ND daughter wrongly accused of using AI

[EmeraldDreams73]

Hi, dd21 is ND and in her 3rd year of uni. She's been accused of using AI to write her most recent assignment. She's not very tech-savvy at all and is absolutely adamant she hasn't used it and wouldn't know how. I believe her, she never does anything against the rules and she can't lie, there is no way she's capable of just brazening it out, she would 100% crack if she'd done it. I've read the submission and I'm no expert, but it just sounds to me like her, but trying to sound good.

She's had a meeting with the module lead, took her handwritten notes and the synopsis she'd written when requested earlier in the process and talked about it. Also highlighted words in the finished submission that she remembered finding through googling "better word for...".

She knows the content inside out, but always uses Word instead of Google docs for drafts - she once lost a big chunk of work at A level when she accidentally highlighted the wrong bit on Google docs by mistake and refused to use it from then on. She saves and renames files, but deletes old ones once she's got a final version - she's anxious about submitting the wrong one. She took her (v old) laptop in to the meeting and they obvs couldn't see digital revisions (she didn't know you had to turn on the Word tracking thing on that version, I think they showed her how so that's good going forward).

From what I can gather the meeting was inconclusive bc the lecturer must have seen she was being truthful, but still felt it was too different from previous papers (hadn't used grammarly etc, they asked - again, she wouldn't lie). She's been told that their head of xyz needs to review it and it's 50/50 what will happen next. Then heard nothing more for 24 hours which I'm sure is normal as they're all busy.

She's beside herself with worry. She has a processing disorder which means she takes forever to get things firmly in her mind, but then is fine. She's always had extra time for assessments/exams and does at uni too.

She can't remember what she said in the meeting and is terrified that they'll "think she's stupid" and kick her out. Even making her rewrite it would set her back hugely regarding time for current assessments, and the whole thing has just trashed her confidence. She was really proud of that one as she'd spent even longer than usual "going over every sentence and finding better words to use and I put loads of commas in".

I've told her that if they ask for another meeting, to say that she'd like me with her. I really want to ensure they know the kind of person she is, as well as the kind of learner, and the damage this is doing. She's already stressed about workload, but was pleased with how she was managing.

Anyone had experience of this kind of thing? What was the outcome? Her focus has always been to keep saving things to avoid losing work but (stupidly, I suppose) it's never occurred to her or me that she'd need to prove she's not cheating.

I'm doing an OU degree and false accusations like this seems to be common particularly with ND students (I expect because of their writing style). AI detection systems are still very poor and struggling to keep up with the evolving tech and are full of false positives. There is no definitive way to detect it so the decision will likely rest on the subjective view of the module lead.

Student discussions around this tend to emphasise keeping notes and revisions in order to show your own work. I suspect your dd's old versions are still avaliable/recoverable if she gets a techy person to look (it may still be in the recycling bin) as it's quite hard to permanently delete files.

If she has a learning mentor through DSA could they vouch for her if they have supported her with her studies? (If she doesn't get DSA she probably should, but that's another issue and may be too late in her 3rd year).

You will just have to wait for the outcome of their decision for now. In future it's definitely best to keep tracking revisions and keep all notes and drafts.

Thanks for your reply. I don't actually know if she has a mentor but I'll ask.

The AI detection systems show false positives, especially with ND writing. OP’s daughter should have both a tutor and mentor, separate from the university and funded by Student Finance England through Disabled Students’ Allowance, but not all universities make students aware of this.

Can she recover any of the deleted files? That way she has the evidence of earlier versions. She can back it up when she is writing them but doesn't need to do what she is doing by deleting. She needs to stop deleting them as she can use them to show her typing. I use Google Docs but know my children have had to use word for uni work and it can show previous versions and I believe it shows it typing out in real time.

I know some students have a way of phrasing and since being accused to using AI now actually record themselves on a timelapse video writing the doc, switching tabs, keeping all their handwritten notes.

Just FYI you can recover stuff on Google Docs so if she deleted stuff at A level there was a way to recover it in previous versions of that document. Ds is at uni has OneDrive, backed up to Google Docs and has a thumb drive backup for all his lecture notes in case his computer is ever corrupted.

She should have a DSA learning mentor, I would get her to check. Sadly when they are adults it is out of your hands.

Wow, it's all so technical I feel so thick! Thank you. She's always said her laptop won't let her save to her One Drive since being at uni and has told them that before (it used to do so fine at college). Certainly going forward we will help her get a new laptop and set it up so even if she can't show them, they can see previous writing on it etc. I can't see her understanding securely what to do in terms of screen recording, I think we need to get more aware of technology and try to help. What a nightmare. She's still heard nothing back, it would be far better for her if they made a decision so she knew if she had to rewrite that one, the not knowing is making her ill with anxiety.

I'm 46, so long since done with uni before all this came in - but I am autistic and used to get moaned at for having a wooden/mechanical writing style devoid of emotion (fair comment) - so I suspect your DD writes in quite a matter of fact way, and that looks like what AI does. Hope she gets it sorted, must be nightmarish to prove.

Agree that ND students often get wrongly accused due to their writing style. When he was abut 14, and studying Classical Civilisations for GCSE, DS's teacher told him it was 'obvious he had directly copied text from somewhere' as he had used the phrase 'decorated goblet' and challenged him to describe it in 'his own words'. DS thought for a few seconds and then replied 'ornate chalice?' and the teacher said, ah OK, maybe that is your writing style! 😂

They absolutely won't kick her out 'for being stupid' 😀. Please reassure her about that.

