Cheating Allegations

[tori150150150]

Hi everyone,

I go to a prestigious college on the East Coast.
I recently received my grades and they were excellent, but my physics grade was "NA." I thought this was strange, but the next day the professor email blaming me for Honor Code violation, specifically claiming that the errors present in the solution manual are also seen in my homework. Due to course policy, this is a violation because we were told not to use the manual. However, I haven't used a solution manual for that class in my life! I am not guiltily by any means. I did not use the internet to find answers either.

Anyways, what makes me **** bricks is that I began my med school application cycle. Getting Institutional Action right now will just bomb me. I always felt that the professor disliked me, but he is "well reputed." He did suck at lecturing, so I made my point not to go to lectures and instead studying physics all by myself. I think this issue is personal of many levels. YET it still does not explain why some errors match up. I ****ing have NO clue. So WHAT am I supposed to do to help myself? What can I say? The hearing is next week.

Obviously saying "I didn't do it." is not a strong argument/

Please help out guys

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[md-2020]

the next day the professor email blaming me for Honor Code violation, specifically claiming that the errors present in the solution manual are also seen in my homework. Due to course policy, this is a violation because we were told not to use the manual. However, I haven't used a solution manual for that class in my life! I am not guiltily by any means. I did not use the internet to find answers either.
...
I think this issue is personal of many levels. YET it still does not explain why some errors match up. I ****ing have NO clue.
...
Obviously saying "I didn't do it." is not a strong argument/

Please help out guys

So...you have zero proof while the well-respected professor has literally caught you red handed?

Good luck with that.

 

[nwts]

I would think you would want to try to get more specifics so that you can better make your case. When he says "errors present in the solution manual are also present in yours," how many errors are we talking about, how unique are they (i.e. how likely would a person be to make that error if they had never seen someone do it like that before), and how similar were your solutions to the ones in the manual overall? If your answers do in fact look nearly identical to the solutions manual, then all you can do is tell them that you honest to goodness didn't look at the manual and then hope for the best. If there are significant differences between the manual and your solutions, point that out.

 

[neuroguy9]

um talk with the administration or the office that handles student complaints.

 

[popopopop]

Can you give an example?

 

[Lawpy]

the professor email blaming me for Honor Code violation, specifically claiming that the errors present in the solution manual are also seen in my homework.

You need to elaborate on this because there are many ways to solve a physics problem. For your professor to have confidently claimed that your errors somehow exactly matched with the solution manual errors provides a pretty strong case that you used the solution manual for solving the problems.

 

[GrapesofRath]

As is the tradition with what are now these almost daily threads(yes daily) there is more to this story than the OP is leading on and there are things being left out that are rather important.

Just sit back and watch as this thread devolves and until the OP slowly starts spilling the details and the key facts that are missing here.

 

[tori150150150]

the above statement is what he wrote and the solution below is what i submitted months ago that he just pulled out of somewhere. like i dont know/remember why the number changed?

 

[padfootmd]

.

 

[NotYou20]

Are there examples where your answers (probably wrong ones) differ from the solutions manual? I think you're going to have to use those, assuming they exist, to show that you didn't cheat. From your op it looks like there's more than one occasion where your answer contains the same answer. That's going to make this tough.

 

[Lawpy]

the above statement is what he wrote and the solution below is what i submitted months ago that he just pulled out of somewhere. like i dont know/remember why the number changed?

Well he's right given what's presented. Saying "I don't know" doesn't help because the evidence is there and says otherwise.

 

[tori150150150]

Well he's right given what's presented. Saying "I don't know" doesn't help because the evidence is there and says otherwise.

WOW! This helps so much, tell me more!

Why the need to state the obvious?
Rather an advice would help

 

[Lawpy]

WOW! This helps so much, tell me more!

Why the need to state the obvious?
Rather an advice would help

I mean, he even illustrated why he presented the case of cheating so it doesn't mean he was in the side of error. All you can do is basically continue pleading ignorance and hope you won't get creamed/slammed with an IA of cheating.

And by that, try to emphasize it was a slip up in changing one number from another and that you managed to get a similar answer.

 

[JustAPhD]

I'd have to assume that there were multiple examples of this throughout your HW that led your prof to this conclusion.
Or if I were a betting man (I am) I would put some money on that there's more to this story/this student-professor dynamic.

But seriously you're going to need a better answer to this than "I don't know" or you're effectively toast.

 

[kamakazi5]

I really can't help in the situation but how did you not know about this until the course was finished and you received your grades? Some details have to be missing from this story.

 

[lalex]

IDK like let's be honest, you probably did cheat. But the professor using this one tiny instance from homework is ridiculous.

Was 1.09 rounded up from 1.08xxxx? Maybe that's how you got 1.08, I do that all the time by accident.

 

[Lawpy]

I'd have to assume that there were multiple examples of this throughout your HW that led your prof to this conclusion.
Or if I were a betting man (I am) I would put some money on that there's more to this story/this student-professor dynamic.

But seriously you're going to need a better answer to this than "I don't know" or you're effectively toast.

