Racing Ahead, Flying Blind: Closing the Gap Between AI Adoption and Ethical Guidance in Graduate Education

Artificial intelligence is no longer on the horizon of higher education. It has arrived. With 96.8% of graduate students already using AI tools and 61.3% doing so weekly or more, faculty are navigating urgent, practical questions: What are students actually doing with AI? Where does ethical use end and academic misconduct begin? How can faculty provide meaningful guidance when institutional policies lag so far behind?

This interactive session draws on findings from a mixed-methods study involving 61 faculty members and 62 graduate students to give attendees the tools they need to answer those questions with confidence. The data tell a striking story: both faculty and students recognize AI’s value, and both share concerns about academic integrity, and yet fewer than 20% of students report having clear guidelines for appropriate use. Faculty cannot close that gap through good intentions alone. They need concrete strategies, and this workshop delivers them.

Attendees will explore how students are actually using AI in their research, from writing assistance and literature reviews to brainstorming and data analysis. They will examine the awareness and guidance gaps that leave students uncertain and faculty unprepared. Most importantly, they will walk away with an evidence-based framework for integrating AI literacy into graduate mentorship, designing assignments that leverage AI while requiring genuine critical thinking, and cultivating a culture of transparency where students feel safe discussing their AI use openly.

This session is for faculty who want to move beyond policy debates and into practice. Because the goal was never to ban AI from graduate studies. It was always to teach students to use it well.

Speaker Biography

Gina Solano, PhD, works in the Secondary Education and Educational Technology Department at SUNY Oneonta. She teaches various graduate courses in educational technology, research, and teaching methods on such topics as technology trends, innovative technologies, multimedia, online learning, instructional course design, and more. Her research interests include gamification, AI’s role in education, virtual reality, social media, micro-credentials, digital badges, and online learning. She has authored several articles and chapters and delivered workshops about emerging technologies that improve teaching and learning through technology. Dr. Solano is passionate about how technologies can promote positive social change in education.