Student Satisfaction with ChatGPT as a Writing Tool in Moroccan Higher Education: A Mixed Methods Study

With reference to the 2023 CCI Global Consumer Sentiment Survey by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Morocco ranks among the top users of ChatGPT globally. 38% of Moroccan students reported actively using ChatGPT. In line, this research has been carried to come to terms with this high adoption rate among university students. This mixed-methods study (N=101 survey; email interviews) investigated ChatGPT usage, satisfaction levels, perceived benefits, and influencing factors among Moroccan university students. Key results revealed that ChatGPT is the dominant tool (75.25% primary choice), widely used for writing (64.36%), particularly creative (30.69%) and academic tasks (25.74%). Students appreciated its efficiency (73.2% time-saving) and idea generation capabilities (68.3% frequent benefit). Satisfaction was strongly correlated with engagement (r=0.776, p<0.01). Major concerns included accuracy (59.4% unsure/concerned) and plagiarism risks. Interviews confirmed incongruence and exposed fears of nurturing laziness (“makes us become lazy”) and hindering skill development (“I won’t improve…”). Opinions were split on whether it actually improved writing skills (47.5% positive / 52.5% negative). This scholarly work calls for informed initiatives to promote AI literacy and ethics with a view to guiding responsible use. The study concludes by advocating for the responsible use of AI in education without undermining core human competencies and skills.