I agree but I was continuing to look at OP's homework answers and I can't help but feel that she did use the solution manual. Look at part b) for example. The problem started out by automatically expressing the unknown variable R in terms of the known variables I and M. And OP forgot to add a square root sign in the expression but somehow got the right answer?

 

[lalex]

No offense OP, but you're screwed.

 

[DrBowtie]

Looks like you'll need to Alford plea this one.

 

[JustAPhD]

I agree but I was continuing to look at OP's homework answers and I can't help but feel that she did use the solution manual. Look at part b) for example. The problem started out by automatically expressing the unknown variable R in terms of the known variables I and M. And OP forgot to add a square root sign in the expression but somehow got the right answer?

Good catch. Yeah that's pretty damning IMO.

So why is your prof suddenly looking over your HW from months ago? Surely your prof didn't see this at the time and wait until final grades were posted to bring this up.

 

[wagonwheel23]

if you didn't cheat, get yourself a copy of the answer keys and highlight all your answers that don't match the manual.

If you did cheat, that probably won't work.

 

[lalex]

OP, how many problems were you accused of?

Also why is he making such a big deal about homework? How much was it worth?
Also, how did you do on exams?

It's the (few) times like these I'm glad my classes don't factor in homework.

 

[nwts]

The changing of one digit and one digit only is not crazy, glaring proof of cheating, but it still is not clear exactly how close your solutions are to the solution manual. If all of them are nearly identical, then that combined with the fact that you made the same minor mistake as the solution manual provides a pretty strong case against you. It's hard to say how strong of a case you can make without knowing what the situation is with the rest of your solutions. Also, it looks like the screenshot you have of what your professor said about your answer to that problem was just one item on a numbered list. If it was in fact a list, what were the other things he listed? Were they further evidence that pointed to cheating? Again, it's kind of hard to help you figure out what you can do without knowing all the details of the situation.

 

[Lawpy]

The changing of one digit and one digit only is not crazy, glaring proof of cheating, but it still is not clear exactly how close your solutions are to the solution manual. If all of them are nearly identical, then that combined with the fact that you made the same minor mistake as the solution manual provides a pretty strong case against you. It's hard to say how strong of a case you can make without knowing what the situation is with the rest of your solutions. Also, it looks like the screenshot you have of what your professor said about your answer to that problem was just one item on a numbered list. If it was in fact a list, what were the other things he listed? Were they further evidence that pointed to cheating? Again, it's kind of hard to help you figure out what you can do without knowing all the details of the situation.

We know the professor has at least 3 instances when OP's snapshot listed the given accusation as #3. However, it looks like the prof was just getting started

 

[terra330]

Was 1.09 rounded up from 1.08xxxx? Maybe that's how you got 1.08, I do that all the time by accident.

At least in this example, that doesn't appear to be the case. 1.09 seems to be rounded down from 1.09xxx.

If OP didn't use the solution manual, he/she probably got help from someone who did.

 

[lalex]

At least in this example, that doesn't appear to be the case. 1.09 seems to be rounded down from 1.09xxx.

If OP didn't use the solution manual, he probably got help from someone who did.

Thanks for doing the calculation!
I never understood why people who clearly cheated come here and lie. How can SDN possibly help them without the facts?

 

[candbgirl]

WOW! This helps so much, tell me more!

Why the need to state the obvious?
Rather an advice would help

No need to be rude OP.

OP don't get nasty when you meet with the Disciplinary Committee. People here are trying to help you but you aren't giving us much to work with.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

OP, look at it this way. You are failing to convince us, mostly students, who want to help you. How do you expect to convince a diciplinary committee?

 

[whatever5]

Do you have any wrong answers in your homework? Have you shown your work in formats that don't match the solutions manual? If so, get to work on these instances and present them as evidence for your hearing.

What you have shown us makes a good case for you either having cheated or being the most unlucky person in the world, but if there are multiple examples like this (which I'm assuming there are, as he numbered the list and this is item 3), then I hate to say it but the shoe fits.

 

[DokterMom]

What DID you use to study from? Bring that with you --
I could see how your approach to solving the problems could match the solution manual, but to have the same 'typos' and to get the work wrong in another instance, but the answer still right? The nature of the mistakes supports your professor's case much more than it does yours...

 

[w0rldw3y3d]

Something just doesn't seem right about how OP is presenting the case. Idk.

 

[heybubbaa]

.

 

[El-Rami]

If I saw that, I'd assume you cheated, too. It looks like you copied it down at the last minute or something.

 

[IlDestriero]

You don't randomly make the same typo mistakes as the solution manual and still end up magically getting the right answer even though you left out square roots, changed numbers, etc. It's just not possible. Don't try to argue that. You should get copies of all the evidence against you, not just the listed items, but the whole homework. Then buy the solution book, as I'm sure you don't have one then look for all the differences in your answers and the solution book, including mistakes you made, when you approached problems in different ways, etc. It sounds like your hosed though.
Good luck, you'll need it.
Hopefully you don't have the single sanction honor code I did.

 

[nwts]

We know the professor has at least 3 instances when OP's snapshot listed the given accusation as #3. However, it looks like the prof was just getting started

Yeah, that was the point I was trying to make about the numbered list. OP is asking what he/she should do, but that's hard to say when we don't even know all of the evidence against him/her.

