Survey of Large Language Models (LLMs) in Higher-Education
Dear recipient,
We are a team of researchers from various universities associated with the Z-Inspection® initiative (a not-for-profit initiative) dedicated to exploring the impact and potential of trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. Our latest project focuses on understanding the current state and usage of Large Language Models (LLMs) in academic settings, and we are seeking your valuable insights through our survey.
“A large language model (LLM) is a computational model capable of language generation or other natural language processing tasks. As language models, LLMs acquire these abilities by learning statistical relationships from vast amounts of text during a self-supervised and semi-supervised training process.[1] The largest and most capable LLMs, as of August 2024, are artificial neural networks built with a decoder-only transformer-based architecture, which enables efficient processing and generation of large-scale text data. Modern models can be fine-tuned for specific tasks or can be guided by prompt engineering.[2] These models acquire predictive power regarding syntax, semantics, and ontologies [3] inherent in human language corpora, but they also inherit inaccuracies and biases present in the data they are trained on.[4]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_language_model
The aim of this survey is to gather data on the integration, benefits, and challenges associated with LLMs in higher education and shed light on the ethical issues and trustworthiness concerns that may arise and how they can be addressed. Your responses will significantly contribute to our understanding and help shape future developments in this field. The questionnaire includes a range of topics, such as your familiarity with AI technologies, specific tools you have used, and your perceptions of LLMs’ impact on teaching and learning. It takes about 10–15 minutes to fill out the survey.
Survey sections include:
- Background Information: Age, gender, education level, academic role, years of experience, type of institution, and department/field of study.
- Use and Familiarity with AI: Experience with LLMs and image creator tools, areas of application, perceived benefits, and professional impact.
- Trust and Reliability: Adequacy of institutional policies, need for additional policies, and ethical considerations.
- Use of LLMs in Teaching and Learning: Awareness, usage, impact on academic integrity, and fairness in education.
- Future Perspectives: Anticipated evolution of LLMs in higher education, necessary training/resources, and potential development of LLM-based applications.
We understand that your time is valuable, and appreciate your participation in this survey. The answers you provide will remain anonymous and confidential and will be used solely for research purposes. Results will be stored and managed securely, with access restricted to individuals who need it. Survey responses will be anonymized in any publication of our results. The socio-demographic information of participants will be deleted if it allows indirect identification of any of them.
By clicking the "Next" button at the bottom of this page, you affirm that you have read and understood the information provided above, and you voluntarily agree to participate in this study. Furthermore, by proceeding, you certify that you are of the age of majority and legally competent to give consent. If you do not meet these criteria or do not wish to participate, please do not proceed further.
Thank you for your time and contribution to this research. Your insights will help us work towards an informed, effective and ethical use of AI in higher education.
If you have questions regarding the survey, please send an E-mail to: llmsurvey@arcada.fi
Sincerely,
The Trustworthy AI team:
Henrika Franck
Alessio Gallucci
Elisabeth Hildt
Pedro Kringen
Frode Ramstad Johansen
Christa Tigerstedt
Magnus Westerlund
Emilie Wiinblad Mathez