If you’ve been a student in the last decade, there’s a good chance you’ve submitted an assignment through Turnitin.

Now, the plagiarism fact checker is facing backlash over proposed changes that could allow student work uploaded to the platform to be used to develop AI tools.

The changes have prompted UK universities to reconsider their use of Turnitin, with some announcing they will stop using the platform altogether.

Turnitin has since paused the changes, telling TDA it does not train generative AI or large language models using student work, but instead uses existing data to train a classifier that identifies “likely AI-written text”.

So, what do Australian universities and student unions make of these changes?

Turnitin is a plagiarism-checking checker that compares student work against a database containing billions of websites, papers, and academic journals.

The platform is widely used by Australian universities and schools.

In 2023, Turnitin launched an AI-detection tool as the use of chatbots and AI writing tools increased.

Last year, Curtin University said it would stop using the service, while Australian Catholic University (ACU) made a similar move after about 6,000 students were accused of academic misconduct based largely on the tool’s AI detection.

In July, Turnitin proposed changes to its End User License Agreement (EULA).

Under the proposed changes, Turnitin would be able to use work uploaded by students “for improving or developing AI tools and other products, features, or services.”

The website outlining the proposed changes has since been taken down, with a message stating: “This content is no longer available for viewing.”

The proposed changes prompted universities in the UK to review their use of Turnitin, with some announcing they would stop using the platform.

The University of Southampton said it would not renew its contract with Turnitin beyond the end of the 2026/27 academic year and would begin phasing out the service.

The University said: “We have a responsibility to protect the data, intellectual property and academic work of both our students and the University.”

It said Turnitin had confirmed it still intended to revisit the proposed changes next year, despite delaying their implementation.

The University of Sussex also shared that it would no longer use Turnitin.

It cited student and staff experience, technical problems, and the risk of disruptions as the reasons why.

TDA contacted a range of Australian universities to find out how they were responding to the proposed changes.

A spokesperson for the University of Tasmania said the university “carefully reviews changes to all EULAs”. It also said it “will not use a product that trains its AI models on student-submitted work.”

UNSW Sydney said it was “committed to the responsible use of AI, including the protection of copyright”.

“Any proposed changes to Turnitin… will be fully reviewed,” the UNSW spokesperson said.

An Australian National University (ANU) spokesperson said the university’s agreement with the platform has “specific protections” around the use of “student and instructor content”.

This includes that content submitted to Turnitin “cannot be used to train third-party AI or large language models”.

Student associations and unions were more critical of the proposed changes.

In a statement, Monash Student Association called the proposal “another step backwards for students… all for the sake of ‘progress’.”

“Students should have control over the work they create, not big tech,” they said.

University of Sydney Union (USU) President Archie Wolifson said students’ assessments are “unambiguously their work, and should not be reappropriated without their consent.”

He said the USU is “incredibly concerned” by the proposal and was “seeking clarity” from the university while advocating for students’ interests.

The National Union of Students, the peak advocacy body for all higher education students, also called the proposal a “double standard”.

“Universities are policing students’ use of AI while students’ work could be used to develop the same technology,” President Felix Hughes said.

Hughes added that institutions “need to stand up for students and protect our work,” arguing that “student assignments are not a free resource for technology companies to use to build their products.”

Turnitin has now paused the proposed changes.

In a statement to TDA, a Turnitin spokesperson confirmed that updates would not be implemented any earlier than September next year.

The company said its service does “not train generative AI… or large language models.”

“We only train a classifier model for AI detection… that identifies likely AI-written text,” the spokesperson said.

A classifier model is a type of machine-learning model that sorts or categorises data based on particular characteristics.

Turnitin also said it does “not sell any student data to third parties”.

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