AI is spreading through the workforce faster than colleges can settle on a rule for it. At North Carolina State University, first-year student Amanda Cullen said most of her classes have been 'no AI,' even as she expects to graduate in 2030.
Cullen said many professors have written on the syllabus that AI is off limits unless it is properly cited. She questioned whether an outright ban is realistic if the tool is already part of the modern workplace.
'If it’s such a mainstream thing in careers, we should know how to do it in school,' she told Fortune.
The tension is now national. Universities are trying to balance cheating concerns against the need to prepare students for jobs where AI is increasingly unavoidable. A study by McKinsey from late last year found 88% of companies are using AI, while a PwC study published in June found a 62% average wage premium for workers with AI skills.
At the same time, AI has made cheating easier, and some experts worry that using AI on coursework could prevent students from mastering the skills they need for a profession.
Lauren Callen, a second-year mechanical engineering student at NC State, said she understands why professors worry about cheating, but prefers clear rules over blanket bans. One of her introductory Python courses, she said, built AI into the curriculum instead of banning it. Students can use AI for assignments, but they must upload transcripts of their prompts and the AI’s responses.
NC State said it does not have a single AI policy for the university. A spokesperson said faculty members are free to permit, limit or prohibit AI use, and students are responsible for following those expectations and upholding academic integrity.
Sabrina Habib, an associate professor of visual communications at the University of South Carolina, said faculty attitudes have shifted as AI has become more present in everyday personal and work life. Habib, who served as the inaugural AI coordinator for the College of Information and Communications, said 'almost everyone has understood and accepted that it is a skill for the workforce.'
She said some assignments remain off limits, but in many cases she allows students to use AI if they disclose how they used it and provide evidence, or write a short reflection. That approach, she said, lets her teach students to use AI responsibly.
The real issue is bigger than classroom etiquette. When 88% of companies are already using AI, the gap between workplace demand and campus policy becomes a competitive problem, not just an academic one. Capital rewards clear rules, and students are being asked to navigate a market that has moved faster than the bureaucracy built to prepare them for it.
Universities can keep treating AI like a temporary disruption, or they can teach it with discipline and accountability. The market has already made its choice. The taxpayer and the student should not be left paying for institutions that lag behind it.
