Letter to the Editor

by Dr. Christine Earley on February 12, 2026

Opinion

As leaders of the Providence College School of Business, we read the Feb. 5 opinion piece, “Concerns About Alleged AI Usage at PC’s Business School,” in The Cowl, and we feel compelled to respond.

Academic integrity is the bedrock of our institution; without it, the value of a PC degree is diminished for every student and all alumni. We wish to state, unequivocally, that the School of Business does not tolerate academic dishonesty in any form, and we consider the allegations with the gravity they deserve.

Upholding the standard of excellence that defines a Friar education is a collective responsibility. It is a commitment that must be shared by administrators, faculty, staff, and the students themselves. To that end, we wish to remind the community of the expectations set forth in the PC academic catalog, as cited by the student handbook:

“Students are expected to understand this policy and to exercise diligence in following it. They are to take credit only for work that they have completed through their own efforts within the guidelines established by the instructor. When aware of an instance of academic misconduct, students are expected to notify the instructor, department chair, or the appropriate school dean, depending on where the academic department or program offering the course is housed. In their notification, students may choose whether or not to reveal the name of the person committing the violation.”

We expect the highest level of enforcement of college policy from each member of the PC community. However, we can only act when we are properly informed of these matters. We are committed to a culture where integrity is not an option, but a requirement.

It is important for students to understand that specific issues of cheating are managed through a formal, comprehensive investigation, and, when appropriate, a disciplinary process under the leadership of the Office of Academic Affairs. This process ensures that allegations are investigated thoroughly and that justice is administered fairly and consistently for each member of our community. Even though this process does not reside with us, we firmly believe in the process and understand our responsibility to ensure that it is followed effectively.

In response to the ever-evolving landscape of technology, such as generative AI, we have taken proactive measures to uphold the integrity of our assessments. Our goal is to ensure that every student is truly meeting the learning objectives of our courses and programs. While some may argue for a universal return to specific modalities—and while pencil-and-paper exams remain a personal preference for many of us—we must recognize that such methods may not always be the most effective way to measure mastery in every discipline or situation.

Furthermore, we must address the practicalities of technology-based enforcement. Currently, lockdown browser licenses are limited due to significant costs and are still undergoing evaluation for effectiveness by the School of Business faculty. As such, those browsers are not a universal tool for enforcement. However, we continue to evaluate all available resources to safeguard our curriculum and assessments.

We are a community built on mutual respect and the pursuit of Veritas. Our doors remain open to students, faculty, and staff who wish to share feedback, concerns, or innovative ideas regarding navigating these ever-evolving integrity challenges.

Additionally, in the coming weeks and months, we will be hosting open listening sessions to hear from the community. Moreover, the School of Business will be administering its regular climate assessment survey. We encourage your participation in these opportunities, as we welcome your comments and suggestions.

The best path forward is through collaboration and a shared commitment to progress. We believe in our students, and we expect them to believe in the value of their own honest work.

Sincerely,
Dr. Christine Earley
Interim Dean, Providence College School of Business
Professor of Accountancy
Joseph A. Gemma ’75
Senior Associate Dean, Providence College School of Business
Assistant Professor of Management

ChatGPT’s Birthday Celebration: Is it a Bad Look for the Business School?

by Marcus Howley ’28 on February 5, 2026

Opinion - Campus

On Dec. 1, 2025, I woke up to see the flyer for a birthday celebration for the generative artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT hosted by the Ryan Business School. It was a strange sight to see an invitation to an AI-themed birthday bash. The party was complete with pizza, cake, prizes, and even coveted Friar Leadership and Immersion Program points. A variety of fun AI-themed activities were available, along with chances to talk to various experts in the field of AI. A fun time for anyone and everyone who believes in a future powered not by man, but by machine.

Since its release on Nov. 30, 2022, ChatGPT, founded by techno billionaire Sam Altman and his company OpenAI, has changed the way people have gone about their daily lives. Many utilize ChatGPT as a glorified search engine, using it to look up simple information that a Google search could have solved. That being said, a Google search would now bring up AI-generated results from Google’s Gemini, and both ChatGPT and Gemini have occasional factual errors. Others, however, utilize it in a way that is more in line with the recent string of commercials released by OpenAI, using it to create workout plans, generate an itinerary for their trip, and give them recipes for meals. This day-to-day utilization of ChatGPT in our lives is a concerning step in how we decide what to do.

The final and most infamous way people have used ChatGPT is to complete assignments and academic tasks, the bane of any teacher trying to give out work over the past three years. Students especially have flocked to various generative AI programs to speed up work and aid them with assignments. This has ranged anywhere from tests to homework. No classroom is free of AI usage.

The business school’s desire to familiarize students with the workings of generative AI programs is understandable. Business students are coming to expect that they will be working in an environment that has some level of AI integration in it. Companies have been scrambling over one another to either develop their own AI systems or to show how they are on the supposed cutting edge of innovation with high levels of AI integration. While the business school’s teaching of AI is unproblematic and even warranted in the current business climate, its endorsement of AI through the birthday celebration is a bad look on the objectives of Providence College.

