Academic Honesty Question

[ssassafrass]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

So I have this upper level class that is considered to be one of the more difficult classes for my major. Grades are entirely based on exams and letter grades are assigned using a bell curve. I have been working hard and performing at an average level compared to my peers, which did not feel right.
I recently became aware that this particular professor (only one teaching this class) makes very few changes to his exams each semester, and about 60 percent of the class has the old exams from previous semesters. The problem is that most people do not share the exams or tell anyone about the situation because it may indirectly lower their grade. After recently getting ahold of these exams from a friend and taking the most recent exam, the disadvantage that those without the exams have is amazing. The multiple choice and free response questions are almost all completely identical to those on the previous tests. People that have never been to a class will literally walk out after twenty minutes, and score above a 90 percent on tests where the average is around 50. This lowers the grades of everyone else due to the bell curve.
I have been in similar situations before and understand this is part of college, however, this case is so extreme, and the consequences of failing (potentially needing a 5th year) are big. I have honestly never seen a similar situation become so extreme, and most people who fail(the bottom percentage) will most definitely do so because of this.
This doesnt effect me too much anymore since I will probably end up with a B now that I have the exams, this is my last hard class, and my gpa will probably fall to 3.95 something which does not bother me. I just feel like giving the exams to everyone else(but dont want to get into trouble) since I think its unfair how much of a disadvantage they are at, its not right at all. The instructor must either not care at all/be lazy, or be very oblivious/stupid because it seems so obvious. I don't know what to do, anyone?

 

[Doug Underhill]

Are you certain that using the old exam to study is a violation of the honor code?

I've had classes where the instructor has put old exams on the website for students to use. The AAMC uploads old MCAT exams for students to study with (and pay exorbitant amounts of $ for)

 

[ssassafrass]

Are you certain that using the old exam to study is a violation of the honor code?

I've had classes where the instructor has put old exams on the website for students to use. The AAMC uploads old MCAT exams for students to study with (and pay exorbitant amounts of $ for)

Yeah I have had instructors like that as well, one actually put the exact midterm exam online, but everyone had equal access. Also aamc will not sell you a mcat test that is currently being used. In my situation about 80 percent of the questions on the old exams are identical, down to the numbers and everything. the other 20 percent are easily answered in the time you save by having the other answers.

 

[kraskadva]

My $0.02...

I don't consider using old tests to study academic dishonesty, even when the prof reuses questions, because it's the prof's responsibility to write new exams. If they choose not to do so, while handing back the exams every year, then that's on them.

That said... in many of these cases it ends up being a situation like the spartan and the fox. You've got this thing that will help you, and everybody might know tacitly that you have it, but you're not supposed to let on that you have it. And the last thing you need right now is some prof throwing a fit because you point out his inefficiencies as a teacher through this and him getting you in trouble. (This same thing happened to somebody last year at my school).
So- keep the tests, use the tests, but don't let on that you have the tests- i.e. don't study with them in public where he might see you and don't go handing them out indiscriminately to the rest of the class. Because you never know who might get their panties in a bunch and go point the finger at you.

 

[efle]

Anonymously email your schools council on academic integrity (create a new email and send through a VPN or just from some coffee shop). Tell them the situation and attach a copy of the previous exams. They will contact the prof and you will either see the exams get put online for everyone or he will have to finally write some new exams. The current situation is exactly the kind of thing the academic integrity board is meant to correct, you cannot have some students getting a giant leg up like this.

All of you telling him to use the exams and keep quiet - i sincerely hope you do not carry your current moral code with you into medicine.

 

[C.S. Peirce]

In my opinion, OP, I think you should AT LEAST lose the old exams, not use any of the ones after this, and not associate with the people using the other exams as 'study aids.' If you want to go beyond that, I think @efle's advice might work, though I understand that may open up a can of worms you might not be comfortable with.

