Unlocking Student Success: Key Findings from the 'Are students learning with AI?' Research Webinar

In a major international webinar which attracted registrations from hundreds of university stakeholders, with 93 institutions represented from 23 countries, four distinguished academic leaders came together on a panel to share compelling research findings on the transformative impact of AI-driven academic support, specifically Studiosity’s Writing Feedback Plus, on student learning. 

The session, chaired by Studiosity's Chief Academic Officer, Prof Judyth Sachs, consisted of panelists:

• Assoc Prof Dr Nantha Kumar Subramaniam, Dean, Open University Malaysia (OUM)
• Dr Zahid Majeed, Director Academic Planning & Course Production, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU)
• Dr. Reinald A. Pugoy, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Information Systems, University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU)
• Rebat Kumar Dhakal, Assistant Professor, Kathmandu University (KU)

who highlighted the largely positive outcomes around student confidence, satisfaction, and the improved quality of academic writing across diverse open and distance learning (ODL) environments.

WATCH the full recording here: vimeo  |  YouTube

The research imperative: supporting students equitably in the AI age

The panelists introduced their research projects which were conducted in the context of student learning and AI. Their shared aim was to explore how AI-driven academic support could enhance student skills, critical thinking, and employability, and to gauge the impact of that AI-powered feedback on students' progression, writing skills, confidence, and overall satisfaction.

For many ODL institutions, particularly Allama Iqbal Open University with its 1.2 million students, a major challenge is providing timely, appropriate, and personal feedback when dealing with high student-to-tutor ratios (sometimes exceeding 100:1) and a large number of part-time teachers. They wanted to complement human instruction by offering instant, formative, and constructive feedback, thus reducing the workload on faculty and bridging the gap in real-time support.

Core Findings: Confidence, Satisfaction, and Improved Quality

The research results across the four institutions present a strong endorsement of the AI-based support tool, with remarkably high rates of student satisfaction and clear evidence of improved academic skills.

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Pakistan: High Confidence and Acceptance

Dr. Zahid Majeed shared data from a pilot study involving over 5,000 students and 25 tutors, which revealed very high levels of student engagement and satisfaction.

• Improved Writing Quality and Confidence: An impressive 85% of students reported an "improved writing quality". Furthermore, 81% indicated that Studiosity increased their "confidence in completing assignments".
• High Recommendation Rate: 68% of students recommended the platform to their peers
• Positive Perception of AI: 64% of respondents stated that Studiosity improved their "perception of AI tools in education".
• Staff Benefits: 79% of tutors agreed that the tool "reduced their workload", and 83% observed an improvement in the quality of student submissions. Notably, 70% of tutors believed that the AI feedback was "comparable or superior to traditional teacher feedback".

Open University Malaysia (OUM): Intent to Continue and Broad Acceptance

• Strong Intent to Use: A major finding was the consistent and high intention among students to "continue using the platform" for future courses, regardless of their academic background (undergraduate or postgraduate) or gender. The mean score for "I believe it is worthwhile to use the AI-assisted system for assignment" was 4.19 out of 5 on a Likert scale.
• High Satisfaction: Students reported high satisfaction, with a mean score of 4.23 out of 5 for the statement, "I think the AI assisted system is very helpful".
• Constructive Use of Feedback: Even when students received critical feedback, they still used it in a "constructive and repetitive manner to improve their assignments". The score for feeling motivated after receiving negative feedback was 3.45 out of 5, indicating a willingness to learn and improve.

>> Read more about OUM's research study.

Kathmandu University (KU), Nepal: Timeliness and Ease of Use

Rebat Dhakal from Kathmandu University reported positive outcomes, particularly around user experience.

• Exceptional Timeliness and Ease: 100% of students were very satisfied with the "timeliness of the feedback". Additionally, 96% found the system "easy to use".
• Confidence and Skill Enhancement: Similar to AIOU, 89% of students felt "more confident", and 73% felt their writing skills had been enhanced.

University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU): Institutional alignment, high satisfaction and effective AI feedback

Dr. Rein Pugoy from UPOU acknowledged that positive results for AI-powered feedback are expected. Some of the key findings from his research project were:

• High User Engagement and Satisfaction: Students cited Studiosity's intuitive design, ease of use, accessibility, and non-intrusive, learner-centered approach as reasons for their strong satisfaction with the feedback tool. Quantitative results showed consistently high mean scores (4.0-4.6) and a strong consensus on the platform's usability.
• Effective and Trusted AI Feedback: The Al-generated feedback was perceived as effective, clear, actionable, focused, and thorough, particularly for improving grammar, structure, and clarity. This led to students reporting growing confidence in the Al feedback as a valuable writing aid.
• Strong Alignment with Institutional Goals: Students overwhelmingly viewed Studiosity as a strategic asset that strongly aligns with UPOU's mission to provide accessible, flexible, and high-quality education. Positive user experiences strongly reinforced the belief that UPOU is effectively leveraging technology to support student success.

>> Read more about UPOU's research here.

Enhancing trust and optimising engagement

While the results from each of the research studies were overwhelmingly positive, the panellists also highlighted areas for continued focus and improvement. Dr. Nantha Kumar Subramaniam noted the challenge of helping students "effectively interpret AI feedback" to translate it into assignment improvement, as the tool guides rather than directly edits work for students.

Dr. Rein Pugoy from UPOU raised the student concern regarding "ethics and privacy" of their data. He emphasised the need for universities to proactively communicate clear statements and protocols on data protection to maintain students' trust.

The key takeaway from this session is that AI-powered academic support is not just a useful complement, but a powerful, student-centric tool that can successfully increase academic confidence, satisfaction, and the quality of student work, all while supporting faculty in managing large cohorts. The research provides a robust evidence base for the continued integration of AI-powered feedback in the evolving landscape of higher education.

WATCH the full recording here: vimeo  |  YouTube