Accused of cheating due to the time accounted by Blackboard

Question

Since the exams this year for college is online, there is a timer. Usually, when I start an exam I click a random answer choice or what I think is right at that moment. Once I finish most of it, I go back to look it over.

I got accused of cheating since I answered the questions in 15 mins, and the system recorded that automatically once clicked, instead of recording the time of completing the whole set of questions.

When reviewing my answers after the 15 minutes, I realized I guessed correctly and there was no need to pick another answer. But I got accused since I finished so fast and so accurately.

We were allowed to use cheat sheets with equations and info, allowing me to finish so fast, so I do not understand why I am being accused. And some of the questions were similar to the homework which helped even more. So how do I prove that I did not cheat. It took me an hour and 9 mins to take the exam.

The only information that they kept repeating over and over again was the timing. I clearly stated that I did not look up anything and I had other tests to take the same day. i went over the review powerpoint which had very similar questions to the test once I started taking it. They flagged my test when they were looking for people that posted it on chegg.

There was no other allegation made besides the timing and I have all the proof that I did not cheat. The person telling me the allegation did not give me the chance to clearly defend my self.

Please help me prove that I am not cheating.

Answer 1

Unfortunately you can't prove a negative. You have been "caught" by a system that is insufficiently accurate to properly evaluate your actions (and those of many others).

All you can really do is insist (and keep insisting) to your professor that you didn't cheat and explain how you actually acted. If you don't get satisfaction then escalate the issue to higher authorities.

And keep insisting. People have an obligation to be fair.

A recent article in the Washington Post explores how badly online testing systems are performing. While the article focuses on fully automated systems, the problem is much wider, even when human "proctors" are used in conjunction with webcams. In my view the real problem is in trying to apply solutions from a different era into the current pandemic/online situation. Those solutions no longer work and the workarounds are badly failing. They make assumptions that are not valid given the range of normal human actions.

Any cheating detection system, automated or not, needs to have the property that it produces zero false positives. The meeting is part of that system and should assure that you aren't accused wrongfully. But it isn't well understood that a system permitting no false positives will almost invariably produce some false negatives. But the consequences of error in a cheating detection system are so asymmetrical that such a rule is required.

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Artificial Intelligence is certainly artificial but it is definitely not intelligent.

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Note that I hesitated to edit this after so many votes had been cast, not wanting to invalidate decisions made already by users. The advice remains the same. Insist that you didn't cheat and stick with it.

Answer 2

A simple solution would be to demonstrate the flaw in the system to the professor by recreating the scenario in which you were accused of cheating.

Answer 3

When questioning or complaining about a decision, it is best to offer a solution.

All correspondence should now be in writing (or at least email) so that you have a record of anything said and any accusations made. People will be cautious of accusing you of anything in writing. If things go badly, you can copy your emails to a senior person and be open about that.

Never say anything in anger and never accuse or criticise. Simply state the facts in a dispassionate way.

For example

You could offer in writing to take a similar test whilst being observed.

It is unlikely that you will be taken up on this but the fact that you have offered will make them think twice.

If there is any disciplinary action, you can then point out that you were willing to demonstrate your strategy and your ability. Of course you have to make sure that the new test is not made especially hard, so specify "at the same level of difficulty".

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Important

Never act in the heat of the moment. Take your time, stay polite but be insistent. Do not give up.

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Example email

Dear X

With regard to our conversation about possible cheating.

I note that the automated timing system may have indicated something unusual. My exam strategy is to hurry through all the questions and then return to check my answers. In this case the initial stage took me about 15 minutes and the checking stage took a further x minutes. I checked thoroughly but did not need to correct any answers.

If there is any doubt at all of my skills or ability I will be willing to take a further such test (at the same level) under supervision

I am willing to take such a test online or manually with an observer present.

Nan

Answer 4

The problem is, from experience, that explanation sounds fake -- what someone caught cheating makes-up. An explanation of the weirdness and an acknowledgement about how weird it is might do some good. Instructors don't always know how on-line tests work, so pointing out the format and problems types and how your process isn't completely crazy might help:

• Many on-line tests don't allow you to go back and change. Checking one at random and assuming you can change it later is very, very, very odd. If you've been using this test format for a while and it's well known the system is "change any time, submit when done", that might make it seem less weird.

• Guessing an answer and moving onto the next Q is a terrible way to work. So terrible it seems like no one would do it. I mean, you need to do some work to have a decent guess, why not do a little more work right then to get a real answer? Explain the details. Maybe in one Q you picked "B) using Hanson's method" because most titration's use it, and obviously reading the details would take a while and the tests don't have lots of extra time. Or is it a look-up thing? You thought you remembered Whistler was a member of the Surrealists, checked A), then came back and looked it up in your messy notes -- sure enough, Surrealist.

• 15 minutes? How many Q's? 30? Explain how a Q can be read in 30 seconds and an educated guess made. Pick out 1 or 2 (again, instructors may be doing their best with pre-set quizes they haven't had a great chance to look over).

