Universities should help students develop AI skills while protecting confidence in degrees - OfS

New research from the Office for Students and Advance HE explores how AI is reshaping students' experiences of higher education.  

The research demonstrates the critical role of universities and colleges in equipping students with the AI skills they will need to thrive in life beyond higher education. It also highlights the continuing risks AI poses for the effective assessment of students' work and the credibility of qualifications, as well as the potential for AI to benefit higher education.  

Many institutions continue to use unsupervised assessments that can be completed to a high standard using AI tools without substantive engagement from students. In the roundtable discussions and interviews that informed the research, students described peers who had completed assessments using large language models, sometimes in just a few minutes, and received a similar grade to those who had completed the assessment themselves. Staff participants raised concerns that assessments do not consistently and reliably assess students' knowledge and skills. 

The report highlights the importance of designing assessments that reliably demonstrate whether students have achieved the intended learning outcomes. In many cases, assessments designed to prevent AI use, such as closed-book exams, presentations, practical assessments and performances, are likely to provide the most valid measure of student attainment.  

Discussions with students and staff also found that:   

• Use of AI among teaching and professional services staff varies significantly, both within and between institutions. Some staff are developing innovative approaches, while others use AI rarely or not at all. 

• Many students use AI in sophisticated ways to support their studies. However, students and staff expressed concerns that some uses displace the cognitive effort required for deep learning. 

• Many students find their institution's or department's policies on AI difficult to understand. Some also felt that staff use of AI had reduced the quality of learning materials. 

• AI literacy training for staff is often limited and generally voluntary, with levels of participation typically low. 

• Students see AI literacy as important to their future employment prospects and would welcome more opportunities to develop AI skills. 

Commenting on the research Josh Fleming, Director of Strategy and Delivery at the OfS, said:  

AI is rapidly reshaping higher education. This is a huge opportunity for universities and colleges to leverage the technology for the benefit of students and society. We've seen fantastic examples of this opportunity being seized across the sector. 

It also presents a generational risk to the system as it stands, threatening to undermine students' learning and institutions' ability to assess them. We need to see far greater efforts to tackle these risks, including far greater use of AI-free assessment.  

The scale and pace of both the challenge and opportunity presents a novel challenge for the sector and us as the regulator. We will continue to work with universities and colleges to help them reap the benefits of AI while avoiding the risks. 

Commenting on the research, Kathryn Harrison-Graves, Deputy Chief Executive at Advance HE, said: 

This research highlights the real energy and creativity across the sector, with staff and departments leading the way in exploring what AI can offer.  

As institutions build on that work, there is a valuable opportunity to bring it together under a clear institutional direction. Students told us they would welcome greater clarity about what is expected of them, and staff are approaching AI with varying levels of confidence and support.  

Senior leaders are well placed to help by setting a shared vision for AI, supporting consistent and well communicated guidance, and making time, training and resources available to staff and students. Regular discussion at executive and board level, alongside giving staff the confidence to make good decisions in the interests of their students, will help institutions make the most of this work. 

In response to the research findings, the OfS will: 

• Require institutions to ensure assessments are valid and reliable measures of students' knowledge and skills. In many cases, this will require the use of secure (AI-free) assessments. Institutions must also ensure courses are up-to-date and require students to develop relevant skills. Alongside the report, we have set out how institutions can comply with our regulation in the context of AI (see attached). 

• Hold institutions to account when they fall short. Where evidence suggests institutions have not met our requirements, we deploy our regulatory levers, which include imposing specific conditions of registration, monetary penalties or suspending access to student support funding and/or OfS grant funding. 

• Support universities and colleges to strengthen their approaches to AI, including by clarifying how OfS regulatory requirements apply in the context of AI and sharing examples of effective practice. 

• Continue to deepen sector understanding of how AI is reshaping higher education by undertaking further structured research to establish the scale and nature of change. 

In response to the findings, Advance HE will: 

• Launch an AI focused Change Academy programme for member institutions early in 2027. Designed as a peer-learning and action-learning programme connecting Advance HE members from across the globe, the Change Academy will create space for leaders to pause, reflect and develop their institutional AI strategy. 

• Convene sector leaders, industry experts and academics to explore effective approaches to responding to AI within teaching and learning, leadership, governance and inclusion. 

• Share effective and inclusive strategies and approaches to enhance student experience and outcomes. 

• Continually review frameworks and resources available to members via the Advance HE Knowledge Hub to provide guidance and shape discussion around ethical and appropriate use of AI in higher education.  

ENDS 

Notes 

1. The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. Our strategy for 2025 to 2030 seeks to ensure that students from all backgrounds benefit from high quality higher education, delivered by a diverse, sustainable sector that continues to improve. 

1. The research is based on insights from 16 live roundtable events, 64 responses to a semi-structured call for evidence and 22 interviews with representatives of higher ducation institutions, sector groups, technology companies and graduate employers. In total, the views of 244 higher education staff and 91 students and student representatives from 127 institutions have informed this work. We also drew on an extensive wider policy and academic literature relating to AI in higher education.