BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – LSU students are facing a surge of artificial intelligence cheating allegations that has created a significant backlog at the university’s Student Advocacy and Accountability Board, according to documents obtained by WAFB and student accounts.
One LSU student, who asked to be identified only as Sarah, said she received a zero on an assignment after her professor determined it was “AI written.”
“I went to go check my grades, and I saw that I had a zero. So I went, and I checked to see her notes, and my teacher completely scratched all of it out and said that it was 93% AI written,” Sarah said.
Anonymous LSU student(WAFB)
Sarah said she and her friend were not the only students in the class to receive AI allegations.
“So, then I turn to the other people in my class, and they’re like, yeah, we got zeroes on it. We don’t know what’s happening. We email her. She emails us back and says she’s reported us to SAA,” Sarah said.
Student faces scholarship pressure amid case delays
The Student Advocacy and Accountability Board oversees the review process for students facing allegations of cheating. Sarah said the board sent an automatic message after she reached out.
“They sent an automatic message back saying they are backed up with cases right now and your case manager will get to you when she gets to you,” Sarah said.
With scholarship money at stake, Sarah’s case was not resolved until January. She said she was given the option to appeal or admit to using AI.
“I said that I used AI because one of my scholarships needed my grades, and if I appealed that I didn’t use AI, it would just prolong the process, and I really needed to submit them my grades,” Sarah said.
Sarah said her father wanted to fight the allegation with a lawyer, but the family decided against it due to concerns about losing scholarship funding.
“It wasn’t fair that my school tuition was on the line,” said Sarah.
Documents show widespread student concerns
According to public records from LSU, dozens of students are dealing with similar situations. Documents obtained by WAFB show a significant caseload was being handled at LSU at the end of the first semester.
LSU emails(WAFB)
LSU emails(WAFB)
Student emails to SAA staff members show mounting anxiety among students facing AI allegations. One student wrote, “My whole class is being accused of using AI. People are crying, and we are being told that it is our fault.”
Another letter from a concerned parent described the situation as “quite distressing.”
Documents also show an LSU instructor seeking clarity on ethical implications related to the technology.
Professor questions AI detection reliability
Professor Andrew Schwarz, who works in the Entrepreneurship and Information Systems Department at LSU’s College of Business, said AI detection systems have limitations.
“An AI system cannot determine whether or not something that is generated is AI or not,” Schwarz said.
Schwarz said the rapid development of AI technology has created challenges for faculty as well.
“We’re trying to figure out as well. Because if we look at how AI is impacting education, it’s impacting our jobs as well and how we deliver content,” Schwarz said.
He said students are experiencing anxiety about AI use policies.
“So, what we’re seeing is a lot of anxiety. Students are anxious because they don’t know really where should I use AI where should I not use AI?” Schwarz said.
Sarah and other students said proving they did not cheat can be difficult when AI allegations come days or weeks after submitting assignments.
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