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This requirement is part of Purdue’s new AI@Purdue initiative, which spans five areas: Learning with AI, Learning about AI, Research AI, Using AI, and Partnering in AI. Provost Patrick Wolfe emphasized that AI education won’t require extra courses, saying it will instead be “embedded” into existing programs across every major.
“We’re enormously eager to work with faculty colleagues across the university to breathe life into this critical new requirement,” Wolfe stated.² Each college will set its own standards for what students must demonstrate.
Purdue isn’t alone in embracing AI. Ohio State University launched its AI Fluency initiative earlier this year, though it doesn’t yet require graduation competency. The State University of New York has adjusted information literacy classes to cover AI ethics.
Around 100 universities now offer AI credentials, and degrees in AI-related fields have skyrocketed 120% since 2011.³ Universities argue this is what employers want: Microsoft reports that 75% of workers now use AI on the job, doubling in just six months. The World Economic Forum even claims, “AI skills are becoming more important than job experience.”⁴
But what these press releases leave out is alarming. AI cheating is out of control. In the UK alone, nearly 7,000 students were caught using AI to cheat last year — triple the number from the previous year. Globally, AI cheating now accounts for 60–64% of all academic misconduct.⁵ In the U.S., more than half of students admit breaking rules with AI, while 96% of professors suspect cheating occurred, up from 72% in 2021.⁶
Universities once tried to fight AI cheating. California State University spent over $1.1 million on Turnitin detection tools in 2025 alone.⁷ But these tools often fail, flagging innocent students, particularly international students whose writing styles differ. Princeton and MIT even warned schools not to rely on AI detectors due to bias and unreliability. Some professors resorted to handwritten assignments to confirm students actually did their work.
Now, colleges are doing a complete reversal. Instead of stopping AI misuse, they are teaching students how to use the same tools that enabled the cheating epidemic. The California State University system partnered with OpenAI for $16.9 million over 18 months — even while facing significant budget cuts.⁸ Faculty criticized the deal, citing a lack of input from professors, students, and staff.
“The implicit message there is that as positions dry up, they want to lean more into AI to do the work,” said Pam Lach, a digital-humanities librarian at San Diego State University.⁹
Purdue has also announced an expanded AI partnership with Google for its competency requirement. The university has not disclosed payment or what data Google will access, effectively turning students into test subjects for Big Tech.
The backlash has been swift. Social media exploded with criticism. “The concept of demonstrating ‘competency’ in a tool that’s primarily a shortcut for incompetent people,” one commenter wrote.¹⁰ Parents are questioning why schools mandate AI skills when basic reading and writing remain a struggle for many students.
The truth is that universities are chasing tuition dollars as the value of a degree drops. Only 35% of Americans now view college as “very important,” down from 75% in 2010. Entry-level hiring fell 44% from its peak three years ago, and 55% of employers removed bachelor’s degree requirements for some jobs in 2023.¹¹
Rather than restoring the core mission of education, colleges are doubling down on trendy technology. AI literacy may sound forward-thinking, but in reality, it’s code for letting software replace faculty while tuition continues to flow in. Average annual tuition at public four-year colleges has more than tripled over the last 25 years — from $3,500 to $11,600 — while the value of the degree drops.¹²
Purdue’s AI mandate highlights the uncomfortable truth: universities are no longer focused on developing critical thinkers. They are training students to serve corporate interests while using Big Tech tools to monetize education.
