The OfS said it had heard of cases where students were completing entire assessments within minutes using AI and receiving similar grades to those who had not.
Some staff, meanwhile, were receiving lots of assignments that looked the same, and did not think their institution’s assessments were “fit for purpose”.
Other staff described a “polarised atmosphere” between students who used AI and other “conscientious objectors” who avoided it on environmental and other grounds.
The research said AI literacy for students was important during and after university, and some institutions were clearly communicating to students where AI can and cannot be used in assessments.
But it said there was “an urgent need” to ensure that remote or “non-secure” assessments “maintain their validity despite the availability of AI tools, meaning they effectively assess the knowledge and skills they are designed to measure”.
“If it becomes possible to complete an assessment using AI without the knowledge and skills being tested, the assessment should be replaced,” it added.
Universities UK, which represents more than 140 institutions, said universities were “making significant progress” adapting to AI.
“There is further to go but many have made substantial changes to how they assess students. This includes more in-person exams, presentations, vivas, process-based assessment and assessments that integrate AI in a controlled way,” a spokesperson said.
“Different subjects will require different approaches, and universities should have the flexibility to adopt assessment methods that best support learning outcomes.”
Lewis Wilson, from the National Union of Students, said AI was threatening “traditional” ways of learning that students and staff “have long said is not fit for purpose” – including essay questions, handouts and slideshows.
“It’s time to get rid of the outdated methods, that have been kept around in the name of tradition, and instead encourage the innovative practice we see across the sector, co-designed with students based on what they want from higher education,” he said.