Perfect homework, blank stares: Why colleges are turning to oral exams to combat AI

The assignment involves no laptop, no chatbot and no technology of any kind. In fact, there's no pen or paper, either.

Instead, students in Chris Schaffer’s biomedical engineering class at Cornell University are required to speak directly to an instructor in what he calls an “oral defense.”

It's a testing method as old as Socrates and making a comeback in the AI age. A growing number of college professors say they are turning to oral exams, and combining a variety of old-fashioned and cutting-edge techniques, to help address a crisis in higher education.

“You won’t be able to AI your way through an oral exam,” says Schaffer, who introduced the oral defense last semester.

Educators are no longer naively wondering if students will use generative AI to do their homework for them. A big question now is how to determine what students are actually learning.

College instructors across the U.S. are noticing troubling new trends as generative artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated. Take-home essays and other written assignments are coming back perfect. But when students are asked to explain their work, they can’t. The long-term impact of AI use on critical thinking remains to be seen, but educators worry students increasingly see the hard work of thinking as optional.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Emily Hammer, an associate professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, now pairs oral exams with written papers in her seminar classes.

“It comes across as if we’re trying to prevent cheating,” Hammer says. “That’s not why we’re doing this. We’re doing this because students are actually losing skills, losing cognitive capacity and creativity.”

Hammer forbids AI use on all writing assignments but tells her class she knows she can't enforce that. However, if they haven't written their papers themselves, defending the material face-to-face will likely be “a very stressful situation.”

Hammer’s class is part of “a massive shift toward in-person assessments,” both written and oral, at Penn, says Bruce Lenthall, executive director of the school’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The Ivy League school is one of a small but growing number of universities that have started running faculty workshops on oral exams.

Oral exams are not traditionally part of the modern American undergraduate system, unlike certain European universities. For instance, in the Oxbridge tutorial system in England, students meet faculty for weekly discussions. Some U.S. colleges saw a move toward oral exams during the COVID-19 pandemic to address concerns about online cheating, and interest has intensified since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.

During the pandemic, engineering professor Huihui Qi launched a three-year study at the University of California, San Diego on how to scale oral exams. Several universities have since invited her to provide faculty workshops or discuss her research.

At New York University, several types of oral assessments are on the rise. More faculty are requiring office hours, assigning presentations and cold-calling on students in class. Instructors are saying, “I need to look my students in the eye and ask, ‘Do you know this material?’” says Clay Shirky, vice provost for AI and technology in education.

One NYU professor has put a modern spin on the traditional oral test.

Panos Ipeirotis, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, unveiled an AI-powered oral exam last semester for the final exam in a class on AI product management. He calls it “fighting fire with fire.”

Students log in from home, at any time that fits their schedule. A voice cloned from a business school professor greets them.

“Hi there,” says the voice on their screen. It asks for the student’s name and school ID number and then says, “I’m ready to conduct your exam today.”

The chatbot starts with questions about a final group project and drills into details based on each student’s answers. If the student stumbles, the AI agent gives them clues, along with criticism and positive feedback. Ipeirotis grades the exams separately, also with the help of AI.

“We wanted to check: Do you know what your team did? Were you a free rider? Did you outsource everything to AI?” says Ipeirotis, who designed the tool with ElevenLabs, a company that develops generative AI voice agents to conduct job interviews.

Students in the class this semester are redesigning the AI agent to smooth out some kinks, and Ipeirotis plans to use it in all his future classes.

“I want oral exams everywhere now. I want to pair it with every single written assignment,” says Ipeirotis. “I don’t trust written assignments anymore to be the result of actual thinking.”

Feedback from students last semester was mixed.

Business major Andrea Liu found the chatbot's voice to be surprisingly human, but the conversation felt choppy with odd pauses. It asked multiple questions at once, which was confusing. And it was jarring to hear a voice but not see a person.

“It felt kind of awkward to be talking to what was pretty much a blank screen,” says Liu, 21.

But, she agreed with worried educators: “There is no perfect world where AI exists and kids are not abusing it.”

Across the humanities and STEM disciplines, like computer science, educators worry that students who skip the mental struggle that is necessary for problem solving won't develop the skills they need to advance in upper-level classes and careers.

