As of January 17th, 2023, Georgia State University has ended free access to Grammarly without any discussion or feedback from students. This is to “reduce repetition in university software services” according to the GSU Technology Services website. The alternatives offered by GSU are TurnItIn Plagiarism Detection, Microsoft Word 365, and the Zoterobib citation tool. However, these programs do not offer the writing help that Grammarly Premium provides.

Students at GSU are from all different backgrounds. Not everyone enters college with the same English writing level. Getting rid of free Grammarly Premium punishes those who did not have opportunities before college to learn to write academically. Whether you’re an international student or you went to a school where writing well was not a priority, we students all need Grammarly to do the best we can in our studies. Students of all levels of proficiency can use Grammarly to improve their writing and empower their voices.

Removing a tool that assists in writing original, professional-level papers is completely counterintuitive in an age where higher education institutions are trying to avoid students using AI programs such as ChatGPT. Without access to Grammarly Premium, there will be less student engagement and limited opportunities for personal writing growth.

Furthermore, Grammarly is a company founded in the war-torn country of Ukraine. Though globally present, they continue to maintain offices in Kyiv while under the threat of weekly missile and drone bombardment. This is not the time to cut ties, nor is it the time to deprive students of one of the most useful tools provided to them by this university.

The aim of this petition is to gain the attention of Technology Services at GSU, specifically Chief Innovation Officer Phil Ventimiglia, or GSU M. Brian Blake so that they can understand how detrimental this change is to student performance and learning.