This might not be cheating, but it is at the very least cheating-adjacent. Your professor doesn't seem to intend for you to use past exams as study aids (if he did, he would at least be changing the numbers in his questions, changing questions, etc.) Are other people using the old exams and wrecking the curve? That's their prerogative; you don't need to do the same. Study hard and try your best to learn the material, and if you walk out with a C that's a small price to pay for being a decent person.

So- keep the tests, use the tests, but don't let on that you have the tests- i.e. don't study with them in public where he might see you and don't go handing them out indiscriminately to the rest of the class.

If you're ever engaging in an activity that requires this much discretion (and the activity doesn't involve your genitalia or classified documents), it's probably a good indication that what you're doing is wrong. The vulpini and the Hellenes notwithstanding.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

You may feel like it's an unfair advantage, but the fault lies in the professor. They're not stupid--they know that somewhere down the line, upperclassmen who are friends with lowerclassmen may pass along old exams. This isn't a new or revolutionary concept. By not changing the exam, they're knowingly taking the risk. It's similar to professors who copy paste all of their questions from testbanks--is it really the student's fault for trying to use every resource they can? I don't think so. I do think, however, that it is your responsibility to actually learn the material and not just memorize the old exam. If the professor happened to randomly switch it up, it would be your fault for not studying.

 

[efle]

In my opinion, OP, I think you should AT LEAST lose the old exams, not use any of the ones after this, and not associate with the people using the other exams as 'study aids.' If you want to go beyond that, I think @efle's advice might work, though I understand that may open up a can of worms you might not be comfortable with.

This might not be cheating, but it is at the very least cheating-adjacent. Your professor doesn't seem to intend for you to use past exams as study aids (if he did, he would at least be changing the numbers in his questions, changing questions, etc.) Are other people using the old exams and wrecking the curve? That's their prerogative; you don't need to do the same. Study hard and try your best to learn the material, and if you walk out with a C that's a small price to pay for being a decent person.



If you're ever engaging in an activity that requires this much discretion (and the activity doesn't involve your genitalia or classified documents), it's probably a good indication that what you're doing is wrong. The vulpini and the Hellenes notwithstanding.

It really isn't enough to just lose the exams. Sitting by and watching half the class cheat, while people doing it the honest way are punished on a curve, should not be palatable to any of you. OP, you have a responsibility to alert the necessary people (academic integrity board) about this so it does not continue.

You may feel like it's an unfair advantage, but the fault lies in the professor. They're not stupid--they know that somewhere down the line, upperclassmen who are friends with lowerclassmen may pass along old exams. This isn't a new or revolutionary concept. By not changing the exam, they're knowingly taking the risk. It's similar to professors who copy paste all of their questions from testbanks--is it really the student's fault for trying to use every resource they can? I don't think so. I do think, however, that it is your responsibility to actually learn the material and not just memorize the old exam. If the professor happened to randomly switch it up, it would be your fault for not studying.

If the professor is really aware and fine with this happening, then he needs to upload the exams to blackboard/his website so that anybody willing to put in the time has access to the same resources, just like anybody can go online to look up similar testbank questions. It is not ok for student A to do better than student B just because A's big brother was in the right frat and had some saved exams, etc. If the professor has a policy of not releasing prior exams to his students, then it is cheating to find those prior exams somewhere and use them to study, especially in a class with any sort of curve.

 

[Goro]

Concur. If the professor is giving the exams out, they're fair game, and it's on him to make new exams. He's not really helping his students because they're just memorizing the correct answers, instead of actually learning anything.

If it's that much of a concern, bring it up with the professor.

Are you certain that using the old exam to study is a violation of the honor code?

I've had classes where the instructor has put old exams on the website for students to use. The AAMC uploads old MCAT exams for students to study with (and pay exorbitant amounts of $ for)

 

[efle]

Concur. If the professor is giving the exams out, they're fair game, and it's on him to make new exams. He's not really helping his students because they're just memorizing the correct answers, instead of actually learning anything.

If it's that much of a concern, bring it up with the professor.

He isn't giving them out.

 

[Goro]

"60 percent of the class has the old exams from previous semesters."

So they're stolen? How are students getting ahold of them?

