Students’ Perspectives of AI and Academic Integrity in Higher Education Institutions in Oman

The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education offers significant learning benefits while raising serious concerns about academic integrity. This study was conducted to examine undergraduate students’ perspectives and their awareness, attitudes, usage behaviors, perceived educational impact, policy awareness, and intentions to misuse AI tools in academic contexts in Oman. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 200 undergraduate students across multiple academic levels. The survey measured six constructs using Likert-scale items, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, group comparisons, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results indicated that students demonstrated moderate to high awareness of AI tools and generally positive attitudes toward their use for learning-related tasks such as grammar checking, summarization, and brainstorming. Correlation analysis showed that AI awareness, perceived educational impact, and policy awareness were significantly and negatively associated with intentions to misuse AI. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that ethics-related variables, specifically perceived impact and policy awareness, explained substantial additional variance in misuse intentions beyond baseline predictors of awareness, attitudes, and usage frequency. Gender differences were observed, with male students reporting higher intentions to misuse AI, while senior students demonstrated higher awareness and policy understanding than early-year students. The findings highlight the critical role of AI literacy, ethical awareness, and clear institutional policies in mitigating unethical AI use. Integrating AI ethics education early in undergraduate curricula and strengthening communication of academic integrity policies may promote responsible AI engagement. These results contribute empirical evidence from the Middle Eastern context and offer practical implications for higher education institutions.