In its mission statement as a school, PC describes itself as a liberal arts institution with a commitment to a high standard of higher education. Under the section on academic excellence, it states that “its core curriculum addresses key questions of human existence, including life’s meaning and purpose, and stresses the importance of moral and ethical reasoning, aesthetic appreciation, and understanding the natural world, other cultures, and diverse traditions.” The crown jewel of this objective is the Development of Western Civilization course that is mandated for all students to take. The college prides itself on getting students to think about large and philosophical issues as well as deeper issues about our own human lives.

Scroll through any syllabus handed out by a team of professors for DWC, and you will almost certainly find a segment on the usage of AI. While professors have a wide range of views across the spectrum of what is acceptable AI usage, most in the DWC program fall into the camp of an outright ban on its use by students for assignments. The goal of the program is to get students to read and think about complex texts and ideas, to be able to come to their own conclusions, and to become a more well-rounded person and learner because of it. AI robs students of this; by learning about the texts through generated summaries and grasping ideas through artificial explanations, students are unable to complete these goals. The business school’s endorsement of ChatGPT runs against the core values of PC as an institution, creating a bad look for a college that prides itself on the facilitation of higher comprehension and understanding.

Concerns About Alleged AI Usage at PC’s Business School

by Courtney Wight '26 on February 5, 2026

Opinion - Campus

As a senior finance major, I had to take an Assessment of Learning exam and the Senior Assessment Exam as a part of my Finance Capstone. The AOL was strictly focused on finance, while the SAE was a cumulative exam on all things covered in the Ryan School of Business’s core classes. Even though paper still exists, the business school, proud of embracing new technology and too lazy to actually grade anything, made both the exams online, while with in-person proctors, notably without a lock-down browser.

Now it should not be surprising that with one week’s notice from my professor, I was not able to remember everything I’ve ever learned in finance since freshman year. After the AOL exam—which went terribly—I was comforted knowing many of my friends in the class also struggled. The professor explained the grade would be curved, and it was only three percent of my grade, so in my head it was not the end of the world.

This mental peace lasted only momentarily because all students in the Finance Capstone took the exam the same day, so a couple hours later, I was able to check the Canvas grade distribution with the other classes’ grades. To my absolute and complete shock, a student in the other section managed to receive a 96.7 percent, despite the overall average being 58 percent.

My first instinct was that this student must have cheated by using ChatGPT or another AI tool. By giving an online exam without a lock-down browser, the business school and finance department must know students will be cheating. Either that, or they are extremely naive. I got my confirmation that this student cheated when I ran into some students from the other class later in the day, and the student with the highest grade admitted to using ChatGPT on every question.

Sadly, rampant cheating during online exams and quizzes has become the norm within my business school classes. Whether it was my Principles in Marketing exams or online quizzes in Legal Environment for Business, students openly cheat. While some of my professors genuinely do think the best of their students and that they actually do want to learn, other times it feels like the business school is suggesting professors ignore students cheating by not enforcing mandatory lock-down browsers.

I have had online exams with a lock-down browser, and it was not a big deal. A lock-down browser is a simple and easy solution to cheating with online exams. I would also like to remind the business school that paper exams are still alive and well. In various business classes, I have taken exams the old-fashioned way, and while students may still try to cheat, it is not as easy as copying and pasting every single question into ChatGPT and having a response within seconds.

I’ve also experienced this problem as a tutor for financial statistics at the Student Success Center. Many of the students visiting the center expressed their frustration with studying for hours only to see their classmates not put any effort in and receive 100 percent on their exams because they used ChatGPT to answer every question.

I will acknowledge that some online business school exams must allow for computer access, specifically those testing on Excel. It would be impossible to test students on their Excel knowledge without allowing them to use the program. However, there has to be a better solution than allowing all students to freely use their own computers with complete access to the internet.

At the end of the day, students who want to cheat and waste almost $70,000 a year will. In the process of writing this article, I’ve spoken to many other business school students who experienced similar frustrations. One of the friends I spoke to remembered a Principles in Marketing exam, with a lockdown browser, where they witnessed another student using ChatGPT on their phone underneath the desk to cheat.

I argue the complete lack of discipline or punishment from the business school has encouraged a culture of brazenly open cheating. While there may not be a simple solution to this issue, requiring a lock-down browser would certainly be a start. Additionally, ensuring students are not on their phones during exams should be a given. The business school needs to do more to enforce the academic integrity policies of Providence College. We cannot keep this culture of not wanting to punish students for cheating because all it does is establish that students can cheat without any repercussions. I am sick and tired of seeing students receive perfect grades they do not earn. I am done studying to earn an imperfect grade when I know a majority of my class has not even opened the textbook, but will receive a better grade than I do. Unfortunately, I do not see this culture changing, so let’s just say I’m glad to be done with the business school once I graduate.