SINGAPORE: Reddit users have criticised Nanyang Technological University (NTU) for handling a recent academic misconduct case involving generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) opaquely, calling for an open forum or formal hearing involving the affected students.
The backlash followed allegations from an NTU student, who accused the university of misrepresenting students and evading accountability in its handling of the case.
The student claimed that NTU had displayed a pattern of institutional neglect by distorting facts to protect its public image.
Taking to Reddit on Sunday (22 June), the student alleged that NTU’s recent public statement on the matter was misleading and failed to properly address evidence she and other students had provided.
In her post, the student strongly rejected NTU’s version of events, stating that the university’s statement to the media contained “multiple false pieces of information”, all of which she said could be disproven with evidence.
She refuted NTU’s claim that students had submitted “non-existent academic references”, asserting that they had used real sources, albeit with minor mistakes such as misspellings of author names or article titles.
The student also disputed NTU’s allegation that she had used an “AI-powered essay writing service”, clarifying that she had merely used StudyCrumb, a free citation sorter, to alphabetise her references.
While NTU stated that students were given the opportunity to present their cases during a formal review, the student claimed that the process consisted solely of email correspondence, rather than an actual hearing.
Anticipating that NTU would attempt to “salvage its reputation”, she uploaded her evidence to a Google Drive folder to counter the university’s claims.
The dispute followed NTU’s statement to The Straits Times on 22 June, in which the university revealed that three students had received zero marks for a written assignment in a health and politics module after allegedly using GenAI tools in their submissions.
NTU said the decision came after an investigation in April, with the affected students notified in early May.
According to the university, the students were penalised for academic misconduct due to non-existent academic references, fictitious statistics, and broken web links in their essays.
One of the student, a Year 3 undergraduate in Public Policy and Global Affairs, had first shared her story on Reddit on 19 June.
She alleged that the university failed to properly consider key evidence she provided, including version histories from Google Docs, a “time lapse” of her writing process via the Draftback Chrome extension, and samples of her previous essays to demonstrate a consistent writing style.
She claimed the accusation stemmed from three citation mistakes and her use of a citation sorter, which was allegedly misinterpreted as signs of AI use—despite her reference list containing 20 accurate citations.
The penalties imposed included a zero grade for the assignment, a permanent academic warning, and a reduction in her GPA.
According to her, her attempt to appeal was hindered by administrative delays, including an inability to reschedule a required consultation before the deadline.
In a follow-up Reddit post on 20 June, she further alleged that a total of five students were falsely accused in a similar manner—either for citation mistakes or for using citation formatters, which she claimed the professor wrongly categorised as GenAI tools.
‘Students Deserve Fair Hearing’: Reddit Users Call for Transparency
Under the student’s Reddit post, users expressed strong criticism of how NTU handled the case, raising concerns about transparency, due process, and academic fairness.
Many also voiced frustration over media coverage, which they felt disproportionately favoured NTU’s narrative.
Reddit users condemned the university for conducting the investigation opaquely, arguing that students had been denied a fair opportunity to defend themselves.
Several reiterated calls for an open forum or formal hearing involving the affected students.
“The prof need to prove beyond doubt that you are using Gen AI, before she can give you zero mark over your work,” one user wrote.
One user wrote, “The crux here is the blatant ignorance by the academic committee within the university, and their complete unwillingness to engage in good faith with the students in question.
Not only that, the processes were kept so opaque towards the students too. Even if those students were guilty, being denied an (online even) hearing is outright ridiculous.”
This user also emphasised that academic dishonesty is a serious offence, but investigations should be conducted in a way that is “vigorous, fair, just and transparent.”
Allegations of Institutional Misconduct
Some users went further, accusing NTU of misconduct in its handling of the case, calling it a violation of academic integrity by the institution itself.
“Innocent until proven, simple as that. Until NTU can prove that you wrote your essay with AI they should not have given you a zero. Now they’re defending themselves with no evidence,” one user argued.
One commenter expressed frustration over the burden of proof, arguing that the accusation appeared to be essentially unfalsifiable, as any form of counter-evidence could simply be dismissed if the professor was determined to see only what they wanted to see.
Another added, “They can ghost emails and even attempted to clean themselves to the reporters rather than apologising for their screw up.”
Frustration Over Media Coverage
Beyond NTU itself, users also criticised The Straits Times for its coverage of the case, accusing the newspaper of giving disproportionate space to the university’s version of events while minimising the students’ accounts.
“I’ve been following your thread and when I read the Straits Times article I am a bit surprised, since it seems to contradict what you’ve posted on Reddit.
It’s clear NTU is trying to justify their actions and pin the blame on you,” one user wrote.
One user commented that the Straits Times article appeared to suggest the alleged “cheating” involved the use of automated citation software.
They also noted that the article implied two of the three students had admitted to doing so, and questioned whether that was actually true.
“It is troubling if the institution is misrepresenting the facts,” they wrote.
The Reddit thread reflects growing frustration not only with NTU’s handling of the case but also with the perceived lack of accountability in both the university’s internal processes and media coverage of the incident.
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