How to handle someone propositioning me to collude/cheat with them on an assignment?

Question

I am in my final year of undergraduate. Another student, call him John, sent me a message on Facebook saying basically:

Can you send me the solutions to the assignment from unit X, that you took last year. In exchange, I will tell you what the future minitest questions are for unit Y that we are both doing this year.

Attempted Collusion is not explicitly mentioned in the Universities Academic misconduct guide. But, the mini-tests say at the top of each page:

IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO TAKE THIS PAPER AWAY FROM THE TUTORIAL SESSION OR TO DIVULGE ITS CONTENT

since students in the later tutorials could learn the questions from the students in the earlier tutorials (exactly as John proposed).

A complicating factor is that I really dislike John. He doesn't seem to have realised this. I find him personally annoying, and consider him a poor student. I don't understand how he has managed to pass enough units to have not been suspended for poor performance. It may be he is very good at exams, or it may be that he has been cheating all along.

I have a number of options, and could do one or more of them:

• Ignore it, and block him on Facebook. I'm worried this could reflect poorly on me if the message ever became public.
• Tell him no, and refer him to the universities plagiarism/cheating policy
• Speak to the Professor of Unit Y about it (that we are both studying).
• Speak to the Professor of Unit X about it.
• Speak to the Head of School (sub-department), who is above both units
• Speak to the University Dean. Who is in charge of enforcing the Academic Misconduct policy. (Will probably mean going though channels)

If I speak to a professor about this, he may be suspended. I worry that I am a bit too willing for that possibility as I don't like him. On the other hand it isn't my job to decide the consequences of his actions. Which is the best option?

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Update: I spoke to the coordinators of units X and Y. Both said they would look into it and get back to me. I also responded to John, saying no, and referring him to the Academic Misconduct policy.

Answer 1

Putting such a request in a written, verifiable manner as this student has done is incredibly dumb, and frankly merits whatever punishment is associated with this.

Although in principle you could simply ignore the request, I think this is one of those cases where you're better off reporting it. Otherwise, there's still the possibility that "John" could bring you down with him (he wrote you a note, after all!). So I would write to him declining the offer, and then report it.

Answer 2

I generally agree with aeismail - the profound stupidity of putting a request like this in a way that provides evidence is staggering.

Whether or not you should report them for cheating may not be a decision you have to make - I would strongly suggest you check your institution's student handbook or honor code. I've been in more than one university where if you suspect or have evidence of someone cheating, you're obligated to report it.

Answer 3

As a student, I would like to answer this, apparently everyone has a different perspective here, but mainly 2 sides. Students vs Professors :)

He asked you for last year's answers. What is wrong with this? I sometimes ask my friends for previous years' answers as well. This does not mean I am going to copy them. I can go through their work, understand the concepts better and do my homework. The reason is, not every question type is covered in classes or books and guidance might be required to solve them. First you learn how to solve something, then you apply your knowledge to questions. And questions with solutions are the perfect way to master the knowledge. When I use my friends' past homeworks, it really helps me learn the material and all the time I spot their mistakes and prepare my own homework with no mistakes.

Of course, his intentions might be directly copying your homework. In such a case, a proper department should keep old homework solutions and it is the TA's responsiblity to detect them.

So, if someone who you think has intentions to learn from your homework is asking for it, it is very normal to give. But if you think his intention is to directly copy, then you can simply decline his request. You can say you don't have them anymore or you do not wish to share them. No person is guilty unless they commit the wrong and again, you shouldn't worry about them. The university pays graduate students for these matters, it is their job.

Answer 4

Sorry, I'm old school. You don't lie, cheat or steal. Additionally you don't tolerate anyone who lies, cheats or steals, particularly in an academic environment. I believe all students have a duty, an obligation, to report someone breaking those rules, period. That's part of being a responsible adult. Accepting that poor behavior among your peers erodes the quality of your education. Yes, when the peer group doesn't always support it, it does take a lot of character, strength and personal courage to do the right thing. Oh.. and just imagine for a moment.. what if this person was your best friend? That decision takes lots of courage and is very difficult. Good luck with your dilemma.

Oh, and whom to speak to first? I would start with either of the two teachers involved. I'd hope you'd get the same response from either of them. They have been trained for this situation, and will direct you as to possible next steps. Note: is there a university policy on this with a specific process to follow? If so follow it. If not talk to either teacher.. probably the one who knows your integrity and credibility better.

Answer 5

Here is my evaluation of the options that you mentioned.

Ignore it, and block him on facebook.

This option is fine, but in my opinion is a bit lazy.

Tell him no, and refer him to the universities plagiarism/cheating policy

This couldn't hurt, but probably he will just ignore it.

Speak to the Professor of Unit Y about it (that we are both studying).

A good option. Another related option that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is telling the professor about the request but not mentioning John's name. Most professors would (or should) appreciate hearing in general terms about ways that students are cheating in their classes.

Speak to the Professor of Unit X about it.

It is probably better to speak to the professor in charge of you and John at the moment.

Speak to the Head of School (sub-department), who is above both units

Speak to the University Dean who is in charge of enforcing the Academic Misconduct policy. (Will probably mean going though channels)

I don't think it is a good idea to go over the professor's head unless you think that he or she is not taking the matter seriously.

Answer 6

Let me defend the middle ground here.

First of all, we're hearing only one side of the story here. Although, the case may seem straightforward, I do find the proposition of John strange. If he had simply asked for the solutions from last year's course without offering anything in return, this wouldn't have been an issue at all. It's like asking a girl out but also offering her money to improve your chances.

Also, everyone seems to be taking for granted that his suggestion of cheating necessarily means that he has cheated before or even that he will cheat again. In fact, this person, who is a student, and whose case is relayed to us by someone who admits to disliking him, has already been labeled a serial cheater and is even considered to be very likely to use cheating as his primary means in obtaining a job!

Anyone who has given a little thought to the problem would realize that there is a limit to cheating. Cheaters do not pass all exams with 100%. You can't cheat your way through answering interview questions unless you actually understand what you're being asked.

One of the suggestions given here, which I think is the most appropriate, was to ask the instructors in general terms about the exact form of cheating and its consequences. Then you will be better positioned to decide whether or not to report someone directly.

Answer 7

I finished a good university which helped me find a wonderful job. Cheating in the university is not the best thing to be done, but sometimes people have to do it in order to win - if you don't understand me I doubt you understand life - watch Arnold Schwarzenegger six rules of success. And I would like to tell you that reporting your colleague is very stupid in my opinion - why you need to do such a bad thing to him? Did he do something bad to you - no... Maybe it's best that you ignore it, but for sure you don't need to report him - you will make him unhappy, and if you ignore it nobody'll be unhappy, right? If you obey all the rules (I'm talking about the rules, not the law) you won't go far in your life... If you don't believe me check the most successful guys in the planet - what do you think, they obeyed all the rules and never cheated on anything??? Think out of the box. I know intelligent guys with great academic experience and at the same time guys who only graduated school and are 100 more successful than the first. Be cool, don't take things so seriously - it's not a robbery or a rape, as I said - take action when somebody's been made unhappy, this is not the case. And now you're about to make someone unhappy, why?