When you're paying thousands of dollars every year for a college tuition, you'll likely expect the crème de la crème of teaching to be heading up these institutions. After all, the reason we pick our colleges will likely depend on their academic record. Now, one student has demanded her fees back after she caught her professor doing the one thing he warned them not to do.
Back in the day, it was probably a case of cheating on a test by scrawling notes up your arm or hiding secret materials on your body. However, as the world of teaching has largely moved online in the aftermath of the pandemic, it's harder than ever for professors to keep an eye on students cheating. If that wasn't enough, a rise in artificial intelligence and the likes of ChatGPT mean some are using these ever-evolving chatbots to do the work for them.
Although there are some pretty advanced detection systems to figure out the difference between flesh-and-blood humans and robots in disguise, it's not foolproof.
As reported by The New York Times, a senior at Northeastern University noticed something odd when looking back over her lecture notes from her class on organizational behavior.
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Ella Stapleton spotted a ChatGPT request to "expand on all areas. Be more detailed and specific," which was followed by a list of positive and negative leadership traits. Stapleton texted a fellow student and couldn't believe what she was reading.
Doing some digging, Stapleton spotted a few other AI-related signs, including distorted text, office workers with extra digits, and glaring spelling mistakes.
Considering she expected 'top-tier' education, and the course specifically stated that it forbade "academically dishonest activities" like the use of AI and chatbots, Stapleton fumed: "He’s telling us not to use it, and then he’s using it himself."
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As well as lodging a complaint with Northeastern’s business school over the 'undisclosed' use of AI and other issues with her professor's teaching style, she demanded over $8,000 as a refund for that specific class.
Stapleton's case might not be an isolated one, with the outlet pointing to a national survey of over 1,800 higher-education instructors for 2024, with 18% admitting they frequently use generative tools. A second survey in 2025 reveals that this has nearly doubled.
The day after her graduation ceremony, Stapleton was told she wouldn't be getting a refund. At the center of the scandal was Dr. Arrowood, an adjunct professor who has been teaching for nearly 20 years. Admitting he'd used ChatGPT, the Perplexity AI search engine, and a presentation generator called Gamma, he thought the presentation looked 'great' at a glance. Still, he says: "In hindsight, I wish I would have looked at it more closely."
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After Arrowood said that professors should approach AI with caution, a Northeastern spokeswoman said the school “embraces the use of artificial intelligence to enhance all aspects of its teaching, research and operations."
Arrowood himself concluded: "If my experience can be something people can learn from, then, OK, that’s my happy spot."