He isn't giving them out.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

It is not ok for student A to do better than student B just because A's big brother was in the right frat and had some saved exams

This is kind of how life is in general though. OP shouldn't feel guilty because like I said, I doubt the professor is dim enough to not think of old students passing exams on. Either he shouldn't give them back or actually do his job and change the questions.

 

[General knowledge]

I had a similar situation. Here is what i did. I took old,real one,scanned it into the computer and put all new questions in place of the previous ones. I then gave this new exam that i had made too a good amount of students and i was sure to tell them, dont show this to anyone and don't tell anyone about it(so they dont find out its not real).

Do this.
Oh,yeah and dont feel bad because they wanted to cheat.

 

[shtumpa]

I had the same situation. The test was stolen and three quarters of the class had it. I send an anonymous email to the professor that people had it. I also sent emails to my classmates because I felt bad screwing them when the prof brought in a completely different exam.

 

[shtumpa]

create a new gmail account just for this

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

I had a similar situation. Here is what i did. I took old,real one,scanned it into the computer and put all new questions in place of the previous ones. I then gave this new exam that i had made too a good amount of students and i was sure to tell them, dont show this to anyone and don't tell anyone about it(so they dont find out its not real).

Do this.
Oh,yeah and dont feel bad because they wanted to cheat.

Holy ****ing gunning.....

Now this seems wrong.

 

[efle]

"60 percent of the class has the old exams from previous semesters."

So they're stolen? How are students getting ahold of them?

Usually frat or sorority members will sneak out a copy by going to the bathroom with the test or taking pics of it, etc. It then gets shared among the frat and their good friends and eventually (if you're lucky) trickles out to the majority of the class. It's cheating pure and simple, but since everybody's doing it, some people think it's ok.

 

[shtumpa]

I had the same situation. The test was stolen and three quarters of the class had it. I send an anonymous email to the professor that people had it. I also sent emails to my classmates because I felt bad screwing them when the prof brought in a completely different exam.

I should really tell you the ending: The prof just gave the same test. He didn't give a **** and was too lazy to make a new one. The avg. score was in the mid 90's.

 

[General knowledge]

I should really tell you the ending: The prof just gave the same test. He didn't give a **** and was too lazy to make a new one. The avg. score was in the mid 90's.

Hes an idiot if he didn't realize that u guys cheated. Stats?

 

[shtumpa]

It was the only experience I had with cheating; some of my professors were so paranoid they would only show you the test one-on-one for a few minutes. I even had one who hand-wrote new orgo tests every year!

 

[efle]

It was the only experience I had with cheating; some of my professors were so paranoid they would only show you the test one-on-one for a few minutes. I even had one who hand-wrote new orgo tests every year!

Same here, my profs either write brand new questions every year or guard their exams very closely and require them or a TA to be with you whenever looking at one. It would be absolutely ridiculous for a professor to knowingly ignore cheating and award the entire class As.

 

[Boolean]

Be careful of falling into a routine. We had this happen in one of my classes and the professor changed all the questions on the final. A majority of the class ended up failing the course.

 

[DoctorSynthesis]

"60 percent of the class has the old exams from previous semesters."

So they're stolen? How are students getting ahold of them?

Usually the frats have them at my school. My motto is I can still beat my classmates even if they have the exam. This exact things constantly happens at my school. I tend to avoid these profs.

 

[efle]

Be careful of falling into a routine. We had this happen in one of my classes and the professor changed all the questions on the final. A majority of the class ended up failing the course.

Boolean, I'm not mad, just disappointed.

Usually the frats have them at my school. My motto is I can still beat my classmates even if they have the exam. This exact things constantly happens at my school. I tend to avoid these profs.

This (frats having an archive of old homeworks/labs/exams) is universal, though some schools do a better job fighting/punishing it in clear cases of cheating than others.

Few things get me agitated. Hearing about people make great grades by looking up exam answers ahead of time to beat honest peers on a curve is one of them. For Christ's sake people, how is this not clearly seen as one of the most unethical things you could do as a student?

