Making artificial intelligence (AI) accessible across Hofstra University has been in the works for about a year. During the State of the University Address on Wednesday, Sept. 17, President Susan Poser announced a new ChatGPT Edu initiative. The license for ChatGPT Edu is set to become accessible for all Hofstra students and staff on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
The process began in August 2024 and allowed faculty and staff members to experiment with the private version of ChatGPT Edu in a pilot program.
“We had about 300 participants,” said Jesse Webster, chief information officer at Hofstra. “And so we used that to kind of feel out the program and have a very limited exposure to ChatGPT.”
Currently, regulating the use of AI in classes is up to professors and, while this will continue, the introduction of ChatGPT Edu offers new resources and opportunities for the academic setting.
“I think because it’s available to all the students, it’ll encourage a lot of professors that are teaching non-AI specific courses to give it a go,” said Russell Chun, associate professor of journalism, media studies and public relations.
ChatGPT Edu, while having similarities to the free version, allows students a more private and protected experience while also being able to use extended features.
“The version that Hofstra has is somewhat walled off from the public version,” Webster said. “So if you use a public version of ChatGPT, everything you put into that can be used by ChatGPT to do what’s called ‘train the model,’ which is to make the model better. Hofstra has negotiated with ChatGPT so Edu is a safer version of ChatGPT where that can’t happen.”
Students are encouraged to experiment with the AI and test its limitations and resources, but part of that experimentation includes teaching students and faculty how to use the platform.
“I think there is a downfall to it because if it’s accessible now to students, then students will use it, and they may not know how to use it responsibly or ethically,” Chun said.
Concerns regarding the use of AI and its interference with students’ education have been hotly debated around campus for those in the know of the new program.
“I know teenagers, because I am one,” said freshman drama major Shaelyn Gallagher. “People are going to use it to find the answers instead of finding it themselves and where’s the creativity and the learning in that? That’s the entire reason we’re at college.”
The uncertainty of how to use ChatGPT Edu was not left out of discussion during the planning process.
“We are going to make the Open AI Academy available to students, so that’s part of our subscription with ChatGPT,” Webster said. “Students will be able to access training materials and self-paced materials directly from Open AI to learn about the tool, its capabilities and limitations.”
AI literacy is a driving force behind the introduction of ChatGPT Edu to Hofstra.
“It’s going to be used in a professional world,” Chun said. “So, we have to train our students on how to use it responsibly in the professional world and effectively too.”
There are still questions about how exactly the program will be implemented in student and faculty lives around campus.
“If it’s going to be an educationally modified platform of AI, then I just wonder what that means, what that includes,” said sophomore neuroscience major Zara Mahmood. “I don’t know, I feel like AI is just whatever we input in it. So, if we put in garbage, we’re going to get garbage. That’s my concern.”
More information about how to access and navigate the program will be revealed as the release date approaches. AI literacy and training materials will also be provided for students.
