Instructors Redraw the Line with AI

By Bianca Salazar
Staff writer
IG: bancasalazar_bts

With the advancement of technology in the world, Hutchinson Community College is adapting to the changing landscape.

Artificial Intelligence is becoming an increasingly used product where people go to research topics, develop ideas, gather resources and more. With the ability to use this technology whenever someone wants, students can use this to help with classes or assignments.

“AI is clearly a powerful tool,” computer science instructor Nabil Abdullah said. “It enhances efficiency for those seeking knowledge. Its use depends on context. For general information, it can function similarly to a search engine. For students, it can serve as a tutor: helping them probe issues, test hypotheses, and receive feedback on arguments, especially in a logical or analytical sense.”

With the many uses of AI engines like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and more, there is more chance of misusing it.

“If students rely on AI as a shortcut or copy-paste mechanism, this can undermine learning,” Abdullah said. “A broader concern is the potential loss of agency: excessive dependence on AI for decision-making, whether academic, professional, or personal, may weaken independent reasoning and judgment.”

English instructor Bethany Faimon agrees with Abdullah.

“Our brains need exercise,” Faimon said. “It’s important to continue engaging in complex, critical-thinking tasks such as those that are assigned in college classes. If you offload too much of the cognitive load to AI, you won’t reap the true benefits of a college education.”

But this doesn’t mean colleges should not teach students how to use AI, Abdullah said.

“Colleges should teach students how to use AI,” he said. “AI is now a permanent part of the landscape, so ignoring or banning it is not realistic. Instead, institutions should focus on responsible integration.”

Abdullah said that this will require rethinking assessment design. One approach that he recommended would be to design a task where the students engage critically with AI like formulating a hypothesis or model then using the AI system to test, critique, and refine while documenting the entire process.

Abdullah reminds students that current AI systems are statistical. Its outputs should be treated as plausible rather than authoritative.

Faimon says to students that AI has its uses only in certain situations.

“Even as colleges and professors continue to embrace AI for education on a broader scale, there will always be times when its use is appropriate and ethical and others when it’s not,” she said. “It’s important to understand the difference and to clearly understand each instructor’s expectations.”

HutchCC’s current policy is being updated. Faimon is on the newly-formed AI subcommittee, and this group has been working throughout the semester to draft a new AI policy that will benefit students and instructors, and leave room for academic freedom. The new policy is being reviewed by the necessary committees before being sent to the Board of Trustees for final approval.

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