By Criss Vo, EdD

🔗 linkedin.com/in/criss-vo

Research Focus: AI Governance in Higher Education

Type: Completed Dissertation (Doctoral Student)

What research challenge did your dissertation address?

Vo’s research tackled two interconnected challenges in higher education: mitigating academic misconduct stemming from students’ misuse of generative AI, and preparing both students and educational professionals for an era in which AI is widely used across teaching, research, and writing.

What inspired you to pursue this research?

Vo saw growing numbers of students misusing generative AI tools to complete assignments for them. As the issue became apparent, instructors were encouraged to enforce academic integrity using AI detectors — an approach that led to instructor burnout and frustration, compounded by detectors that often produced poor and unreliable results.

What was the impact and outcome of your research?

Through the workshops developed as part of this research, students and educational professionals reported feeling more confident in their understanding of AI, including its uses, limitations, and dangers. The majority of participants planned to incorporate AI into their studies and careers, while others chose to avoid it for ethical reasons — but across the board, participants left equipped with more knowledge about AI and AI literacy than before the workshops.