313
I apologize in advance for my frankness.
What can we do in this situation, in which I strongly suspect that this student went to the bathroom to look up a definition on his phone, so that he could answer the question correctly?
Nothing.
have we missed our chance by not asking for him to leave his phone in the room?
You missed it, but it doesn't ...
answered Oct 19 '17 at 20:54
279
It feels like one of the deadly sins but it's actually a physiological need...
If it's a physiological need because you were sick at the time of the exam, then your school should have a policy about how such situations are to be handled.
While I sympathize with your plight, it sounds like the problem was that you were too tired and just slept through the ...
271
Call him in. Ask him how he solved it.
Don't imply that he cheated. Just ask how he solved it with genuine curiosity and interest.
If he asks why you're asking, tell him he was the only student in the entire class who solved it and you'd love to get an insight into his problem solving process.
Either you have a genuine genius on your hands or you have a ...
255
You should give zero for the answers in question. You are grading what the student handed in, not what s/he potentially could have handed in. The logistics are just as much part of fulfilling an assignment as the knowledge. It would be unfair to the other students to be more lenient on this particular student than others.
If you wish, you may give the ...
249
Let's be clear here. From your description, the student clearly cheated by violating the take-home exam's stated policy that (quoting from your comment on @user2768's answer) "it is prohibited to ask anyone for an answer". Thus, your question reduces to the generic question of "should I report a fellow student who cheated?", to which the answer is "yes", as ...
243
I've learned the lesson about cheating, now how can fix this? How can
I prevent the 5 instructors from reporting me. It's obvious that I
should speak to them, but what should I say? What can I do? My future
is almost over, but many of you are teachers and instructors here,
what can I do to fix this?
From the way you wrote this, it seems to me that ...
229
Frankly, the whole thing seems like a terrible idea - a guaranteed way to sabotage your rapport with your students and ensure complaints on your evaluations. If you're trying to get tenure, this seems like a good way to make sure you don't get it.
I suspect that the "if you don't like it, withdraw" clauses won't have the desired effect of weeding out all ...
229
Have each person grade different questions, not different students.
Consistency in grading is important, and it is unfair to the students if their grades depend substantially on the allocation of their work to a grader. For this reason, if you must split grading duties with another colleague for a particular assessment item, it is best to split the grading ...
208
Speaking from personal experience, I advise you to accept the consequences of the events that occurred and move on.
There are, and will be, many important situations in life that require you to be in a certain place at a certain time. Punctuality and accountability are, quite arguably, even more essential in the workplace than in academia, where missing an ...
179
First, in light your question title, let me offer some encouraging words. Your life is not over. Cheating is an academic transgression; unless your situation is very unusual, you have not committed a crime. Take a breath, realize that this is a problem that you need to address as an adult, and part of that means being sober and reasonable.
Of course this is ...
178
It sounds like you're still in finals, so the first part is containment – you likely have other exams to be ready for and should probably focus on them.
Next, as from @aeismail's answer, it's likely that the instructor is in a position to decide. If it's important and you have the time to spare, you might want to review your school's rules to confirm ...
164
As an instructor, when I find myself in this situation, I invite the student to make an appointment to speak with me privately in my office.
During that private meeting, I will discuss his/her current performance in the class, and point out the likely consequences if he/she does not submit the required work. I will advise the student as to what he/she must ...
145
In a situation in which you would suffer no matter what you do, you can also work to protect yourself.
An anonymous note to the professor that the exam has been compromised and that there are photographs of it circulating comes close to resolving the issue. The person who took the photo likely deserves punishment, of course, so this solution doesn't ...
145
As a professor, one has to assume that all past exam questions are available to students. Some student organizations debrief members after exams and capture the questions for such an exam bank.
Some professors realize this and take action accordingly, not reusing questions, or not using enough of them to matter substantially. Others think, probably ...
140
You haven't said whether you were actually accused or not. I'm assuming that you are just worried about what might happen in the meeting that hasn't happened yet.