 

[Boolean]

Boolean, I'm not mad, just disappointed.




This (frats having an archive of old homeworks/labs/exams) is universal, though some schools do a better job fighting/punishing it in clear cases of cheating than others.

Few things get me agitated. Hearing about people make great grades by looking up exam answers ahead of time to beat honest peers on a curve is one of them. For Christ's sake people, how is this not clearly seen as one of the most unethical things you could do as a student?

I got a 97 in the course. Attended office hours enough and discussed with the professor about it. I felt no need to use the old exams, I figured if I was paying, I might as well learn the content 😛

 

[kraskadva]

Usually frat or sorority members will sneak out a copy by going to the bathroom with the test or taking pics of it, etc. It then gets shared among the frat and their good friends and eventually (if you're lucky) trickles out to the majority of the class. It's cheating pure and simple, but since everybody's doing it, some people think it's ok.

Ah, I see now why you're so against this. I wouldn't condone this type of situation either. I go to a small school where it's kinda impossible to do what you're describing.

What I was referring to earlier, and what it sounded to me like the OP was saying was the case, is a situation where the prof had handed back the exams in previous years and those old exams were getting passed on.
When the exams are getting handed back, I don't consider it cheating to get an old copy. And since I'm at a small school, and know my professors pretty well, I tend to just tell them up front at the beginning of the semester that I have the previous year's exams. I like having the old tests as study guides, but I also go in expecting that the test will have been rewritten from last year, i.e. having learned the material, albeit in a more guided way.

It seems to me that there are 3 different scenarios being discussed here:
1) Test gets handed back and a good professor rewrites the exam every year (I think most of us would be okay with this, but it doesn't seem to be the case here)
2) Test gets handed back and lazy professor doesn't rewrite the exam
3) Test is stolen, not handed back, and professor (lazy, or lacking in foresight) doesn't rewrite the exam

It's not clear whether 2 or 3 is the case in the OP's situation.
So I suppose the answer depends in part on how the OP got the tests- were they handed back previously or were they stolen.
If they were stolen, then I absolutely would agree with you that OP should go to the chair or the academic integrity committee with this.
However, if they were not stolen, then a polite word with the professor about rewriting exams may be sufficient.

 

[efle]

Ah, I see now why you're so against this. I wouldn't condone this type of situation either. I go to a small school where it's kinda impossible to do what you're describing.

What I was referring to earlier, and what it sounded to me like the OP was saying was the case, is a situation where the prof had handed back the exams in previous years and those old exams were getting passed on.
When the exams are getting handed back, I don't consider it cheating to get an old copy. And since I'm at a small school, and know my professors pretty well, I tend to just tell them up front at the beginning of the semester that I have the previous year's exams. I like having the old tests as study guides, but I also go in expecting that the test will have been rewritten from last year, i.e. having learned the material, albeit in a more guided way.

It seems to me that there are 3 different scenarios being discussed here:
1) Test gets handed back and a good professor rewrites the exam every year (I think most of us would be okay with this, but it doesn't seem to be the case here)
2) Test gets handed back and lazy professor doesn't rewrite the exam
3) Test is stolen, not handed back, and professor (lazy, or lacking in foresight) doesn't rewrite the exam

It's not clear whether 2 or 3 is the case in the OP's situation.
So I suppose the answer depends in part on how the OP got the tests- were they handed back previously or were they stolen.
If they were stolen, then I absolutely would agree with you that OP should go to the chair or the academic integrity committee with this.
However, if they were not stolen, then a polite word with the professor about rewriting exams may be sufficient.

Right, I totally agree it's fine if the professor puts the exams on blackboard or something and fully intends for people to study with them.

If OP's professor was willing to give access to old exams and it shifted people's scores up from 60's into the 90's, everyone would be using them. Only about half are, and they "do not share the exams or tell anyone about the situation". Pretty clearly a #3 we're talking about, which is a pretty common situation at big uni's with greek life.