Does she have some kind of statement for her ND status? If so, she could ask (in writing - email will do) what has been done to accommodate that when it comes to marking her work. The chances are that whatever she has been promised, or what is on the website about inclusion etc, the real answer will be 'nothing'. If she can phrase it to show she is expecting an answer, so much the better. Something like 'I am reviewing my notes on this matter and so that I have all relevant information in one place I would appreciate a response from you about the accommodations I was promised because of [my condition] as described in [X policy]/in my conversation with X on Y date, and how they have been applied in this case.'

I was an lecturer until recently, and whilst the use of AI is a nightmare for staff, I also appreciate how awful it must be to be accused of cheating when you aren't. I also know how patchy support can be when it comes to disabilities. That is not to blame the ground floor staff - there is far too much to do just to get through the day without having to remember who needs what and what has been promised about various conditions - but universities over-promise, and it's not fair to students to be told they can expect things that aren't delivered. Obviously if she has used AI, her condition is irrelevant. It's cheating. But if she hasn't, it is unfair to ask her to prove a negative. That is as difficult as it is for staff to prove that it happened.

She could also get the SU involved. They have people who will accompany students to meetings and make notes. Again, I feel for staff when this happens, as they are just doing their job (the staff) and it is horrible to feel 'inspected' like that, but you need to advocate for your daughter, and this is an option which she is entitled to use.

She could also speak to the HoD and ask to see the policy on investigating AI (there probably isn't one, unless things have changed a lot in the past couple of years).

If none of that works, post again, and I'll have another think.

www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowance-dsa

If your daughter applies for DSA she will be asked to contribute £200 towards a laptop which will have helpful software pre-installed.

Leave your DD to sort it out for herself, she is an adult and she is the only person who knows exactly what she did or didn't do. It is not helpful for you to try and understand everything and write an essay on MN about it. Just be supportive of her anxiety. The uni counselling service may help. Presumably there will also be an appeals process.

Meanwhile, in rl, a decent parent would support their young person to navigate this situation.

In addition to checking recycle bin for previous drafts it might be worth looking into her browser history for the period in question, which should show her searches for different ways of expressing things.

This is an AI detector site @EmeraldDreams73

https://quillbot.com/ai-content-detector

She could copy and paste her assignment into that just to see if it gives a positive AI result (although as a pp mentioned, false positives can also be possible) Unsure if that would be of any help though.

Did her lecturer divulge how she came to the conclusion that your daughter had used AI?

My daughter is autistic and has had the same issue with work being flagged. It's a known issue.

100%.

I am no fan of 'helicopter' parenting, but the truth is that some students (and parents) know how these things work and others don't - much as in every aspect of life - and leaving those who don't to flounder is very unfair when others know how to work with the system.

Has it been put through Turnitin?

My daughter is autistic and has also had the same issue.

Her first assignment was a 500 word email about herself applying for a work placement

It got flagged as AI. She does use AI, she’s not great at writing about herself so she used it for suggestions on how to lay it out, how to start off, checking her spelling and grammar and stuff like that (with her tutor’s knowledge and blessing) but the content was 100% written herself. She had a meeting with her uni and it was ok in the end. Stressful couple of weeks though.

The last few assignments she’s put through an AI checker herself before submitting and it came up ok so hopefully she won’t have anymore problems.

That checks for plagiarism, not AI generated work.

The AI checks can indicate a risk, but that's all, really. If you put staff feedback through an AI check it often comes back positive, too.

Has she spoken to the Student’s Union? At my institution they have an advice service and will accompany students to meetings about academic offences. If there is similar at her uni they will be familiar with the rules and be able to help her understand the basis of the accusation, and how to defend herself- and how to appeal if it comes to that.

Thank you. I've had zero to do with her uni studies till now but obviously want to help and am worried about the state she's in

Thanks all, I've told her to speak to the SU and will definitely ask about accommodations etc.

Happened with ds in school in a state examination because they confused the formatting and the dashes etc, dh emailed and said actually that is standard mac formatting and we were very upset with the accusation- dh teaches computers and knows all of this stuff but most families would have assumed there was truth to this, or the person being accused could have been very (as in imagine the worst) upset. It’s tough for them all at the mo, staff and students because it’s difficult to tell. Stand your ground, reiterate to them you know it’s tough but this is upsetting also hope your daughter is ok

Universities are so aware of the proliferation of generative AI use right now, and so conscious that we don't want it to become the norm, that I admit I have second thoughts about any essay that doesn't contain grammatical errrors! Not to say I always take it further, but it's hard, because the trust is gone (believe me, plenty are using it, all the way from handing in entirely generated work to using it to 'polish expression' or 'make it sound more academic'). What I would say to you and your daughter is:

1. AI use is often very difficult to prove - if they don't feel there's hard evidence (or a confession) it's unlikely to go further. The case will have to go to a board above the academic's head, I am certain.
2. You may be allowed in the meeting as a supportive presence, but are unlikely to be allowed to contribute. As harsh as it might sound, a mother's testimony to her child's integrity is not going to swing any balance.
3. It's also not about ascertaining how honest or decent a person is - we're not trying to prove intent, or character quality, only whether or not there has been academic misconduct.

Also, 24 hours is not very long at all - this process takes a lot longer in my experience.