Academic Dishonesty Question

[anonmon]

Hello, I am seeking some advice!
I graduated with a degree in Biology December 2023 with a low GPA and I am currently applying to SMPs and Masters/ Post-Bacc programs.
In the first semester of my senior year (Fall 2022) my mental health severely declined due to an SA instance and in turn that affected my attendance in class due to a steep decline in my mental health. I then changed the date on a Dr.'s note so that my attendance grade would not be affected and got caught. At the time I was not in a healthy place to admit to the academic dishonesty head that I was SA'd but I did let him know my mental health was not in a place to attend class which led me to make the bad decision to alter the note. He informed me that my punishment would be a semester off and although I considered that as a suspension, my transcript doesn't show that I was suspended, it just looks that I took a semester off.
In grad school/ dental school applications, should I/ do I disclose this? Do I say that I was academically dishonest? If they contact my school, will the school show them the documents of this case or is this case closed?
I have every intention of being honest if asked, considering I have learned a lot from this experience, but I don't want it to be brought to anybody's attention if unnecessary.
Any advice on how I should navigate this would be helpful. Often times when schools see academic dishonesty they assume it's for cheating when in my case it wasn't so (I still did something wrong it just wasn't cheating)
Thank you!

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[macsak]

Hello, I am seeking some advice!
I graduated with a degree in Biology December 2023 with a low GPA and I am currently applying to SMPs and Masters/ Post-Bacc programs.
In the first semester of my senior year (Fall 2022) my mental health severely declined due to an SA instance and in turn that affected my attendance in class due to a steep decline in my mental health. I then changed the date on a Dr.'s note so that my attendance grade would not be affected and got caught. At the time I was not in a healthy place to admit to the academic dishonesty head that I was SA'd but I did let him know my mental health was not in a place to attend class which led me to make the bad decision to alter the note. He informed me that my punishment would be a semester off and although I considered that as a suspension, my transcript doesn't show that I was suspended, it just looks that I took a semester off.
In grad school/ dental school applications, should I/ do I disclose this? Do I say that I was academically dishonest? If they contact my school, will the school show them the documents of this case or is this case closed?
I have every intention of being honest if asked, considering I have learned a lot from this experience, but I don't want it to be brought to anybody's attention if unnecessary.
Any advice on how I should navigate this would be helpful. Often times when schools see academic dishonesty they assume it's for cheating when in my case it wasn't so (I still did something wrong it just wasn't cheating)
Thank you!

SA'd?

 

[Ryxndek]

SA'd?

S**ual assault

 

[Mr.Smile12]

How was the semester suspension documented in the Student conduct office? Or was it a leave of absence? There is a document trail, and you need to know what it is. At minimum, you shouldn't be paying tuition or getting financial aid for the semester away, so there must be signatures.

Altering a legal document is (most probably) a student conduct violation. Work with the conduct dean to phrase your answer properly. Work with counseling services on the statement if you need help avoiding mentioning the assault in more detail. Regardless of how it is documented, you should do what is honorable and disclose it, including the student conduct dean.

To be frank, this is something that could disqualify you from an offer, or probably working in health care. Altering a doctor's note without permission would upset doctors... especially when the dentists have prescription authority.

I sympathize with the circumstances and the shame you felt, but you so cannot make this error at the end of your undergrad phase. You did not tell us how you were referred to the student conduct dean so I'm missing a lot of information that would point to how the professor/s discovered the fprgery.

If there is some time between the incident and your application, it may soften the blow, and you could get in.

 

[anonmon]

How was the semester suspension documented in the Student conduct office? Or was it a leave of absence? There is a document trail, and you need to know what it is. At minimum, you shouldn't be paying tuition or getting financial aid for the semester away, so there must be signatures.

Altering a legal document is (most probably) a student conduct violation. Work with the conduct dean to phrase your answer properly. Work with counseling services on the statement if you need help avoiding mentioning the assault in more detail. Regardless of how it is documented, you should do what is honorable and disclose it, including the student conduct dean.

To be frank, this is something that could disqualify you from an offer, or probably working in health care. Altering a doctor's note without permission would upset doctors... especially when the dentists have prescription authority.

I sympathize with the circumstances and the shame you felt, but you so cannot make this error at the end of your undergrad phase. You did not tell us how you were referred to the student conduct dean so I'm missing a lot of information that would point to how the professor/s discovered the fprgery.

If there is some time between the incident and your application, it may soften the blow, and you could get in.

Thank you so much for your response. I am unclear if it was a leave or absence or a suspension because it isn't shown on my transcript as a suspension. When you say "work with the conduct dean to phrase your answer properly" do you mean ask him what I should say on my application? I feel as though if I ask him, he will say that it is up to me on what I want to disclose on my application. When it comes to the student conduct dean finding out, he just immediately reached out to me with a copy of the note in an email, and I had met with him over zoom that same day to talk to him. I had no contact with my professors regarding this instance. When we spoke on zoom he told me he saw that my mental health was in an unstable state and that it was causing me to make poor decisions so the sanction would be the semester off and a 0 on the attendance grade I submitted the note for. He said that if I objected then I would have to do a committee meeting with the board of academic affairs (I did not object I did not want to escalate the situation.) I am going to contact the deans office to see what paper trail is there, but how would you suggest that I disclose this? It's very difficult because there is no right way to say it but I want to make sure I say it in the best way possible to explain my situation. Since I won't be applying to dental school for a while, I'm hoping the SMP/ Masters will allow mw to prove myself. Please let me know, as any advice would be helpful. Thank you

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you so much for your response. I am unclear if it was a leave or absence or a suspension because it isn't shown on my transcript as a suspension.

