To Use or Not to Use: Investigating Student Perceptions of Faculty Generative AI Usage in Higher Education

TL;DR

This study explores student perceptions of faculty use of Generative AI in higher education, revealing mixed attitudes, concerns about reliability, and potential impacts on critical thinking and pedagogy.

Contribution

It provides novel insights into student attitudes towards faculty GenAI adoption, classifies student groups based on their perceptions, and highlights pedagogical concerns.

Findings

37% of students do not support GenAI use by either students or faculty.

79% of students question the validity of GenAI-generated responses.

37% fear GenAI may reduce faculty critical thinking.

Abstract

While Generative AI (GenAI) rapidly integrated into higher education, existing research has primarily focused on regulating student use. As a result, student perspectives on faculty adoption of GenAI remained unexplored. In this study, we analyzed survey responses from 156 undergraduate and graduate students to examine their attitudes toward both student and faculty use of GenAI. We classified students into four groups based on their attitudes, including GenAI Optimists, Student Support Group, Faculty Support Group, and Non-supporters. Findings show that 37% of participants do not support GenAI use by either students or faculty, while 31% support GenAI use in both contexts. We also conducted thematic analysis to understand participants' concerns on faculty GenAI usage. Results revealed that (1) a majority of students (79%) questioned the validity and reliability of GenAI-generated responses, and (2) 37% of students feared that faculty overreliance on GenAI created a "futile cycle" that might reduce faculty critical thinking. Our findings showed that students expressed concerns about GenAI use by faculty in teaching and grading contexts, with pedagogical concerns being most prominent. These findings informed the future use of GenAI in teaching and learning in higher education.