 

[Doctor Bob]

This sort of thing happens in med school as well... professors re-use exams year after year or have 4-5 that they rotate through. And test banks from previous years can be found/purchased/etc. Some clubs sell exam-banks.

I will say that I can pick out the students who primarily studied from previous exams. There's a clinical knowledge gap that's fairly significant. There's a difference between knowing the right answer to a test, and knowing why something is the right answer. And in clinical medicine that makes a big difference.

 

[kraskadva]

Right, I totally agree it's fine if the professor puts the exams on blackboard or something and fully intends for people to study with them.

If OP's professor was willing to give access to old exams and it shifted people's scores up from 60's into the 90's, everyone would be using them. Only about half are, and they "do not share the exams or tell anyone about the situation". Pretty clearly a #3 we're talking about, which is a pretty common situation at big uni's with greek life.

That may be, but the OP said nothing about being at a big uni or getting the tests from a frat. So I'll give him/her the benefit of the doubt for the moment before jumping to judgemental conclusions.
After all there are a lot more small schools out there than big ones...

 

[efle]

This sort of thing happens in med school as well... professors re-use exams year after year or have 4-5 that they rotate through. And test banks from previous years can be found/purchased/etc. Some clubs sell exam-banks.

I will say that I can pick out the students who primarily studied from previous exams. There's a clinical knowledge gap that's fairly significant. There's a difference between knowing the right answer to a test, and knowing why something is the right answer. And in clinical medicine that makes a big difference.

Good to hear there's a visible difference somewhere down the road, since at the moment Frat Bro Who Cheated and Studious Good Student get identical marks on their transcript.

 

[efle]

That may be, but the OP said nothing about being at a big uni or getting the tests from a frat. So I'll give him/her the benefit of the doubt for the moment before jumping to judgemental conclusions.
After all there are a lot more small schools out there than big ones...

Fair point. Time to deliver @ssassafrass , did these past exams get handed out by the prof or did someone sneak them out and disseminate them? Makes a BIG difference in whether what you're observing is academic dishonesty or not

 

[ssassafrass]

Fair point. Time to deliver @ssassafrass , did these past exams get handed out by the prof or did someone sneak them out and disseminate them? Makes a BIG difference in whether what you're observing is academic dishonesty or not

1. The tests were handed back previous years, but the class is offered one time a year. I know some people from a different major that seemed to all be aware of the situation, one kid even tried to sell me the old exams. But everyone I have talked to in my major, including close friends, had no idea and their exam scores reflected this. It is almost as if you need to have the right friend group to even know it was going on as I didn't believe it when I was told at first. I started to believe it when I went from the kid usually setting the curve to someone performing dead average. I also observed that people either got near 90%+ or about 50%, I never really saw many people between. This indicated something was going on.
2. I mean when I first told friends that didn't know the situation, they did not believe me and thought I was crazy; until I showed them an exam. I don't know if I was just extra observant or they weren't.
3. I do not know if the prof even looks at his test results or just has his TAs do everything.^ Or maybe he is too focused on his research he doesn't notice or care.
4. I understand if it was less of an advantage having the exams, but in this situation it is such a huge advantage that people will literally fail the class and have to wait until next year to take it and graduate as a result. You can be a top performing student and still have an extremely difficult time getting a B or C without the exams, when those who have them literally walk out 30min early. I am not worried about myself as I am a straight A student and can take a B/C my senior year and it wont really affect me, its my peers that are getting screwed over I feel sorry for.
I don't see how the prof could be aware this is happening and still show up every day like nothing is wrong, or even feel right about it. People are paying money for these classes after all and getting screwed big time as I do not see how the average C student could pass without the exams.