That’s why Schaffer, the Cornell professor, introduced the oral defense in his biomedical engineering class. He requires students to sign up for 20-minute sessions of Socratic-style questioning after submitting written problem sets, which are assigned several times each semester.

With a class of 70 students, Schaffer splits the job with his teaching assistants. They no longer grade the written problem sets, just the oral defenses. He calls it “incentivizing” his students to do the work, or at least understand it enough to explain.

Schaffer's class is highlighted in a new “Oral Assessment Workshop” offered by Cornell's Center for Teaching Innovation.

Other examples at Cornell: a religious studies professor who now holds 30-minute “final conversations” with students instead of a final exam; and another engineering course where the professor gives four-minute mock interviews to each student in a 180-person class.

Skeptics point out oral exams can be unsettling for students who are shy or have serious anxiety, but clarifying the format ahead of time and starting with softball questions can help, says Carolyn Aslan, who leads Cornell’s oral exam training.

“Sometimes it’s actually good to get that quiet student one-on-one, and you finally get to hear from them. Sometimes that is the breakthrough,” Aslan says.

Several of Schaffer's students say they felt nervous at first but ended up preferring the oral exam.

“I honestly liked it a lot,” says Cornell junior Olivia Piserchia, a biomedical engineering major. She initially found the oral defense nerve-wracking but came to value the one-on-one time with instructors. It kept her from feeling lost in a large class and helped her build the skill of articulating her technical knowledge, as she would need to in a job.

“Having that live check-in holds you accountable,” says Piserchia. “It’s a lot harder to look people in the eyes and say out loud, ‘I don’t know this.’ And, that makes you realize, ‘I should study this.’”

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Professor Panos Ipeirotis uses an oral AI agent during his class at NYU Stern School of Business, March 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Professor Panos Ipeirotis speaks with an oral AI agent during his class at NYU Stern School of Business, March 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Professor Panos Ipeirotis speaks to students about an AI oral agent they'll be using for their final exam at NYU Stern School of Business, March 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Student Brian Dai uses an oral AI agent during class at NYU Stern School of Business, March 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Student Surya Newa is silhouetted while using an oral AI agent during class at NYU Stern School of Business, March 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

DETROIT (AP) — Carter Yakemchuk scored a second-period goal and also had an assist in his NHL debut as the streaking Ottawa Senators edged the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Yakemchuk, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2024 draft, had been playing for the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators. He was called up earlier in the day with defensemen Thomas Chabot, Dennis Gilbert, Nick Jensen, Jake Sanderson and Lassi Thomson sidelined by injuries.

Yakemchuk, a 20-year-old defenseman from Alberta, had 10 goals in 50 games with Belleville.

Brady Tkachuk scored his 20th goal of the season for the Senators, who have won four straight and nine of their last 11 games. Lars Eller scored the other goal for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 32 saves as the Senators continued their late push for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.

MAPLE LEAFS 4, BRUINS 2

BOSTON (AP) — Matthew Knies scored a pair of goals and Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Boston.

Max Domi and William Nylander also scored for the Maple Leafs and John Tavares had three assists as Toronto outshot Boston 35-20 and avoided a three-game season sweep in the Original Six rivalry. Anthony Stolarz finished with 18 saves.

Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy scored for Boston, which still holds the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Jeremy Swayman had 31 saves for the Bruins, who lost at home for just the second time in their last 16 games.

CANADIENS 5, HURRICANES 2

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored his 44th goal of the season and Jakub Dobes made 41 saves as Montreal held off Carolina.

Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov had a goal and an assist each, and Oliver Kapanen also scored as Montreal erased a two-goal deficit for its second consecutive win.

Jake Evans buried an empty-net goal with 1 minute left in regulation and Caufield added an assist for a two-point night.

Nikolaj Ehlers and Jordan Staal scored for Eastern Conference-leading Carolina, which lost for the first time in four games.

PANTHERS 5, KRAKEN 4, SO

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Florida gave up a three-goal, third-period lead but recovered for a shootout win over Seattle on Vinnie Hinostroza’s goal.

