Wellington law students will have to undertake next month's ethics and equity exams without their laptops. Photo: 123RF
A law student at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) said students had been "left in the lurch" after an announcement on Monday that said next month's exams for two law subjects would have to be handwritten.
The student, who did not wish to be named, also said a timetable had still not been provided.
In an announcement from the Dean, Professor Geoff McLay, he said he had become "increasingly worried that the embedding of artificial intelligence (AI) in many students' laptops makes ensuring that students' work is their own very difficult".
He had hoped the university would have a technical solution, but said it was very unlikely, although he hoped one would be available at the end of the year.
"This means that we will not be able to allow students to use laptops for exams next month," McLay wrote.
"I want to make this announcement as soon as possible so students have time to prepare for handwritten examinations."
McLay added that there would be an exception for students with a disability that required them to use a keyboard.
The situation affected the LAWS 312 Equity and LAWS 334 Ethics exams.
The student said the announcement was stressful during an already stressful time.
In a Facebook post, a representative of the Victoria University of Wellington Law Students' Society (VUWLSS) said the Council of Legal Education had to be certain that everyone who passed the exams in Equity and Ethics deserved a pass (and did not cheat).
"Previously in person invigilation has been sufficient to manage these concerns. However, due to the increasing ability and sophistication of AI the faculty were concerned about the reliability of the exams, leading to their decision to make the Equity and Ethics exams handwritten."
The representative said VUWLSS had expressed that students' preference was for typed exams - "reflecting how our professional lives will look".
"However, once it became clear that the faculty felt they needed to proceed with handwritten exams we emphasised that students should be informed as early as possible, accessibility options should be made clear, and exam content and timing should reflect the fact that many students have not done handwritten exams since high school and are not used to writing for extended periods of time."
The representative added it was separate from the delay to the exam timetable, which was due to short-staffing.
In a statement, VUW Provost Professor Bryony James said students' handwriting their exams meant the university could be confident that the results truly reflected the students' own knowledge and effort - free of any suggestion of the influence of AI.
James said she would ensure that no student was disadvantaged, and was committed to working with students - including those with disabilities - who might need further support to participate in exams and final assessments as a result.
"As part of this undertaking the Faculty of Law will review this Trimester's exam results to ensure this cohort's performance is in line with previous years and confirm that students are not significantly impacted by this decision."
President of VUW's Students' Association Liban Ali told Morning Report he was aware that this could happen as early as last year.
"It has been on the card as of last year, so ... I feel like there was something that was going to happen."
Ali said the announcement had come at the wrong time, and that the Students' Association were very concerned for students.
He said the Students' Association had engaged the Law Society and the faculty to determine the best way to support students.
He added that he would make sure that any changes were communicated early in the future.
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