They kicked him out for alleged use of AI and he sues the university
Doctoral Student Expelled for Allegedly Using AI to Write Essays
Haishan Yang, a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota, was expelled last year for allegedly using artificial intelligence tools to write his essays. He denies the accusations and claims that his professors conspired against him. The student filed a lawsuit against the university because the expulsion cost him his student visa.
The issue arose because Yang completed a preliminary exam remotely while traveling in Morocco during the summer of 2024. In the exam, Yang had to write three essays in eight hours using his notes, reports, and books, but he was not allowed to use AI. While Yang claims he wrote his answers himself, his professors disagree.
A panel of four professors, responsible for reviewing his answers, stated that what Yang submitted “included concepts not covered in class,” acronyms allegedly not commonly used in the field but present in responses generated by ChatGPT, and a very similar format and content when comparing Yang’s essays with ChatGPT’s responses to the same questions and prompts. Yang claims the similarities are because ChatGPT likely extracted information from the same material he used. However, he also believes the professors edited ChatGPT’s responses to make them more similar to his own.
What Will the Court Say?
Both Yang and the professors argue that there is important context beyond these answers that must be taken into account.
Yang asserts that the professors had it out for him, an idea supported by his advisor, who told the review panel: “I have never seen this level of animosity towards a student.” Yang says the university stopped providing him with financial support, claiming it was due to poor performance and conduct during his time as a research assistant, and that the graduate director told him to simply resign. He appealed that decision, won, regained his financial aid, and the university had to apologize.
The professors point out that these essays were not the first time Yang was accused of using AI to complete his work. A year earlier, Yang submitted an assignment with text stating “rewrite to make it look more informal, like how a foreign student would write, but without AI.” Yang said he used AI to check his English but not to generate responses, and ultimately received only a warning with no sanctions.
Having lost with the university panel, Yang is now taking his case to court. In January, he filed state and federal lawsuits against his professor and the University of Minnesota, accusing them of manipulating evidence and lack of due process. Yang admitted to using ChatGPT to write his legal complaints.