The Panthers led 4-1 on Noah Gregor’s goal with 7:39 to play, but Seattle’s Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle and Bobby McMann scored in a span of 2:21 to force overtime. Eberle and McMann scored just 14 seconds apart.

Seattle, which has lost eight of 10, has not won since beating the Panthers 6-2 at home on March 15.

Nolan Foote, Eetu Luostarinen and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for the Panthers with Sergei Bobrovsky making 22 saves.

Ryker Evans also scored a third-period goal for Seattle and Joey Daccord had 20 saves.

BLACKHAWKS 4, ISLANDERS 3

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Anton Frondell had an assist in his NHL debut, Nick Lardis and Frank Nazar each had a goal and an assist and Chicago defeated the New York.

Ilya Mikheyev and Tyler Bertuzzi also had goals for the Blackhawks, who scored four straight goals and snapped a two-game skid. Arvid Soderblom made 44 saves.

Anders Lee, Simon Holmstrom and Calum Ritchie scored for the Islanders, who lost for the third time in four games. David Rittich allowed three goals on 12 shots before being replaced by Ilya Sorokin, who made 11 saves.

BLUE JACKETS 3, FLYERS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zach Werenski continued his torrid scoring pace with a goal and an assist as Columbus defeated Philadelphia.

Columbus scored a pair of goals 1:44 apart to start the second period. The Blue Jackets outshot the Flyers 6-0 in the opening three minutes of the period.

Mathieu Olivier scored the first goal 44 seconds into the second period, taking a pass from Werenski on a 3-on-2 rush and snapping a shot over the glove of Philadelphia goalie Dan Vladar to tie the score 1-1.

On his next shift, Werenski came out of the corner and worked his way into the high slot. He took a pass from Damon Severson and beat Vladar with a snapshot.

Werenski now has 77 points this season, second-most among NHL defensemen.

AVALANCHE 6, PENGUINS 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Martin Necas scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon poured in his NHL-leading 46th goal and the Colorado breezed past the Pittsburgh.

Necas, Sam Malinski and Parker Kelly scored within a 1:55 span late in the first period to break it open as the Avalanche atoned for one-sided loss to the Penguins last week in Denver by returning the favor in Pittsburgh. Cale Makar picked up the assist on Necas’ first goal, boosting his career point total to 499. Ross Colton scored an empty-netter late.

Scott Wedgewood stopped 27 shots for the NHL-leading Avalanche, who have won the first three games of a four-game road swing that finishes up in Winnipeg on Thursday.

Egor Chinakov and Rickard Rakell scored for Pittsburgh. Kris Letang picked up the secondary assist to become the 21st defenseman in league history to reach the 800 career points when he picked up a secondary assist on Chinakov’s career-high 17th goal of the season.

LIGHTNING 6, WILD 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Erik Cernak scored a tiebreaking goal with 2:53 left in the third period Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson misplayed a carom off the end boards and Tampa Bay beat the Wild.

Cernak scored his second of the season after Charle-EdouardD’Astous’ pass traveled the length of the ice and bounced off the end boards toward Gustavsson, who failed to control the puck with his glove. The puck went between Gustavsson’s legs into the crease and Cernak pounced, sending it into the open net.

Tampa Bay rallied from a two-goal deficit, scoring three goals in the second period and five unanswered overall over the second and the third to win for the fourth time in five games and fifth time in seven.

Darren Raddysh had a goal and two assists, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel also scored, and Pontus Holmberg added an empty-netter in the final half-minute. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves to win his fourth straight start. Guentzel’s goal was his 32nd of the season and the 300th for his career.

Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist, and Mats Zuccarello and Brock Faber also scored for the Wild, who have lost five of their last seven games. Gustavsson stopped 19 of the 23 shots that he faced.

BLUES 3, CAPITALS 0

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jimmy Snuggerud and Otto Stenberg scored, Joel Hofer made 21 saves and St. Louis beat Washington.

Jordan Kyrou scored his team-leading 17th goal into an empty net with 41 seconds remaining to seal the win for Hofer, who earned his sixth shutout of the season and the eighth of his career.

St. Louis, which has won two in a row, has gone 9-2-2 since returning from the Olympic break.

