Treffer: Investigating the Existence of AI Policy in Higher Education Institutions in Sub‐Saharan Africa.

The rapid advancement and adoption of generative artificial intelligence tools in academia have raised critical questions regarding policy readiness and ethical governance, especially in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the Global South. This study investigates the existence of institutional AI policies in three Sub‐Saharan African HEIs and explores their implications for academic activities. Using the Times Higher Education rankings, we selected the top ten HEIs in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa each. We first used structured website content analysis across institutional portals, graduate school portals, and library webpages to identify published AI policies. This digital audit was supplemented by follow‐up informal interviews with key university personnel to verify the existence or absence of such policies. Guided by our preliminary research questions, preliminary findings show that while a six HEIs in South Africa have published and implemented institutional AI policies, no HEI in Ghana or Nigeria currently has a formal or publicly accessible AI policy in place. In these countries, academic staff use their discretion to make subjective judgments when evaluating student submissions suspected to be AI‐generated. This creates inconsistencies, which in practice raises concerns about fairness, transparency, and accountability. Given the rise in legal disputes between students and institutions globally concerning the use and evaluation of generative AI in academia, our study underscores the urgent need for policy development in African HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]