9 hours ago
Last Updated:May 16, 2025, 18:22 IST
Meanwhile, the Northeastern University ultimately rejected Stapleton's claim following a series of meetings.
In her complaint, the student mentioned the use of AI as well as other issues she had with the professor's teaching style. (Pixabay photo)
Claiming her professor secretly used artificial intelligence to generate notes, a student in the United States has demanded refund of her tuition fees amounting to over Rs 6.8 lakh ($8,000).
According to a report in The New York Times, the student, identified as Ella Stapleton who graduated from Northeastern University this year, lodged a formal complaint with the university.
The NYT report claims she grew suspicious of her business professor’s lectures after she spotted telltale signs of AI generation, including a “ChatGPT" citation in the bibliography, recurring typos and images depicting figures with extra limbs. Soon after, she confided in her friend who was equally shocked by the revelation.
“Did you see the notes he put on Canvas? He made it with ChatGPT," texted Ms Stapleton, to which the friend replied: “OMG Stop. What the hell?"
Upset over not getting top-tier education, despite the school’s cost and reputation, Stapleton filed a formal complaint with the university’s business school, mentioning use of AI as well as other issues she had with his teaching style.
“He’s telling us not to use it, and then he’s using it himself," the NYT quoted Stapleton as saying.
Claim Refuted
Meanwhile, the Northeastern University ultimately rejected Stapleton’s claim following a series of meetings. The professor behind the AI notes, Rick Arrowood, admitted that he used AI tools such as ChatGPT, the Perplexity AI search engine, and an AI presentation generator called Gamma to write the lectures.
“In hindsight…I wish I would have looked at it more closely. If my experience can be something people can learn from then, OK, that’s my happy spot," he told NYT.
As per Northeastern University’s AI policy, any faculty or student must “provide appropriate attribution when using an AI System to generate content" that might be included in a “scholarly publication, or submitted to anybody, publication or other organisation".
Since it hit the AI world, ChatGPT has revolutionised the AI culture across the globe. While students were the early adopters of the technology, it has since been either banned or restricted in most schools and colleges.
Location :New York, United States of America (USA)
First Published:News world US Student Claims Professor Uses ChatGPT, Demands College Tuition Fee Refund
