Singapore's NTU assembles panel after students penalised over AI use, one of them merely for alphabetising citations with online tool

Malay Mail

5 hours ago

SINGAPORE, June 26 — Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will convene an appeal review panel including artificial intelligence (AI) experts after a student was accused of academic fraud for allegedly using generative AI tools.
CNA reported that NTU allows students to use AI in assignments but requires them to declare usage, ensure accuracy, and cite sources.
'NTU remains committed to our goal of equipping students with the knowledge and skills to use AI technologies productively, ethically and critically,' a spokesman was quoted saying.
The university said it had met two of the three students involved to assess the grounds for appeal, though no decisions were made during the consultations.
One student's appeal was accepted for review, while another's was rejected.
The student whose appeal was processed had earlier shared on Reddit that she was accused of misusing AI after submitting an essay for a module on health and disease politics.
An assistant professor questioned whether AI tools were used, prompting the student to submit a time-lapse video of her writing process using the Draftback browser extension.
However, she was penalised for using Study Crumb, an AI-powered site, to alphabetise her citations, receiving a zero for the assignment and a 'D' for the module.
The student paid S$40 (RM139) to appeal and later demonstrated her writing process and use of the citation tool during a two-hour consultation with a faculty panel.
A panel member reportedly agreed the tool was not considered generative AI and assured her that the misconduct would not appear on her permanent record.
Two other students from the same class also received zeros, including one who used Citation Machine and ChatGPT to organise citations and conduct limited background research.
She said her appeal was rejected after a panel found she violated explicit instructions banning AI tools.
NTU said the student had previously admitted to using generative AI in her assignment and noted that instructors may prohibit AI use for certain tasks.
A briefing slide for the class stated that AI use in developing essays was prohibited, with zero marks imposed for violations.
The third student was penalised for allegedly using fake citations and initially faced a 10-mark deduction, which was later escalated to a zero.
He accepted the decision and chose not to contest it further, saying he prioritised passing as he had already secured a job but feared the incident could harm his reputation.