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By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

CONCERNED FAMILY MEMBER

Red Deer Polytechnic responds to allegations of AI professor

Mar 4, 2025 | 5:00 PM

A concerned citizen, Debra Hunter, is sounding the alarm on AI use in post-secondary institutions, alleging that the instructor for her family members’ online course either doesn’t exist, or utilizes AI tools to a harmful extent.

On Feb. 17, Hunter sent a letter to Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), the Government of Alberta and media to communicate her concerns around the existence of a particular instructor at RDP.

She alleges that family members of hers, who are enrolled in an online RDP course, have received feedback on assignments and professor communications that were primarily, if not entirely, AI generated.

For example, she said the students in question submitted assignments that included a works cited or references page, but received feedback stating that element wasn’t there. Hunter was concerned that AI, rather than a human instructor, read the assignments and could not “see” the different formatting used here compared to the rest of the document.

Hunter also found it odd that the midterm exam for the course was scheduled for Feb. 15, the Saturday before students were heading into a Reading Week break.

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While investigating her concerns, Hunter said she ran some of the professor’s emails to the students through an AI checking tool called “Just Done,” which found them to be 70-100 per cent AI generated.

She added that she struggled to find any kind of notable internet presence for the instructor in question, including on RDP’s own website where it lists instructors.

Even if the instructor is proven to exist, Hunter communicated concern that they may be utilizing AI tools to a greater extent than is permissible, potentially at a detriment to students.

rdnewsNOW reached out to RDP for some clarity on the situation, to which the Institution clearly stated, “RDP does not use AI instructors to teach within any courses.”

RDP added that it encourages “responsible and ethical” AI use by students and professors, while still emphasizing the value of critical thinking, problem solving and other human skills.

The school encourages students with concerns about a particular course to speak with their instructor and the dean or associate dean within their program to address the issue.

The Ministry of Advanced Education was also contacted for a statement but did not respond in time for publication.

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