STUDENTS have hit out over a "last-minute" decision to change the format of their exams after concerns were raised about the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI). 

We previously reported third and fourth-year Life Sciences students at Glasgow University will sit invigilated, in-person and hand-written exams as opposed to online and remote online as previously expected.  

The university said the decision has been made because of concerns about the potential 'misuse' of AI during exams due to the "rapidly changing capabilities of generative AI tools". 

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However, fourth-year students have hit back at the decision, which they were made aware of earlier this month, and say it has left them feeling "stressed out" and "terrified" for their final exams in April and May. 

The remote exams would have been open-book but now they will be closed-book, meaning students will have no access to notes or study material. 

The exams will go towards their final grade and are not able to be resit. 

One student, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Glasgow Times the "last-minute" change has left them feeling like it it will be "impossible" to pass their exams. 

They said: "I feel terrified. Everything just feels very up in the air at the moment. 

"Every time I go to my laptop to revise I look at a reading list for just one of my four classes and it's like I'm expected to memorise 40 papers for just one class. 

"It gets very overwhelming and I panic and stop."

They added: "I just feel a bit betrayed to be honest."

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The majority of fourth-year students started university in 2020 and have sat all previous university exams remotely and online. 

They say they were told from the start of the academic year that exams would be online, and say if they had been told they would be in-person sooner they would feel better prepared. 

They have also raised concerns that the questions were set in January when the exam was meant to be open-book and online and will therefore be much harder than expected for a closed-book exam. 

Another student, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: "Up until now we were told repeatedly when we asked our lecturers that the exams were going to be online. 

"That's how all the material was delivered with the aim of exams being online. 

"When you do it in person you have to memorise a lot of stuff, it's two different formats. None of us have sat an exam in person since school."

They added: "The main issue is they didn't communicate with us at the start of the year. "

Another student said: "For our whole university experience we've coped with things being online and we've adapted to that.

"Every single exam we've done has been in the style of an online open-book examination. 

"Then with two months' notice they want us to go back to this idealistic version of something we've never done throughout the whole of uni." 

It is understood class representatives for the Life Sciences department have now submitted an official complaint about the decision.

A spokesperson for Glasgow University said they are supporting students while they prepare for the exams and are offering them help and guidance. 

The spokesperson said: "The University has made the change to invigilated, in-person, hand-written exams in Life Sciences exams for years three and four in response to the rapidly changing capabilities of generative AI tools, as a result of which online exams in many scientific disciplines are becoming more susceptible to misuse by these tools.

"The University is committed to adapting and re-designing our approaches to learning, teaching and assessment in ways that recognise the importance and huge potential of AI for the workplace.

"We are taking this step so that we can assure all students – together with the quality bodies that accredit degrees, as well as future employers – that the Life Sciences exams are reliable and the grades awarded are too.

"We are putting in place a range of measures to support students in their preparations for in-person exams and are working closely with class representatives and the Student Representative Council to offer as much help and guidance as possible."