3%) scenarios resulted in similar perceptions of academic misconduct between students and faculty. In a scenario where a student used AI to reword their essay’s rough draft and cited AI, found faculty were significantly more likely to indicate it was academic misconduct (p=0.037). Significant differences between groups also resulted when asked if the behavior would be reported. These differences were seen in scenarios 1 (uploading professor’s slides to AI), 5 (take-home/open note quiz), and 11 (creating a rough draft for essay) (p=0.015, p=0.021, p= 0.011, respectively).

Conclusions: Our study indicates minimal disparity between the perceptions of students and faculty regarding AI and academic misconduct. The study highlights differences regarding the willingness to report this behavior. With AI continuing to grow more accessible it is important that faculty set clear expectations to students on the use of AI in the classroom.