Timeline for I uploaded my test questions to a website (so I could cheat), but then thought better of it and didn't use the answers. How to proceed?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
24 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 15, 2021 at 3:54 | comment | added | user541686 | @Ben: Whatever floats your boat... | |
| Jun 15, 2021 at 2:17 | comment | added | Ben | @user541686: I am aware of the defence of abandonment; that does not change the fact that inchoate crimes exist, and it does not change the fact that beginning a crime can constitute an "attempt". | |
| Jun 15, 2021 at 1:37 | comment | added | user541686 | @Ben: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchoate_offense#Abandonment | |
| Jun 15, 2021 at 0:48 | comment | added | Ben | @user541686: Your legal analysis on this point is wrong in many respects. The beginning of a ceased attempt is precisely what is regarded in law as an inchoate offence and there is no doubt that the shoplifter in your example would be technically guilty of the offence, notwithstanding the change of heart. (As a secondary matter, he probably wouldn't get a jury trial at all; prosecution of minor offences is usually done by a judge, not a jury.) Inchoate offences have been recognised at law for centuries. | |
| Jun 15, 2021 at 0:42 | history | edited | Ben | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| May 16, 2021 at 17:48 | comment | added | user128581 | @Ben You and I clearly had different literary heroes in our respective youths. I will always remember that 'Rumpole never pleads guilty'. | |
| May 16, 2021 at 11:24 | comment | added | bubba | “if you self-report then it is likely that this will be taken into account in your favour, and will mitigate the punishment” Maybe. Maybe not. There is some risk of running into authorities who say “you cheated, so you’re expelled”. Why run that risk?? | |
| May 16, 2021 at 7:11 | comment | added | user541686 | @ElizabethHenning: It's not even "attempted" cheating. It was the beginning of a ceased attempt. Imagine someone "stealing" an item 1 foot out the door, but immediately changing their mind and going back to pay, with nobody finding out until he tells the cashier the story. IMHO a (truthful) cashier would have a hard time even getting police to show up, let alone get him arrested, let alone get a jury to convict him of "attempted theft". IMHO you'd be ridiculed out of court (& you'd miss the point) by complaining the diff between that action and "attempted theft" is "splitting hairs". | |
| May 16, 2021 at 5:51 | comment | added | Elizabeth Henning | @user541686 Fine, call it "attempted cheating" if you like, but it's still academic dishonesty. Splitting hairs about which word should be used to describe different forms of academic dishonesty kind of misses the point. Twice, in fact. | |
| May 16, 2021 at 5:36 | comment | added | user541686 | @Ben: Well it seems other folks here see it differently... if the upvotes on the comments don't already make it clear, see e.g. academia.stackexchange.com/questions/167674/… | |
| May 16, 2021 at 5:19 | comment | added | Ben | @user541686: I'm not sure I agree that people want to crucify the student. If the offence were self-reported to me (e.g., if I were the convenor), I would be inclined to impose only a minor penalty on the student (e.g., write a two page essay reflecting on the importance of proper discipline in exams; no further penalty imposed). My answer already acknowledges that there are several mitigating factors that would reduce any penalty. It is likely to be considered a minor breach, and I would expect only a minor penalty (presuming it is self-reported). | |
| May 16, 2021 at 3:59 | comment | added | user541686 | @ElizabethHenning: Illegal != dishonest. Cheating is about dishonesty. "Attempting to be dishonest" might be a breach of the exam conditions, just like "attempting to give a bribe" might be illegal. It's obviously against the rules. Deal with it accordingly. What I'm saying is it's not "cheating". Call it "initiating attempt to cheat" if you want; that's what it was. That doesn't mean the cheating actually happened; the attempt was voluntarily ceased. If you can't be honest about the crucial distinction here, you're being even less honest than the student you're accusing of dishonesty. | |
| May 16, 2021 at 3:45 | comment | added | user541686 | @Ben: I'm kind of amused actually. Everyone's gotten out their pitchforks ready to crucify a student who's repenting and not even benefited from a violation of exam conditions, and yet merely losing 2 internet points is suddenly "very harsh"...! | |
| May 16, 2021 at 1:29 | comment | added | Ben | @user541686: That minor quibble (which I think you are wrong about in any case) seems a very harsh downvote to me, but each to their own. | |
| May 16, 2021 at 1:27 | comment | added | Ben | @Spark: I agree with your assessment that the student did not benefit (assuming their account is true), but I disagree with your assessment that the behaviour is not cheating. Soliciting outside help is already an honesty violation, even if the student does not ultimately use any help provided. It is definitely less-bad cheating, but it is cheating. | |
| May 16, 2021 at 1:24 | history | edited | Ben | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| May 15, 2021 at 23:21 | comment | added | Elizabeth Henning | @user541686 Inapplicable analogy. The ethical violation of the intention to cheat constitutes cheating. Just like soliciting a bribe is illegal whether or not you actually receive one. | |
| May 15, 2021 at 23:17 | comment | added | Scott Seidman | It will vary by policy. At my school, unauthorized sharing is specifically an honesty violation | |
| May 15, 2021 at 20:21 | comment | added | user541686 | Breaching exam conditions is not necessarily cheating or even attempted cheating (-1 for that). Extreme example to get the point across, but if someone picks up a gun and holds it to your head, then puts it down voluntarily and repents, you wouldn't say that's murder or even attempted murder, right? Similarly with going to the bathroom against the rules, or showing your exam to your 4-year-old brother against the rules, or whatever. You'd still bear responsibility and it'd be a great idea to explain yourself (and maybe people won't believe you), but they don't imply you've cheated. | |
| May 15, 2021 at 20:05 | comment | added | Vladimir F Героям слава | @Allure Until the proceedings against them start. Which would likely not happen otherwise because no-one would notice. Be 100% honest and expelled or silent and still at the uni? To each what they desire. | |
| May 15, 2021 at 19:03 | comment | added | Spark | I agree that this is technically a breach of exam conditions. My point is that the OP did not benefit or actually follow through on this issue. | |
| May 15, 2021 at 11:08 | history | edited | Ben | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| May 15, 2021 at 11:02 | comment | added | Allure | I imagine that once OP self-reports it, they'd become calm. | |
| May 15, 2021 at 10:55 | history | answered | Ben | CC BY-SA 4.0 |