The Barbados Accreditation Council (BAC) is very closely monitoring the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is having on higher education institutions (HEIs) in Barbados.
To this end, the Council has been conducting research into the impact of AI so far, and assessing the positive and negative factors and challenges it may present in the future. This relates to both external quality assurance agencies (EQAAs) like itself, and also for the local HEIs it recognises.
Research & Development Officer I with the Council, Jonre Waterman recently made a presentation on the topic: ‘Investigating The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education In Barbados: The Opportunities for Innovation and the Implications for Academic Integrity’.
He made the presentation to delegates in attendance at the 20th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education (CANQATE).
The conference was hosted by the University Council of Jamaica and held at Pegasus Hotel in Kingston Jamaica under the theme: ‘Twenty Years of Promoting Quality in Higher Education: Development, Impact and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future’.
In his presentation, Mr. Waterman said while there are some noteworthy benefits that come with AI within higher education, from the institutional and academic perspective, the reality is that there are also some challenges for such institutions.
Among the key concerns, he says HEIs will have to ensure that students are not utilising the technology to give the impression that their breadth of knowledge is greater than it really is, whenever they are tasked with turning in reports or doing exams and papers.
“As it relates to the use of the AI-powered technologies…it’s not going anywhere. Global institutions will continue to incorporate AI-powered tools into their teaching and learning process. What this will do is advance the quality of the higher education process and HEIs that fail to address this run the risk of being left behind on the quality curve. This presents a challenge for EQAAs like the BAC as it seeks to assure and enhance the quality of the local higher education space,” he said.
“As it relates to the academic integrity concerns, the biggest fear is the ability of students to subvert the rigour of the academic process in favour of skipping straight to the finishing line and receiving qualifications and awards that do not speak to their actual level of knowledge and understanding.”
Mr. Waterman said a failure of HEIs to respond to this will create a scenario where the quality of the higher education process would be eroded.
He says the BAC has come up with some recommendations to help address its AI-related concerns. “These include conducting assessments to determine the capacity to incorporate emerging technologies such as AI that can improve the quality of educational offerings.
We understand that based on your size and scope, for some institutions there may not be any feasibility for AI-powered or any that would actually provide any significant improvements to your quality…but you can’t just say so without conducting that assessment. So, our recommendation is that you conduct that assessment; then you can determine whether there is any use to the institution, but it must be done first.”
He said another important recommendation is for higher education institutions to assess vulnerabilities of academic integrity to emerging technologies such as AI. He also noted an important recommendation that the Council itself undertake going forward: “Also, as the BAC, there exists scope for us to review our quality standards to ensure that they adequately call upon institutions to address and respond to technological advances.” (PR/GIS)