The most honest way to proceed, though you may suffer for it, is to tell it exactly like it happened. You studied three weeks, you had access to old exam materials and used those to prepare. All ...
136
I would suggest offering something in response that makes the students feel like their concerns are heard, without compromising the academics of the course.
For example:
I understand that this is a difficult time, especially for minority students. Unfortunately, if I cancel the final exam, I won't be able to assign a grade to these students and they won't ...
135
As an instructor, I want to know if there is an environment that allows cheating. Even if the student can't provide proof or only told me afterwards or anonymously, I can take action on future exams by better proctoring, exam versioning, and seating charts.
So telling the teacher afterward would protect individual students but improve the quality of the ...
132
I don't want to report them, I probably don't have the guts to do it, especially because it's such a socially accepted practice.
A "Snitches get stitches" mentality will not solve your problem. Cheating is unethical. You know that you are "at a disadvantage" if you keep your ethical behavior and the others don't.
Cheating is pretty easy though: one has ...
131
Punishments for academic misconduct should be standardized across your university. Check the university policy and follow it. If you are still unsure, ask your academic dean.
Instructor discretion can lead to inadvertent or unconscious discrimination.
answered Jun 19 '21 at 7:31
Anonymous Physicist
81.8k21 gold badges169 silver badges289 bronze badges
130
Examinations are time-limited, so time is a scarce resource that students need to economise. Stipulating the marks allocated to exam questions has three main purposes:
Objectivity: The stipulated marks creates a more objective assessment, insofar as the weightings on the questions are fixed by the stipulated marks. This prevents students from being ...
125
I would say no, unless this was explicitly prohibited beforehand. Look, what's the purpose of a test? To gauge the extent to which one has comprehended the material. The fact that you did the work indicates you do. Hell, the fact you did it on your own for fun deserves recognition.
What's the point of re-doing the work while sitting in class during a test?...
123
Taking a photo is effectively equivalent to taking the question sheet home.
For either of these: it’s not inherently a bad thing, and (as your friend said) it can be good for personal study, and so on. However, it can be used for unethical purposes (passing the questions on to students who haven’t taken the exam yet), so the school have prohibited it. ...
121
Take a two week vacation. Do things you enjoy. Relax. Exercise. Watch TV. Sleep.
The gain from any studying you can do in two weeks will be minimal, compared to the previous three years. The gain from going into the exam rested, relaxed, and with energy will be immense.
121
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 ...
117
This is a question to the programme leader.
Frankly in a scenario where cheating is just waiting for an invitation, relative marking is grossly inappropriate. It is not just giving cheaters an unfair advantage, it gives the honest ones an unfair disadvantage.
Ask for guarantees that cheating by others will not directly disadvantage you.
112
How could I tell him to upgrade my grade and explain to him that I really deserve it and that I really need to have (19/20) so I can pass my semester?
Don't tell him how to fix the error, and don't open with this being a make-or-break for passing your semester. This will probably put him on the defensive, and make him less likely to be sympathetic. In fact, ...
110
Report it to the police. Report it to the department.
You don't have anything that requires making up to the students. Of course you should be fair to them and not let this hurt them (e.g., no grade for this quiz, but allow students to take an optional alternative assignment to take its place).
108
Ultimately, this is not a technological problem but a cultural and pedagogical problem.
The problem with technological solutions is that they set up an "arms race" with the students, in which you will certainly lose. Electronics are constantly getting smaller and obtaining more means of communication, so a student who really wants to cheat will likely have ...
108
If the facts are as you report them, your "peer" has engaged in academic misconduct.
I have fellow peers who have done the exact same thing and not face a single threat of being reported to the academic board.
Your "fellow peers" didn't get caught.
Is it not the instructor's responsibility to prepare a different version of the exam for both the ...
105
What you should do, is precisely nothing. Take a deep breath. Have a culturally appropriate beverage and celebrate your finishing.
We are human. None of us is perfect. We fall. We get up. We move on. The past is past. Most of us here would probably not like to see a complete rerunning of our past selves in every respect.
But, since it bothers your conscience,...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible