Coursera Launches GenAI-Powered Tools to Enhance Academic Integrity

Coursera, a leading online learning platform, announced several new GenAI-powered features designed to scale assessment creation and grading, strengthen academic integrity and enhance learning and evaluation. These features, including AI-Assisted Grading, Proctoring and Lockdown Browser and AI-based Viva Exams will help campuses deliver authentic learning to students while increasing the value of online assessments, courses and certificates.

India’s National Education Policy (NEP) advocates for a progressive education system, promoting online learning to bridge skills gaps and enhance graduate employability. The University Grant Commission’s provision for 40 per cent of credits through platforms like Coursera is crucial, but universities must ensure online learning meets the rigorous standards required for academic credit. While Generative AI introduces new risks for student misconduct, it also provides unprecedented opportunities for universities to enhance academic integrity at scale. 
 

The new features Coursera is launching include:

Scale assessment creation and grading

AI Assessment Generator saves educators' time by generating diverse maths, text, and multiple-choice assessments and seamlessly integrating them into assignments. Alliance University is testing this feature to quickly generate customised course assessments at scale.

Question Banks and Variants provide a variety of questions and multiple variants for robust testing, making exams difficult to predict and easier to author.

AI-Assisted Grading streamlines grading by suggesting scores and feedback based on assignment analysis, with final decisions remaining with graders.

Strengthen academic integrity

Graded Item Locking requires students to complete all ungraded items, watch videos, and complete readings, promoting comprehensive learning and preventing skipping ahead. Woxsen University is currently piloting this tool.

Time and attempt limits control exam attempts to ensure fairness, discourage trial and error, and limit outside resource access, encouraging meaningful engagement and reflection. 

Proctoring and lockdown browser maintains exam integrity by blocking unauthorised resources and detecting unauthorised assistance during high-stakes exams. 

Plagiarism Detection instantly identifies content similar to previous submissions, deterring plagiarism and educating students on independent thinking and originality.
 

Enhance learning and evaluation

Quiz Prep and Prior Learning Recaps with Coursera Coach  provides a personalised tutor powered by GenAI and grounded in expert Coursera content that provides interactive learning assistance, lecture summaries, guided practice and tailored pre-assessment reviews. 

AI Peer Reviews facilitates peer feedback with AI-powered insights, evaluating text-based submissions and generating grades using assignment rubrics.

AI-based Viva Exam Analyses free-form written submissions and grading criteria to dynamically generate custom follow-up questions to test the authenticity and critical thinking behind the student's submission. Enables educators to conduct viva-style written exams, where students 'show their work' and graders receive detailed analysis. 

These features are currently in pilot with select customers.