Washburn students weigh in: Does AI belong in finals prep?
Washburn students weigh in: Does AI belong in finals prep?
https://www.wibw.com/2026/05/11/washburn-students-weigh-does-ai-belong-finals-prep/
Publish Date: 2026-05-11 19:16:00
Source Domain: www.wibw.com
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Artificial intelligence may seem like all the rage for younger generations. But at Washburn University, that might not be the case.
“I don’t use AI personally,” third-year student Ethan Strong said. “I have a lot of moral — morally don’t think it’s right to use it personally.”
“I choose not to use AI just because, I know it can be really helpful for some students, but for me I like to challenge myself more,” third-year student Caroline Chiddix said. “I feel like I learn more when I don’t use AI.”
While Strong and Chiddix haven’t used AI in their final exam prep, they see why others might.
“I can see how some people would like to use it, because I mean yeah, it makes things easier to do,” Strong said.
“In one of my classes, they told us that we could definitely use AI if we wanted to help create a rubric, they just require that we use an AI acknowledgement statement in our paper,” Chiddix said.
Washburn Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning Director Kara Kendall-Morwick says there is a right way to use AI tools if students choose to.
“You have to know, of course, how to prompt it appropriately,” she said. “So I think that’s the tricky part, making sure that you’re using it to prepare for an exam in a way that is going to enhance your learning and get you thinking rather than kind of outsourcing that cognitive work.”
Students shared what tools they do use
“I use tools like Quizlet and Note to make flash cards to study online for my Spanish exams,” Chiddix said.
“I use Chegg to kind of help check my answers and stuff, where it’s not an AI doing it but it’s rather an actual person who’s gone through and done the math,” Strong said.
Kendall-Morwick said her office recently held a panel to hear from students on the use of AI and how the university can navigate it moving forward.
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