Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming business education at speed. However, integrating AI into the student journey from induction to teaching and learning, and student outcomes, requires careful consideration of the pedagogical, ethical and disciplinary implications.
Academics who are positive towards AI are seeking to harness it for enhancing teaching and learning experiences, or evolve their discipline, and administrative and professional services colleagues are aiming to understand the broader implications of AI in academic settings.
The expansion of the capabilities of Generative AI was a big theme and widely discussed within higher education in 2023, which was then followed by a year of fact-finding and planning – now, 2024 is turning into a year of action.
Global student study of AI-based support
So what do we know about student expectations for their institutions, focusing on AI-based support as a critical area of change and innovation?
We commissioned YouGov, as part of our Global Student Wellbeing Survey, to conduct research among students across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Singapore and UAE. The survey ran over five weeks earlier this academic year and gained 10,189 responses, of which 2,422 were in the UK, with 149 higher education institutions represented.
In this blog, where possible, we highlight some of the significantly relevant findings from the approximate 200 business students who responded to the survey. Here are three key emerging themes from the study:
1. Students expect AI study support tools
In the UK, 57% of business students now expect their institution to offer AI support tools (i.e. a trained, digital helper that gives personal feedback and other 24/7 study help), and this is consistent for all age groups – crucially, this is more than any other subject area.
Overall, 39% of students surveyed across all subject areas, in all demographics, expect their institution to offer AI support tools. However, this is significantly higher among international students in the UK (57%) compared to their domestic counterparts (37%). Males are more likely (47%) than females (35%) to expect their institution to provide AI-based support.
The majority of all surveyed students in most countries expect their institution to offer AI support tools (56% globally). UAE and Saudi Arabia students have some of the highest expectations in the world for AI learning support (84% and 79% respectively).
2. Why? Speed of feedback, improving work
Speed of feedback – ‘only waiting minutes, not a day or several days’ – is the main reason that business students based in the UK would use their institution’s AI support or feedback (27%), followed by ‘grades – to improve my own work for I submit’ (19%) and confidence, specifically “to check I’m on the right track throughout my assignment’ (15%).
Both speed and confidence are universal across all demographics of all UK students surveyed. The exception is that international students in the UK are slightly more likely to choose ‘confidence’ over speed (22% v 21%). Postgraduate students have the highest amount of need for speed of feedback and support. As a large proportion of postgraduates are in full-time employment (38%), this is not surprising to educators.
The main reason given by all students overall in the majority of countries for using their university’s AI support or feedback was ‘speed’, apart from New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and UAE where ‘confidence to check they are on the right track’ was more prevalent than others.
3. Institutions are not adapting quickly enough
54% of business students based in the UK say their institution is not adapting quickly enough to include AI support tools to help with their study and accelerate the integration of AI tools for learning – and this is the picture for the majority of all UK students across all subject areas.
Analysis shows that UK based students across all subjects who feel stressed constantly (more than twice a day) or daily, say speed of feedback would be the biggest driver for them to use AI support or feedback (23% and 28% respectively), followed by building confidence by being able to check they are on the right track (16% and 18% respectively).
As well as the UK, all students that were surveyed in Australia (55%) and Canada (60%) strongly perceive their institution is not adapting fast enough to include AI support tools.
Finally, we recognise the opportunity with AI and have recently launched new AI learning technology, Studiosity+, which allows institutions to give all their students formative feedback on their written work in minutes. Importantly, institutions can see students’ progress, critical thinking development, pinpoint challenges, and take next steps. This helps our partners support all their students and use the actionable insight for whole-institution change.
Isabelle Bristow is Managing Director UK and Europe at Studiosity, global leaders in online study success solutions