Boston, May 16 – A student from Northeastern University in the United States has demanded a tuition fee refund after discovering that her professor used artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, to prepare class materials. Ella Stapleton, a recent graduate from the university’s business program, lodged a formal complaint upon realizing her professor’s lectures were not entirely original.
According to a report in The New York Times, Stapleton became suspicious after noticing oddities in the lecture notes, including typographical errors, bizarre images showing human figures with extra limbs, and even a “ChatGPT” citation in the bibliography. She immediately texted a friend, writing: “Did you see the notes he put on Canvas? He made it with ChatGPT,” to which her friend replied, “OMG Stop. What the hell?”
Frustrated by what she perceived as substandard teaching—especially given the school’s reputation and her tuition costs—Stapleton officially filed a complaint with the business school. She demanded a refund of $8,000 (roughly ₹6.8 lakh), claiming that the use of AI compromised the quality of education.
“He’s telling us not to use it, and then he’s using it himself,” Stapleton said.
The professor in question, Rick Arrowood, later admitted to using a combination of AI tools including ChatGPT, the Perplexity AI search engine, and Gamma—a presentation generator—to prepare lectures. He acknowledged the oversight and added, “In hindsight, I wish I would have looked at it more closely. If my experience can be something people can learn from, then OK, that’s my happy spot.”
Despite her complaint, Northeastern University declined Stapleton’s refund request. The university’s policy states that all faculty and students must provide proper attribution when using AI-generated content, particularly for scholarly or public submissions.
ChatGPT, launched in 2022, has dramatically reshaped the educational landscape. Initially embraced by students, it has since prompted many institutions to impose restrictions or outright bans on its use in academic settings.