Hillsdale introduces the possibility of comprehensive written exams. Courtesy | Pexel

The college may introduce comprehensive written exams for seniors as a response to the rise of artificial intelligence, President Larry Arnn told freshmen on Monday, during his talk on the honor code in Plaster Auditorium. 

“You’re here to grow, right?” Arnn said, suggesting that, although technology can enable learning, it can also get in the way if computers become tools of composition. 

“You have the utmost interest, not only in doing that yourself, but in helping others do it,” Arnn said. “So do not let these devices cripple you, and they will. You’ll never learn, you have to struggle.” 

The two-week comprehensive written exams are presently just an idea, but Arnn said he will consult the faculty on how to proceed. 

“A two-week written exam period does not just evade the misuse of AI; it allows the student to express from within himself or herself that sensitized moral and intellectual palate,” Jordan Wales, associate professor of theology, said. “Whether this is the right solution or not remains to be seen, but what I like about this proposal is that it doesn’t just frustrate efforts at ‘cheating’ via AI; it draws into evidence the very strength of mind that education is meant to cultivate. After those exams, the next forum for the exercise of one’s sensitized palate will be life itself.”

Arnn advised the freshmen to approach their four years as if the exam was something to expect. 

“You must look forward to it because, to be able to do that, that means you’ll never forget it,” Arnn said. “It means you’ll reach a level of mastery of it that won’t go away, although it will grow through the rest of your life.” 

Chat GPT was launched nearly two years ago, when many of the freshmen were juniors in high school. 

“I’ve used AI for work to summarize things, or I’ve used it as an overview tool, but I haven’t ever used it to do the work instead of me, so I don’t mind the policy,” freshman Emery Hull said. “With AI, there is no growth because something else is doing it for you.” 

Freshman Kathryn Vieceli said she would look forward to a comprehensive senior exam, given her parallel experience with an ethics course she took in high school. 

“We had a senior capstone project and we had to write a reflection about what we learned from every single ethics class, and how it links to who we are and how it’s changed us,” Vieceli said. “That’s the class that affected me the most and changed me the most and made me want to come here.” 

Freshman Faith Walessa said she is excited to be at an institution surrounded by peers who are devoted to protecting the human ability to create art. 

“I feel like you can only push yourself so far on your own,” Walessa said. “But when you’re in a positive environment, you feel everyone around you, and everyone’s so inspired, and there’s a common goal, you realize that people actually still care about the stuff. You’re not alone. You never have been. You just weren’t in the right place.”