• Explain what "random or guess" means. Under a "best guess using 2 minutes" process, it makes much more sense to leave it blank if you have no idea. When you come back, it's a reminder. Sure a random guess is standard, but only at the end of the test. What's the reasoning behind random answers right away?

• You wrote than you usually do this. If your last quiz was also answered in 15 minutes, but then you changed answers over the next hour, that proves you work this way. If they can't get records of your last quiz, then just how good is this anti-cheat software anyway?

Answer 5

Explain to your professor that you did not cheat, and that you think the automated system is measuring something other than 'cheating.' Speed is not cheating after all.

If the professor will not consider your arguments and decides to fail you anyway, there is a process you can follow. It is called a grievance. File a grievance with the university, and the Dean or other administrators will have to conduct a fair hearing based on evidence. Hearings like this usually include your academic peers, and there may even be academic attorneys who can be hired to assist you.

Answer 6

Long story short, consider offering to retake the test, to validate your innocence.

I've been accused of cheating, by my college environmental chemistry professor. The man literally went page by page, from the book, and used his handwritten overhead projector slides from 1969, for his presentations 20 years later. I like to read, and the class was for non-Chemistry majors, so no in depth topics were put in the tests. Additionally, he had a test "preview" class, and he outlined exactly what he'd be putting on the test, every time. After the first exam, I simply read through the chapters, and I never attended any of his classes afterwards, except the previews and exams.

He got quite upset that I kept getting perfect scores on his exams, whilst not attending class. He was so adamant, that he brought in the Dean of Academics into the fray. I calmly explained my process to both, and offered to retake the exam on the spot, saying if I got 90% or better, that my 100% exams would stand. They both agreed. I finished the exam in under 10 minutes, and got another 100%.

It also didn't hurt that I am an avid Chemistry person, and got a 99 out of 100 on the New York State Regents back in high school, plus A's in Chem I and Chem II already, so I was fairly prepared for this class anyway.

Answer 7

This is a partial answer, to be read in parallel with the other answers.

The question says:

Please help me prove that I am not cheating.

That is not the real question. The question is:

How can I convince the university that I did not cheat?

My partial answer is that before you can convince the university that you did not cheat, you should try to convince others that you did not cheat. You need to learn to clearly state the relevant information. Your question suggests that you have trouble with this.

For example:

I clearly stated that I did not look up anything

Well, of course you would say that. It doesn’t prove anything.

and I had other tests to take the same day.

It is not clear how this is relevant.

i went over the review powerpoint which had very similar questions to the test once I started taking it.

This sounds like you were looking at the review PowerPoint file during the test. I don’t think that’s what you meant.

Other answers have suggested contacting student unions etc; they would probably be best placed to help you with this.

Answer 8

In parallel with following one or more other suggestions, please contact your student union, and specifically your faculty/department/semester representatives if you have them, and whoever is in charge of student rights in academic affairs.

First, they might offer material or procedural advice. Second, they may intervene on your behalf. It is a very different thing to railroad a single isolated student, and to go against something the student union objects to (and, hopefully, will not stand for). I'm not sure if that capability is as strong as it is usually in these days of Covid, but still.

Also, as @Buffy points out, it is not possible to prove a negative - and it's quite likely that some guidelines of rules for disciplinary procedures require that concrete evidence be provided of wrongdoing, rather than merely suspicious circumstances. So you (or your student union rep) might be able to "throw the book" at your professor, so to speak.

Answer 9

Exactly how are you accused of cheating?

I got accused of cheating since I answered the questions in 15 mins

As others have already noted, finishing a exam quickly is not cheating. It could be a visible symptom of cheating, but it could caused by something else. You provides one possible explanation:

I answered the questions in 15 mins, and the system recorded that automatically once clicked, instead of recording the time of completing the whole set of questions. When reviewing my answers after the 15 minutes, I realized I guessed correctly and there was no need to pick another answer.

But you also provide one other small detail that has been overlooked by other answers:

They flagged my test when they were looking for people that posted it on chegg.

And later in a comment to buffy's top rated answer, you reiterate:

I got flagged at the same time as they were looking for those who posted the entire test online on chegg.

This seems to be a major point in the accusation, so I'll focus my answer on it.

An alternate explanation the university may believe for why you finished the exam quickly is that you were copying the answers from the chegg post; which would be rightfully considered cheating.

Others have noted that you can't prove a negative, but in this instance that may not be the case. Quoting from Chegg's Honor Code:

Copying solutions or requesting unexplained final answers promotes completion without comprehension, which is something we don't support at Chegg.

Furthermore, you should be aware that in the event your institution contacts Chegg as part of an investigation into academic integrity, Chegg is authorized under our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to cooperate fully in that investigation and we commonly do. This can include providing information to your institution about your user profile, account, site usage activity, and interactions with Chegg Tutors.

If the university really suspects you of using the answers posted on Chegg to finish the exam quickly, the burden of proof rests with them. If the univeristy is not currently working with Chegg to determine if anyone viewed the answers, it might be beneficial to suggest that course of action instead of continuing to speculate. Being cooperative in the process can only help determine the truth and clear your name more quickly.