35% of college students using AI tools to help them with studies

San Francisco, Nov 5: More than one-third of college students (35 per cent) have used generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT in the past year to help them with studies, a new survey has revealed.

A McGraw Hill survey conducted by Morning Consult interviewed 500 undergraduate students and 200 college instructors to learn about the latest higher education trends on student habits and mental health.

Over the long term, most students and instructors believe AI will improve learning. About 58 per cent of instructors and 62 per cent of students agree that AI will improve how students learn than that AI will have negative consequences on learning.

"With guardrails put in place, like tools that use content developed and vetted by trusted academic sources, most instructors and students would be more comfortable using ChatGPT and other generative AI tools," the report mentioned.

"I think AI technology has the potential to improve learning and make my job as an instructor easier. But I think instructors need to learn about the capabilities and limits of the technology before trying to incorporate it into coursework," said Ann Raddant, senior teaching faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).

"I've seen some really great examples of assignments that help students understand what GenAI platforms can and cannot do," she added.

A majority of students who responded to the survey reported feeling overwhelmed (57 per cent) and stressed (56 per cent) because of their studies.

They flagged "mental health awareness" as the number-one most important trend for higher education course material providers to address, according to another recent survey conducted by McGraw Hill.