To Arizona State University leadership, faculty, and students,

It has become increasingly common for courses at ASU to integrate generative AI into courses to varying degrees- from simply recommending AI study tools to using education platforms such as Pearson that generate homework questions. ASU students have observed instructors using gen AI to generate announcements, respond to students, and grade homework assignments- behavior often hypocritical to their own syllabi. In some classes, instructor use of generative AI has become so extreme that students are essentially taught by gen AI. Students are not able to opt out of these instructional materials, nor is there any clear way to report instructors or courses where misuse of gen AI has severely damaged the comprehensibility and overall quality of the material being taught.

This behavior is seemingly encouraged by Arizona state university. On September 15th, 2025, ASU and OpenAI announced that they would provide GPT-5 to students and academic staff at the university. Many of ASU's leadership staff promote the use of gen AI among those working for and attending the university, and have pushed for courses to become increasingly reliant on AI tools and programming. This has caused the quality of student education to rapidly decrease, even as cost of attendance increases. Courses in which AI is used are not identified prior to enrolling in the course, and, once enrolled, students are often still not notified in regards to AI use or its extent and purpose.

The goal of education is not simply to input and output of knowledge. A higher education experience teaches students how to think critically, apply knowledge, interact and work with others, create informed opinions, and persevere through challenges. The current implementation of gen AI undermines the development of these skills. At best, students are now taught by example that output is the only goal of obtaining a degree. At worst, the behavior of their instructors communicates a lack of respect for students time, money, and education. This is not an extrapolation or assumption- these are opinions of current students of ASU. Education standards falter when universities prioritize profit over learning, efficiency over effort, and quantity over quality. 

Students for Authentic Education (SAE) requests that ASU follows it's charter, assumes it's responsibility to current and future students, and sets the standard for higher education.

• Impose regulations on the use of generative AI in educational settings. 
• Communicate clearly and effectively when AI is used in courses, including how and why it is being used.
• Give students the freedom and ability to opt out of AI generated assignments and complete alternative assignments. 
• Enforce ASU's guidelines for academic integrity not only for students, but for faculty and staff.
• End partnerships with platforms such as Pearson, where generative AI is abused to the detriment of the students.

Respectfully, the Students for Authentic Education