Artificial Intelligence (Chat GPT) and Its Impact on the Academic Success of Software Engineering Students at the UNMSM

Abstract

This paper analyzes the influence of artificial intelligence tools—specifically ChatGPT—on the academic performance of undergraduate students in the Software Engineering program at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. The study addresses a growing concern in higher education: the balance between leveraging AI for educational support and preserving the development of critical technical and cognitive skills. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to assess how students use ChatGPT in relation to three key learning dimensions: conceptual understanding, practical skills, and problem-solving capabilities. Results indicate that while ChatGPT enhances task efficiency and offers real-time assistance, its overuse may negatively affect autonomous learning and deep understanding. Students recognize the tool's usefulness for explaining programming concepts and debugging code but also admit relying on it for tasks that demand analytical thinking. The study concludes that the responsible integration of generative AI in engineering education requires pedagogical strategies that promote critical reflection, ethical use, and alignment with long-term learning outcomes. The findings contribute to current debates on AI in education and offer evidence-based insights for faculty, curriculum designers, and policy makers.