Engineering Faculty Perceptions on Student-Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in Course Completion

Computer science and engineering faculty often argue whether students should be allowed to use GAI tools, such as ChatGPT, or banned from using them for fear of decreasing learning and workforce quality. This research gathers and reports engineering and computer science faculty members’ perceptions, opinions, and recommendations for GAI use in higher education. Faculty members agree that these technologies are here to stay and must be understood to address GAI in college and university courses. However, their willingness to implement GAI into their courses varied based on prior experience in industry and with the technology itself. Those with very limited experience described themselves as lacking a necessary understanding of the technology and described a need for training and education to make an informed decision on how to approach GAI use in their courses. Understanding faculty perspectives of students’ GAI use in the classroom contributes to initial conversations regarding the role of these new, disruptive technologies and how they can be ethically integrated both inside and outside the classroom.