Colleges Revive Oral Exams to Combat AI-Powered Cheating

In August 2025, colleges across the United States are struggling to adapt to the widespread use of AI tools by students to circumvent academic assignments. At New York University, Vice Provost Clay Shirky has been working with faculty to address this challenge since 2015.

Shirky recounts a meeting last fall where a philosophy professor expressed frustration that even his most engaged students were using AI to write their papers, despite his attempts to educate them on the risks. This experience was echoed by professors across disciplines, who found that encouraging students to use AI responsibly did not prevent them from taking the "lazy" route.

In response, colleges are moving away from traditional take-home essays and papers, and instead embracing older assessment methods like in-class blue book exams, oral examinations, required office hours, and other strategies that force students to demonstrate their knowledge in real-time. This shift is already underway, with the Wall Street Journal reporting a boom in blue book sales last school year.

However, this transition is not without its challenges. Some professors feel these changes represent a "loss of rigor," while students accustomed to the convenience of AI-generated content are struggling to adapt. Nonetheless, Shirky believes this "medieval turn" in higher education is necessary to ensure students are truly learning, rather than simply pantomiming knowledge.

As the use of generative AI becomes more widespread, colleges are recognizing the need to reintroduce the mental effort required for genuine learning. By emphasizing interactive, extemporaneous assessments, institutions hope to restore a sense of community and identity formation to the academic experience.