Several UK universities are changing or ending their Turnitin arrangements after concerns about proposed terms that could allow student work and staff feedback to be used to develop AI services. The dispute is now shaping universities’ software choices, even after Turnitin said it would redraft the terms.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
The Tab reports that Cambridge declined to sign Turnitin’s proposed new contract in July, and is continuing under a modified arrangement with the old terms until July 2027 while it considers alternatives. Newcastle has decided to phase out the software and not renew its contract beyond the 2026/27 academic year. Southampton announced in August that it would also stop using Turnitin after that academic year, with withdrawal already under way.
The concern centres on proposed licence changes that students and universities feared could permit student submissions and staff feedback to be used to develop AI. Turnitin said on 29 September that it was redrafting the proposal, would not introduce a new agreement until 2027, and had no plans to use student essays to train its generative AI models or large language models, according to the article.
Why it matters
This is not just a question of whether an AI detector can spot a chatbot’s handiwork. It is also about what happens to student work and educators’ feedback when universities hand it to a technology provider. Cambridge, Newcastle and Southampton have made different decisions, but each shows that proposed data terms can affect whether a widely used education tool keeps its place.
Turnitin’s stated position may ease one concern, but universities still have to decide whether its future terms, and the way they are introduced, meet their own expectations. Students meanwhile have a practical interest in which system their university uses and what its terms allow.
Our read
A company changing course after concerns are raised is useful. It does not automatically settle whether the revised terms will satisfy universities or students. The interesting test is whether the eventual agreement makes data use clear enough that institutions can explain it, and students can understand what they are consenting to. Licence wording is rarely anyone’s favourite reading; it matters rather more when it governs their coursework.
What to watch
- Whether Turnitin publishes its revised terms before introducing any new agreement in 2027.
- Whether Cambridge finds an alternative or continues with its modified arrangement.
- How Newcastle and Southampton manage the transition away from Turnitin.
Discussion spark: Should universities keep using Turnitin if its revised terms rule out training AI on student work, or is the way the proposed change was handled reason enough to leave?
Sources and evidence
- Newcastle and Southampton among universities axing Turnitin (12 October 2026, 14:04 UTC)
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