 

[Lannister]

There's definitely more to this story. The only reason the professor would have noticed such a minuscule thing (the change from a 9 to an 8) is if he already had suspicions about the OP and was combing through his/her work to confirm his suspicions. That makes me think that the example OP gave us was probably the least obvious evidence of cheating, and that the other things on the list from the professor make it much more obvious that the OP did indeed cheat. But OP doesn't want us to know that, which begs the question, why even post about this if you aren't going to give us all the information?

 

[efle]

I think the bigger problem is the whole solution appears to be copied directly. Even dismissing the typo...if that occurs repeatedly in your work where you write not a single stroke more nor less than the solution guide, it's damning.

 

[Goro]

I can't sugar coat this OP, your medical career is over.

 

[Lawpy]

I think the bigger problem is the whole solution appears to be copied directly. Even dismissing the typo...if that occurs repeatedly in your work where you write not a single stroke more nor less than the solution guide, it's damning.

That's why the professor (as always) is correct with his accusations that OP cheated. OP tried to distort the claims by attributing to a typo, which was quickly rejected by my hints of the disappearing square root and the answer somehow arranged in an already solved approach. Even with a selectively chosen limiting example, it is clear OP cheated and is trying to avoid the consequences

 

[Hospitalized]

Your only hope, OP, is to bring in your homework with answers written out in full detail. You can only explain this by having work that explains your errors, and does not look exactly like a solutions manual. Unfortunately, you did not do the work, and the solutions manual did, otherwise this would be a very easy problem for you to solve.

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

I have written down questions wrong, or done steps in equations wrong and still arrived at the correct answer before.

Argue that you wrote it down wrong but you still performed the equation as written before. Some sort of mental error. If you can provide any kind of supplementary work that might reinforce your case, bring it. They have to prove you did it rather than you proving your innocence.

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

Okay, this is bothering me: what's up with the unit-less, variable-less 1.4 in the last step?

 

[andybshaker]

OP, to be perfectly honest with you this does not look remotely good. I suspect, as others have alluded to above, that there is more to this story than meets the eye. I suggest that you own up to it immediately and see if you can get it settled with the professor before it goes to the disciplinary board. If you are going to fight this, you MUST be prepared with an explanation that is more than a typo or coincidence. Accept any and all punishments that do not involve a letter in your record.

 

[Lawpy]

Okay, this is bothering me: what's up with the unit-less, variable-less 1.4 in the last step?

It was added there to make sure the final answer was right

 

[GrapesofRath]

Best hope I probably see here is to beg and plead and cry to the professor to take a zero for the entire course and avoid an IA. Academic Honor Committees and the like at schools dont work on an "innoncent until proven guilty" type mentality: if the scales even tip 51-49 in favor of you committing an academic dishonesty, that at many schools is enough for the IA to be granted.

An F will probably keep you out of med school this cycle and perhaps the next cycle or two after. An IA like this will probably keep you out of med school permanently.

 

[deleted393595]

So...you have zero proof while the well-respected professor has literally caught you red handed?

Actually, the exact same thing happened to me in another class. Professor thought I copied from the solution manual because of "similar" errors, but I hadn't. My errors were because I used part of the parameters from Part 1 for Part 2 rather than those given in the solution manual.

Also, I ended up skipping a lot of steps because 1) I started doing that 5 hour long HW 1 hour before class, 2) My calculator could do most of it and because 3) I'm extraordinary lazy and often skip a lot of steps showing work.

Anyways, I ended up having to write a 1 page long email with 10+ bullet points explaining the above, and going piece-by-piece through the evidence. My saving grace was also that I did my entire HW in pen with a lot of work scratched out because of errors on my part, which was proof that I didn't just copy it straight from the solution manual.

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

IDK like let's be honest, you probably did cheat. But the professor using this one tiny instance from homework is ridiculous.

Was 1.09 rounded up from 1.08xxxx? Maybe that's how you got 1.08, I do that all the time by accident.

Actually, the exact same thing happened to me in another class. Professor thought I copied from the solution manual because of "similar" errors, but I hadn't.

Ditto. Id fight this crap until the end; lawyers and all if necessary. He has no real proof as far as we know.

 

[deleted393595]

I think the bigger problem is the whole solution appears to be copied directly. Even dismissing the typo...if that occurs repeatedly in your work where you write not a single stroke more nor less than the solution guide, it's damning.

Then again it looks like one of those easy plug-n'-chug problems where you don't need to show more than a handful of steps. I'm guessing the solution manual took a similar approach

the above statement is what he wrote and the solution below is what i submitted months ago that he just pulled out of somewhere. like i dont know/remember why the number changed?

HOLY CRUD THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FELT WHEN MY PROFESSOR SHOWED ME MY HW AT FIRST. I FEEL YOU BRUH

 

[Glandzburg]

What's the deal with people coming to this anonymous internet forum looking for advice, but not telling the whole story? What does convincing us that you didn't cheat do for you? Why not just skip all the BS and ask how for advice about how to rectify the actual situation?

 

[squishiegiraffe]

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