Students given Grammarly AI as Honor Council adapts

By Charlie Cruz     9/24/24 11:54pm

Rice began offering Grammarly Premium access to all students. Initially made available to graduate students, the service is now available to the entire student body in line with the Honor Council’s 2023 decision to allow ChatGPT usage with proper citation and instructor permission.

Grammarly is a grammar-checking tool designed to correct punctuation, spelling and sentence structure.   

Baker College junior Chloé Khuri said that she uses Grammarly’s grammar-checking feature for assistance with punctuation but is hesitant about newer AI-powered features. 

---

---

“Honestly, I’m really bad with commas, so it’s literally just putting commas in and making sure I didn’t misspell or misuse any prepositions or transition words,” Khuri said.  “Grammarly shouldn’t be trying to do all of this [AI]. It’s called Grammarly — it should stick to small grammar changes.” 

According to Grammarly’s website, the new AI tools include generated email responses, text summaries and tone suggestions.

“Want to make your text shorter, more persuasive, or more inspirational? Tell Grammarly how you want to sound and get a new version in an instant,” the product description reads.

First-Year Writing Intensive Seminar professor Burke Nixon said that as part of the university’s evolving approach to education, FWIS classes are beginning to implement lessons about AI tools, like Grammarly. 

“AI can help students think about what academic writers do and offer ways to express their ideas more effectively,” Burke, a senior lecturer in the Program in Writing and Communication, said.  

However, Burke also said he is concerned about some of Grammarly’s AI features, namely its percentage score for writing quality. 

“The score is ultimately pretty meaningless and can make students feel their writing is weaker than it is,” Burke said.

To ensure transparency, the Center for Teaching Excellence encourages professors to include clear AI statements in their syllabi, specifying the appropriate use of such tools.   

Honor Council communications chair Olivia Thom said she believes the university’s Honor Code and AI tools, like Grammarly, can coexist without issue. Still, she said students must understand when to cite their contributions. 

“I don’t think there’s any dissonance between plagiarism and generative AI because, under the Honor Code’s general policy about AI, it’s considered plagiarism if it’s used without citing it,” Thom, a Duncan College junior, said.  

Burke said that AI policies from both Rice and individual professors are still developing as new technology becomes available.

“We’re all trying to figure this out,” Burke said. “It’s changing, and it’s complex.”

---