University Student Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence Integration into their Academic Performance

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more common in education, so it is crucial to be aware of students' perspectives towards the effective use of implementing AI in education. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to incorporate a researcher-made questionnaire with 385 participants and semi-structured interviews with 69 students from three institutions in Vietnam. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to examine the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was employed to address the qualitative data. The results reveal that although the participants have neutral stances on the acceptability of AI in education, they also express positive and negative opinions on the acceptance and uncertainty about AI's capabilities to enhance their academic performance. Besides, digital skills, previous experience with AI, institutional support, and ethical concerns are the main factors of acceptance and use. The participants feel concerned about whether the AI application may improve their academic integrity, privacy, and critical thinking. It is, therefore, necessary for students to receive institutional support for AI training by providing more explicit principles and resources for AI adoption. Additionally, the study reveals that AI has great potential, but it should be integrated into higher education with considerable care to solve ethical issues and allow the students to be trained and supported. Universities must give importance to AI literacy programs and set principles of ethics to foster a more positive and productive relationship between students and AI technologies.