Writing Center tutors at LMU ask students about their use of AI in academic papers to gather insights for developing ethical guidelines and policies.
LMU’s Writing Center, located in Daum Hall at the Academic Resource Center (ARC), has started collecting data on how students use artificial intelligence (AI) within their academic papers. According to Ryane Granados, associate director of the Writing Center and professor of writing instruction, the Writing Center has been gathering this data for the past three weeks to inform the Provost’s Office and the AI committee as they develop a University-wide policy on AI use in academic work.
“I was asked by our faculty fellow Michael Newton Meyer, who is a senior writing instructor in the Core, if we would be open to participating because he sits on an AI committee that is shepherded by the Provost’s Office,” said Granados.
To collect data on how LMU students are utilizing AI, the Writing Center collected information by having tutors ask students whether AI was used in the construction of their paper.
“Essentially, at the end or beginning of a session, depending on how the rapport is being built, the tutor will ask, ‘During the curation of this document, did you use a portion of AI?’” said Granados. “If they say no, the question ends. If they say yes, the tutor will then ask whether they used it for brainstorming, for editing, etc.”
The debate around AI and its capabilities in an academic setting has been hotly contested, with some faculty examining how it can be applied as a tool rather than a replacement for critical thinking.
“We are hearing kind of the conversation that faculty are having, the hesitations they might have around using AI, their concerns around it,” said Natalie Aguilar, director of the ARC and learning specialist for the Katz Family Academic Skills Program.
According to the University’s AI policy, professors are permitted to determine if a student’s unauthorized use of the technology violates the school’s Academic Honesty Policy.
Aguilar noted that the Writing Center’s close connection with students helped make this approach effective. “We have a lot of rapport with students because we train tutors, we’re training our coaches, we’re doing a lot of case management at the ARC,” she said.
According to Aguilar, the Writing Center’s approach integrates learning sciences and student-centered methodology, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of how AI is utilized in the learning process rather than solely focusing on potential misuse. This approach was chosen because the rapport between the Writing Center tutors and students provides a conducive environment for gathering data on both student learning and students’ usage of AI.
Participation in the data collection process allows students to partake in the conversation about AI policy at LMU. “We want you to have a say in the AI policy. We want you to be part of constructing and being part of that conversation. We want your voices to be centered in this and we want your voices to be heard and uplifted,” said Aguilar.
AI can also be useful for neurodivergent students and those with language barriers by offering personalized support, such as grammar assistance, brainstorming help and note-taking tools that accommodate diverse learning styles. According to Granados, it’s important for students to have a role in shaping a policy that preserves their ability to use AI for these purposes, particularly for neurodivergent learners.
“I felt that it was a mission-driven initiative and opportunity for students to be able to participate in the creation of a policy that hopefully wouldn’t be so wide-sweeping that it would take that right away,” Granados said.
AI can be a useful tool, but there also can be ethical boundaries in its use. According to Granados, it is important to ensure that students maintain their authorial voice when using AI. She emphasized that relying on AI to replace one’s voice crosses an ethical line, as AI should augment a student’s work rather than automate it.
As LMU looks to create an AI policy, the data gathered from the Writing Center will help inform this effort by showing how students integrate AI into their academic work. The data collected thus far displays that many students are motivated by a desire to improve their skills and become more self-directed learners.
“Our students really pride themselves on wanting to do good work. They want to be confident learners, they want to improve their skills, they want to develop self-efficacy and they want to become self-directed learners,” said Aguilar. “I think because those types of students are the ones coming to the ARC, students who want to be successful.”