 

[efle]

1. The tests were handed back previous years, but the class is offered one time a year. I know some people from a different major that seemed to all be aware of the situation, one kid even tried to sell me the old exams. But everyone I have talked to in my major, including close friends, had no idea and their exam scores reflected this. It is almost as if you need to have the right friend group to even know it was going on as I didn't believe it when I was told at first. I started to believe it when I went from the kid usually setting the curve to someone performing dead average. I also observed that people either got near 90%+ or about 50%, I never really saw many people between. This indicated something was going on.
2. I mean when I first told friends that didn't know the situation, they did not believe me and thought I was crazy; until I showed them an exam. I don't know if I was just extra observant or they weren't.
3. I do not know if the prof even looks at his test results or just has his TAs do everything.^ Or maybe he is too focused on his research he doesn't notice or care.
4. I understand if it was less of an advantage having the exams, but in this situation it is such a huge advantage that people will literally fail the class and have to wait until next year to take it and graduate as a result. You can be a top performing student and still have an extremely difficult time getting a B or C without the exams, when those who have them literally walk out 30min early. I am not worried about myself as I am a straight A student and can take a B/C my senior year and it wont really affect me, its my peers that are getting screwed over I feel sorry for.
I don't see how the prof could be aware this is happening and still show up every day like nothing is wrong, or even feel right about it. People are paying money for these classes after all and getting screwed big time as I do not see how the average C student could pass without the exams.

Yeah this still seems ambiguous regarding academic dishonesty, and at the very least seems quite unfair and unethical on both the profs part (if he is aware of this) and the people using previous exams without freely sharing with everyone. If he did hand back the exams and let people walk away with them, he surely knew this would happen, and just doesn't care.

If I were in your shoes, I'd consider two options.

1) Anonymously alert the academic honesty peeps and let them sort things out. Even if nothing gets fixed, you at least tried, and can sleep soundly while your university turns a blind eye and ****s honest students over.
2) Anonymously or in person show the prof that his past exams are being circulated and ask that he put them online and announce their availability to the class so that everyone, not just a lucky few, have access to the best study resources.

Personally I'd go for #1 because I think this stinks of cheating (like he may have agreed to let past students look over their tests but did not expect them to steal/duplicate them for future students). Just don't do nothing.

 

[mehc012]

It was the only experience I had with cheating; some of my professors were so paranoid they would only show you the test one-on-one for a few minutes. I even had one who hand-wrote new orgo tests every year!

Is...is that not the default?
Our profs almost never reused exam questions. Everyone was able to keep their exams when handed back, and there was no concern about cheating because the profs were always making new ones (though they were mostly take-home closed note, so there was some level of trust in the students anyway, which I never once saw or heard tell of being violated in my 4 years there). They usually made old tests available to us. If they did reuse, it was on a looong rotation.

It also made the 'is this on the exam' question easy, because the question was almost always "Dunno, still writing it" (with an implied, but sometimes explicit 'but if you keep asking that annoying question when you just don't want to learn something, I'll make sure those topics ARE.')

Seriously people, is it actually this common? Are people that freaking desperate for grades that they will learn the test rather than just learn the material (which is usually waaaay more interesting anyway!) Do they really have that little respect for their profs and their peers? That's depressing.
SDN always finds ways to make me miss my alma mater.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Your professor may not want to teach, but is forced to by university requirements. As a result, he may be refusing to make new exams.

I've had professors like this before.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

1. The tests were handed back previous years, but the class is offered one time a year. I know some people from a different major that seemed to all be aware of the situation, one kid even tried to sell me the old exams. But everyone I have talked to in my major, including close friends, had no idea and their exam scores reflected this. It is almost as if you need to have the right friend group to even know it was going on as I didn't believe it when I was told at first. I started to believe it when I went from the kid usually setting the curve to someone performing dead average. I also observed that people either got near 90%+ or about 50%, I never really saw many people between. This indicated something was going on.
2. I mean when I first told friends that didn't know the situation, they did not believe me and thought I was crazy; until I showed them an exam. I don't know if I was just extra observant or they weren't.
3. I do not know if the prof even looks at his test results or just has his TAs do everything.^ Or maybe he is too focused on his research he doesn't notice or care.
4. I understand if it was less of an advantage having the exams, but in this situation it is such a huge advantage that people will literally fail the class and have to wait until next year to take it and graduate as a result. You can be a top performing student and still have an extremely difficult time getting a B or C without the exams, when those who have them literally walk out 30min early. I am not worried about myself as I am a straight A student and can take a B/C my senior year and it wont really affect me, its my peers that are getting screwed over I feel sorry for.
I don't see how the prof could be aware this is happening and still show up every day like nothing is wrong, or even feel right about it. People are paying money for these classes after all and getting screwed big time as I do not see how the average C student could pass without the exams.

