Greenwich partners with Studiosity for AI academic support

The University of Greenwich has signed a three-year partnership with Studiosity to provide UK-based students access to AI-for-learning technology for academic writing feedback.

The new agreement ensures that students receive rapid formative feedback on their written work through Studiosity+, a service designed to deliver quick, equitable academic writing support. This technology focuses on enhancing learning rather than merely correcting errors and integrates a 'Humans in the Loop' process for quality assurance and academic oversight.

Previously, the University of Greenwich utilised Studiosity's original service, which included on-demand access to written feedback from Subject Specialists with a typical six-hour turnaround, and Connect Live, a real-time personal academic support feature. Now, students at the university can benefit from instant feedback thanks to the updated AI-driven service.

Paul Butler, Executive Director and CIO at the University of Greenwich, said, "We have undertaken research-based evaluation that shows certain types of students do better using Studiosity than without, and following discussion with our Vice-Chancellor, who is clear on its value, we wanted to move to the AI-for-learning support service."

He continued, "We did an initial pilot, and found responses for students were consistent and consummate with what they have received before using the more traditional model of Studiosity, and in some cases actually more accurate. The key value contribution is that we are not limited in any way on usage, and have therefore opened up access to Studiosity+ to all students. From an academic perspective Studiosity+ is super easy to deploy in our Moodle VLE."

The University, known for its diverse student body, sees the always-available Studiosity+ as an essential resource, especially for non-traditional students balancing various commitments. Paul further explained, "Put simply, our job is to give our students the best experience we can, with great education so they are ready to get a great job. Studiosity+ allows them to focus on content and subject matter, and getting English, grammar and structure support helps them on their journey. This is particularly beneficial for a university like Greenwich, where we have seen a clear impact on student performance among students from certain demographics. The open-ended capacity of Studiosity+ also means we can commission projects in support of the University's Access and Participation Plan (APP), including one on awarding gaps."

Paul also noted the importance of AI at the university, stating, "As an institution we look at AI from an opportunity and risk perspective. We encourage students to use it in a safe and curated way, but the integrity element is crucial. Navigating AI is one of the skills and competencies students must have in the world of work. They need to be able to critically appraise what AI has given them. We believe that Studiosity+ will give outputs and outcomes that build on the consistency of what we have had before."

"I work with a lot of suppliers and vendors, and relationships are really important, particularly if changes surface. We are appreciative of the excellent partnership we have with Studiosity. Success at the end of our three years would be to demonstrate that the impact on student outcomes is a positive one, and how it is supportive of our APP. We always take an evidence-based evaluation approach, rather than opinion," added Paul.

Reflecting on the partnership, Isabelle Bambury, Studiosity's Managing Director for UK and Europe, remarked, "We are delighted to enter a new three-year partnership with the University of Greenwich. It is pleasing the University has recognised the impact of our work together and the opportunity now around utilising AI-for-learning technology to support all university students' academic literacy skills. We look forward to an ongoing mutually-beneficial partnership."