The Use and Usefulness of GenAI in Higher Education: Student Experience and Perspectives

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Synthesis: Chung, Henderson, Slade, Liang, Pepperell, Corbin, and colleagues (2026) report a large-scale multi-institution survey of over 8000 students at four Australian universities on their GenAI use. Over 80% of students had used GenAI for study-related tasks, with nearly half using it regularly, primarily for editing, summarising, and idea generation. Usefulness rather than blind Trust or rule compliance appeared to drive engagement: students adopted GenAI pragmatically, with low trust in its factual accuracy but confidence in managing it as a support tool. Most students learned about the tools informally, and equity gaps were evident, with lower engagement among women, non-binary, neurodivergent students, and those with health conditions.

Key Findings

Over 80% of students at four Australian universities had used GenAI for study-related tasks, with nearly half using it regularly, mainly for editing, summarising, and idea generation.
Usefulness, rather than blind trust or rule compliance, appeared to drive engagement; students had low trust in factual accuracy but confidence in their ability to manage the tools.
Most students learned about GenAI through informal, self-directed means rather than institutional resources.
Equity gaps were evident: proportionately lower engagement among women, non-binary, neurodivergent students, and those with health conditions.
While most students avoided prohibited use, a significant minority reported behaviour that contravenes policy, pointing to a need for nuanced, situationally aware academic-integrity approaches.

Implications for AI in Education

The study provides rare large-scale evidence on how students actually use GenAI and why, showing that usefulness and self-managed learning — not rule compliance — shape engagement. The findings support institutional responses that go beyond prohibition: improving guidance, attending to equity in access and use, and developing more nuanced academic-integrity policies that recognize the pragmatic way students incorporate these tools. It speaks directly to Student Experience, AI Literacy, Equity In AI Education, and Academic Integrity in Higher Ed.

Connected Concepts

Connected Articles

[genai-student-experiences-uk-he-survey-2026] — student GenAI experiences in UK higher ed
[genai-impact-chinese-students-hss] — GenAI's impact on Chinese humanities and social-science students

Citation

Chung, J., Henderson, M., Slade, C., Liang, Y., Pepperell, N., Corbin, T., et al. (2026). The use and usefulness of GenAI in higher education: Student experience and perspectives. Computers and Education Open, 10, 100347.

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