This is definitely the professor's fault without a doubt. He's being careless and lazy. If it really bothers you so much about other people doing poorly, then you should just talk to the guy. In my Orgo class, like 1/4 of the students had the old exam for the first one we had taken, and I don't know who or why, but someone told him they had the old exam. He was cool about it, didn't get mad, just posted the old exams on Blackboard for everyone. Didn't change his new tests either.

 

[kraskadva]

Right then, I'd say not academic dishonesty. If the tests got handed back then they're fair game.
Unfortunately you also seem to have a crap professor.

Personal story to illustrate where I'm coming from:
At my small school, the bio majors trade old tests like no tomorrow (none of which are stolen, just old exams that were handed back). All the Bio profs know (whether or not they publicly acknowledge it, make tests available themselves, etc.) and so all of them either rewrite their tests or go to rigorous lengths to make sure the old tests are not passed out or stolen. The chem majors are not so friendly with each other and most never have the idea cross their minds. The Chem profs still mostly rewrite their exams. I'm biochem, so I see both groups.

One though, the PChem prof, did not rewrite her tests for at least 5 years. She also regularly fails 30% her class of ~10 every year, forcing them to repeat, and both handed back exams and posted answer keys outside her office for years. So it was not difficult at all for someone with foresight to either get the old exam or take pictures of the answer key the year before taking the class. This was fairly common knowledge, and as the PChem class tends to study together out of necessity, there was typically an old exam floating around that people could look at.
Last year, one student made the mistake of studying from an old exam openly in front of this professor and she blew up. Called it cheating (even though she had handed back and posted old exams without rewriting) and failed him for the course. The chair let that stand unfortunately, but still yelled at her and now she is forced to rewrite her exams.
I'm taking it this year, I have the old exams and I told her the first week. And then proceeded to give them to some of the students who I knew didn't have them. We're all passing, in a normal distribution.

You don't want to be the one who gets the shaft for this if the professor irrationally blows up.
However, I totally understand not wanting everyone else to be disadvantaged in this.

So...
How reasonable/accessible does the professor seem?
If s/he seems reasonable, then I would suggest an email or conversation with him/her to explain the situation and politely ask that the old exams are either posted for everyone or that the tests are rewritten (or both).
If the prof seems unreasonable, then your best course to even the playing field may be contacting the chair or academic committee. Anonymously or not I think would depend on the degree of unreasonableness.

And best of luck.

 

[ssassafrass]

Yeah this still seems ambiguous regarding academic dishonesty, and at the very least seems quite unfair and unethical on both the profs part (if he is aware of this) and the people using previous exams without freely sharing with everyone. If he did hand back the exams and let people walk away with them, he surely knew this would happen, and just doesn't care.

If I were in your shoes, I'd consider two options.

1) Anonymously alert the academic honesty peeps and let them sort things out. Even if nothing gets fixed, you at least tried, and can sleep soundly while your university turns a blind eye and ****s honest students over.
2) Anonymously or in person show the prof that his past exams are being circulated and ask that he put them online and announce their availability to the class so that everyone, not just a lucky few, have access to the best study resources.

Personally I'd go for #1 because I think this stinks of cheating (like he may have agreed to let past students look over their tests but did not expect them to steal/duplicate them for future students). Just don't do nothing.

I like this and its probably what I will end up doing. Just wanted to see what other people thought before I did anything.

 

[mehc012]

I like this and its probably what I will end up doing. Just wanted to see what other people thought before I did anything.

Or option 3:
Anonymously email the entire class copies of the old tests.

Personally, I'd email the prof, but then, it sounds like your school/class/profs are very different from mine.