Logan Thompson made 24 saves for Washington, which had not lost in regulation in its previous five games.

PREDATORS 6, SHARKS 3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored a goal and assisted on two others to lead Nashville to a victory over San Jose in a matchup of teams headed in opposite directions in the standings.

Matthew Wood, Roman Josi, Luke Evangelista, Brady Skjei and Steven Stamkos also scored and Juuse Saros made 27 saves for Nashville, winners of a season-high five consecutive games. Jonathan Marchessault had three assists.

Will Smith scored two goals, Adam Gaudette had one and Alex Nedeljkovic made 13 saves for the Sharks, who lost their fifth straight game.

DEVILS 6, STARS 4

DALLAS (AP) — Jack Hughes scored twice in New Jersey’s four-goal first period, and the Devils handed Dallas consecutive losses in regulation for the first time in two months.

Jesper Bratt and Connor Brown also had goals as the Devils put four of their first five shots past Jake Oettinger to end the Dallas goalie’s career-best point streak at 14 games. Oettinger was pulled after the first period.

Wyatt Johnston had two goals to reach 40 for the first time in his career, and Jason Robertson scored his 39th for Dallas, which hadn’t lost two in a row in regulation since dropping three straight from Jan. 13-18.

JETS 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists — and a rare fighting major in the second period — to lead the Winnipeg to a victory over Vegas.

Kyle Connor, Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti also scored for Winnipeg, which snapped a five-game home skid against Vegas.

Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves to snap his six-game winless streak against the Golden Knights.

Colton Sissons scored the lone goal on the power play for Vegas. Adin Hill stopped 17 shots.

FLAMES 3, KINGS 2, SO

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Yegor Sharangovich scored in the fourth round of the shootout to lead Calgary to a victory over Los Angeles.

Olli Maatta and Zayne Parekh, each with their first goals of the season, scored in regulation time for the Flames, who have won four games in a row for the first time this season. Dustin Wolf stopped 23 shots.

Quinton Byfield scored both goals and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves for Los Angeles, which has points in seven of their last nine but just three victories. They have dropped four straight.

With the loss the Kings fall three points behind the Nashville Predators for the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference.

OILERS 5, MAMMOTH 2

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Connor McDavid scored twice to give him 401 career goals and 1,200 points, sparking Edmonton Oilers to a victory over Utah.

McDavid became the fifth player in Oilers history to reach 400 goals when he took a feed from Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard and beat Karel Vejmelka with 7:53 left in the second period.

The go-ahead goal was his 40th of the season and put Edmonton in front 3-2. He scored his 401st goal on an empty-netter with 7.5 seconds remaining that also gave him his 1,200th point. McDavid also has 799 career assists.

Evan Bouchard had three assists to give him 82 points as he joined Cale Makar, Erik Karlsson and Roman Josi as the only NHL defensemen to record multiple 80-point seasons since 2005-06.

To complete the milestone-rich contest, Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins posted his 800th career NHL point with an assist in the first period on a goal by Roslovic, who had two scores. Matt Savoie scored a short-handed goal in the second.

Edmonton had 24 blocked shots and allowed just 18 shots on goal. Tristan Jarry made 16 saves.

The Oilers have won their last five games against the Mammoth and leapfrogged the Vegas Golden Knights (79-78 points) for second place in the Pacific Division as the playoff races heat up.

Alexander Kerfoot and Lawson Crouse scored for Utah. Vejmelka stopped 11 shots, but was replaced after the second period by Vitek Vanecek.

DUCKS 5, Canucks 3

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Mikael Granlund scored twice, Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist, and Anaheim beat Vancouver.

Mason McTavish and Troy Terry also scored for the Ducks, while John Carlson had three assists and Lukas Dostal stopped 27 shots.

Anaheim grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second period, only to see Vancouver rally and tie the game twice before McTavish scored the winner at the 5:45 mark of the third.

Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser and Drew O’Connor scored for the Canucks, while Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson each contributed a pair of assists. Kevin Lankinen made 29 saves.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) stops a Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) shot as Jacob Bernard-Docker (25) and Albert Johansson (20) defend in the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)