Today marks a pivotal moment for Studiosity and, I believe, for the higher education sector globally.
I am delighted to announce that Studiosity has acquired Norvalid, a world leader in tech-enabled student self-validation of authorship and authentic learning.
More than an acquisition, it’s a paradigm shift in how higher education approaches assessment security and integrity.
The Problem with 'Police and Punish'
For too long, the prevailing model for academic integrity - the ‘police and punish’ approach - has been failing students and educators.
In the age of GenAI, this punitive model, largely reliant on detection software, has become increasingly untenable, unreliable, and irrelevant.
It places educators in the adversarial role of investigator, creates a culture of suspicion, and prioritises accusation over education. As we see more sophisticated AI tools, the very idea of 'AI detection' is rendered problematic and resource-intensive, distracting from the sector’s core mission of learning.
A New Way Forward: Support and Validate
At Studiosity, we've always been committed to increasing life chances for students by providing timely, evidence-based support.
Now, by extending our platform with Norvalid's advanced capabilities, we are introducing a robust, multi-layered alternative solution: ‘support and validate.’
This integrated platform will combine the AI writing feedback and capability-building our partners’ students already embrace, with powerful new validation tools, including:
- Digital Linguistic Fingerprinting
- Authentic Learning Confirmation
Our approach flips the experience from fear of punishment, or ‘getting past’ the detectors - and instead provides educators with a defensible method to validate student learning and authentic effort that underpins degree value, and institutional reputation.
The Value of University Credentials, and the Skills that Underpin Them, Will Remain Constant
Some universities are considering abandoning academic writing for unproven, unscalable assessment entirely.
But how, then, do we ensure students develop the critical thinking and communication skills prized by employers?
The quality of the credential - the core promise of a higher education degree - must be protected.
Our acquisition of Norvalid ensures that our partner institutions have the necessary evidence to maintain trust in assessment in the GenAI era.
What This Means for Our Partners
For our hundreds of existing university partners across five continents, this integrated solution marks the beginning of a new era.
- Early Access Program: We will be prioritising our existing partners for deployment via an early access program in the first quarter of 2026.
- Advisory Group Input: We look forward to collaborating with academic leaders via our product advisory groups, including our DVC Advisory Group meeting in Canberra, 23 February 2026.
This is a pivotal moment that will determine the future of formal education. Studiosity is committed to collaborating with all institutions for whom authentic learning is the number one priority.
We are ready to build a future where assessment security explicitly prioritises learning, not policing.
Mike Larsen is CEO of Studiosity, the global leader in ethical, evidence-based writing feedback in universities.
Support and Validate.
Studiosity is writing feedback and assessment security that helps educators and leadership support students and validate learning outcomes unlike police & punish detection technology. Studiosity helps protect degree value, pedagogically and ethically.
