Northeastern University student demands tuition refund after discovering professor used ChatGPT

A student at Northeastern University demanded a tuition refund after discovering that her professor had used AI tools like ChatGPT to create class materials, despite a course policy banning unauthorised use of such technology.

Ella Stapleton, a senior at the time, was reviewing lecture notes for her organisational behaviour class when she noticed an instruction addressed to ChatGPT in the document. According to The New York Times, the material included phrases like “expand on all areas” and showed common signs of AI-generated content, such as awkward phrasing, distorted images, and even typos that mirrored machine output.

“He’s telling us not to use it, and then he’s using it himself,” Stapleton was quoted as saying The Times. She lodged a formal complaint with the university’s business school, citing her professor’s undisclosed use of AI and other concerns with his teaching. She requested a refund of over $8,000, the cost of the course.

The professor, Rick Arrowood, later acknowledged that he had used ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and the AI presentation tool Gamma to refresh his materials. “In hindsight… I wish I would have looked at it more closely,” Arrowood said. He also admitted that the AI-generated content was flawed and noted he hadn't used those materials in class discussions, which were held in person.

After a series of meetings, Northeastern rejected Stapleton’s refund request.

A spokesperson for the university was quoted by the Fortune saying that Northeastern “embraces the use of artificial intelligence to enhance all aspects of its teaching, research, and operations,” adding that it enforces policies requiring attribution and accuracy checks when using AI-generated content.

This incident has become part of a wider debate in higher education, where students are increasingly criticising professors for using AI tools. While many universities restrict students from using ChatGPT and similar tools in coursework, professors are now facing scrutiny for doing the same. Some students argue that they are paying to be taught by humans, not algorithms they could access for free.

Stapleton’s complaint is not isolated. Other students, like one at Southern New Hampshire University, found their professor had used ChatGPT to grade essays and generate feedback, causing the student to feel “wronged” and later transfer schools, The Times reported.

Paul Shovlin, an English professor at Ohio University, acknowledged students’ frustrations but said using AI to draft slides or notes was comparable to relying on published teaching aids. Still, he emphasised the need for transparency, “It’s the human connections that we forge with students... that add value,” he said.