TL;DR
Students at the University of Staffordshire discovered their government-funded coding apprenticeship was taught primarily through AI-generated slides and voiceovers. They confronted university officials multiple times about the materials, expressing frustration that whilst students face expulsion for submitting AI work, they’re being taught by AI. The university defended the practice as “responsible use of digital technologies” that maintains academic standards.
Students Demand Human Teaching
Forty-one apprentices enrolled in a cybersecurity and software engineering module at the University of Staffordshire have raised serious concerns about their educational experience. Students noticed AI-generated content “almost immediately” when their first class featured PowerPoint presentations with an AI-generated voice reading slides. Signs included inconsistent American-to-British English editing, suspicious file names, and generic information occasionally referencing US legislation.
The frustration escalated when students recognised the double standard: they face academic misconduct charges for using AI in their work, whilst their course materials are predominantly AI-generated. During a recorded lecture in October 2024, one student directly challenged the lecturer, stating he didn’t “want to be taught by GPT” and asking for the AI slides to be scrapped entirely.
University Response and Policy Contradiction
The Guardian’s investigation, using two AI detection tools, found multiple course materials had “a very high likelihood of being AI-generated”. The university subsequently uploaded a policy statement appearing to justify AI use, creating “a framework for academic professionals leveraging AI automation” in teaching.
This contrasts sharply with the university’s student-facing policies, which classify outsourcing work to AI as a breach of integrity policy. The institution responded by stating “academic standards and learning outcomes were maintained” and that AI tools “support elements of preparation” without replacing academic expertise.
Looking Forward
This case highlights the emerging tension between AI adoption in higher education and student expectations of human instruction. As nearly a quarter of UK higher education teaching staff reportedly use AI tools, institutions face growing pressure to balance technological efficiency with educational quality. The Department for Education’s August policy paper praised AI’s potential to “transform education”, but student experiences suggest implementation requires careful consideration of learning outcomes and academic integrity standards.
The Staffordshire students’ experience raises fundamental questions about the value proposition of higher education when AI tools used by lecturers are freely available to students themselves. As one student noted, if the course content is AI-generated, students could “get the gold ourselves, by asking ChatGPT”.
Source: The Guardian