When you say "work with the conduct dean to phrase your answer properly" do you mean ask him what I should say on my application? I feel as though if I ask him, he will say that it is up to me on what I want to disclose on my application. When it comes to the student conduct dean finding out, he just immediately reached out to me with a copy of the note in an email, and I had met with him over zoom that same day to talk to him. I had no contact with my professors regarding this instance. When we spoke on zoom he told me he saw that my mental health was in an unstable state and that it was causing me to make poor decisions so the sanction would be the semester off and a 0 on the attendance grade I submitted the note for. He said that if I objected then I would have to do a committee meeting with the board of academic affairs (I did not object I did not want to escalate the situation.) I am going to contact the deans office to see what paper trail is there, but how would you suggest that I disclose this? It's very difficult because there is no right way to say it but I want to make sure I say it in the best way possible to explain my situation. Since I won't be applying to dental school for a while, I'm hoping the SMP/ Masters will allow mw to prove myself. Please let me know, as any advice would be helpful. Thank you

I don't understand the timeline. You had a doctor's note and you changed the date without the doctor's permission. Who received this letter? Someone got this dean involved because I can't see you sending this letter to the dean directly. And the dean wouldn't know about the issue that caused you to change the content of the doctor's letter.

The dean was very helpful by giving you a choice to not involve a formal proceeding. I'm just missing the signatures to let you go on a LOA. The transcript likely won't say you were suspended because you were not placed on a GPA probation; conduct violations usually are not put on transcripts.

You need to have a conversation with this dean about your intentions to apply to dental school and the expectation to disclose this incident as an IA. You will be expected to disclose even if the student conduct office expunges the incident, and the confirmation dean's letter (one you get an offer) needs to confirm every detail of your statement.

SMP/Masters programs only address academic deficiencies, not conduct issues or IAs.

 

[anonmon]

I don't understand the timeline. You had a doctor's note and you changed the date without the doctor's permission. Who received this letter? How did the student conduct dean get involved because you normally don't involve that admin for a LOA or seeking an excuse for class attendance?

The dean was very helpful by giving you a choice to not involve a formal proceeding. I'm just missing the signatures to let you go on a LOA. The transcript likely won't say you were suspended because you were not placed on a GPA probation; conduct violations usually are not put on transcripts.

You need to have a conversation with this dean about your intentions to apply to dental school and the expectation to disclose this incident as an IA. You will be expected to disclose even if the student conduct office expunges the incident, and the confirmation dean's letter (one you get an offer) needs to confirm every detail of your statement.

SMP/Masters programs only address academic deficiencies, not conduct issues or IAs.

Yes, I had a Dr.'s note and the only thing I changed on the note was the date. This letter was sent to my professor so that I wouldn't receive a 0 on my attendance grade. 2 weeks later I heard form the student conduct dean. I assume that my professor sent it to him to verify? At the time he informed me that he called the office and the office confirmed I was not there on the dates that the note had. I would have understood if I tried to skip an exam or quiz but I'm not sure why it was escalated for an attendance grade. The signatures I provided was basically admitting that I sent those notes in and that they were falsely written. I have reached out to the dean to ask what will be disclosed in my file. As for the SMP/ Masters programs, is this instance not considered an academic deficiency? A couple programs have asked if i have been asked to leave the campus due to an academic deficiency, would this be considered as such? Or are they more so referring to an academic suspension regarding a low GPA? I really appreciate all the help Mr.Smile12, I have had a hard time navigating this situation and your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As for the SMP/ Masters programs, is this instance not considered an academic deficiency? A couple programs have asked if i have been asked to leave the campus due to an academic deficiency, would this be considered as such? Or are they more so referring to an academic suspension regarding a low GPA? I really appreciate all the help Mr.Smile12, I have had a hard time navigating this situation and your help is greatly appreciated.

Usually SMPs are best for showing GPA reinvention. Like if you have a science GPA below 3.2 but had finished strong in upper level classes (above 3.8 for consecutive semesters/years). It doesn't absolve you of plagiarism or cheating.

A more honest answer is that you were taking a LOA for mental health repair (so you took the entire semester withdrawal). But you would still have to disclose the IA.

 

[anonmon]

Usually SMPs are best for showing GPA reinvention. Like if you have a science GPA below 3.2 but had finished strong in upper level classes (above 3.8 for consecutive semesters/years). It doesn't absolve you of plagiarism or cheating.

A more honest answer is that you were taking a LOA for mental health repair (so you took the entire semester withdrawal). But you would still have to disclose the IA.

Thank you so much for the helpful advice

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice

Seriously I wish you luck in getting in. Get the help you need with mental health and statements regarding this IA. You also may encounter essays that have you explain any interruptions in your education (like the semester you took off). You express a lot of contrition about the act, and if your undergrad admins are as supportive as you have described, it may make an impression. I can't guarantee it will move your app forward (everything else in your app needs to be strong too).