Institutional Action

[deleted1089118]

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I am currently a second year in undergrad and was reported for "collaboration on exams." I haven't been seen by the school's academic conduct committee yet, but they have been known to push people to admitting even if they are not guilty. Should I switch career paths? Medicine is what I have always wanted to do, and I feel like I just pushed myself out of my dream profession. Be honest, I don't want to waste anymore time or money on something that will simply be a dream. @Goro

 

[LizzyM]

That doesn't sound good but there must be more to the story. Keep in mind that you get to tell the story if you end up with an institutional action that has to be reported. Are you guilty? If yes, what did you do? If no, why were you accused?

It doesn't have to be the end of the road but it will depend on what you did, why you did it, and the amount of time that elapses without further misconduct before you apply.

 

[deleted1089118]

That doesn't sound good but there must be more to the story. Keep in mind that you get to tell the story if you end up with an institutional action that has to be reported. Are you guilty? If yes, what did you do? If no, why were you accused?

It doesn't have to be the end of the road but it will depend on what you did, why you did it, and the amount of time that elapses without further misconduct before you apply.

During COVID open note exams were given in a period of 24 hours to take. I did not collaborate with other students but I did study with them/teach them ways to do the problems easier from Youtube channels, which I feel like is why I have been reported, as we probably have similar answers. Our school's academic integrity committee is swarmed with referrals so they have not emailed me to set up a meeting, but I am pretty sure I will be found guilty, as I don't have a way to prove we didn't work together during the exam. What would the timeline be like? I know I have to report it, but if I were to do a master's program before applying, will it help my case to show more academics without misconduct?

 

[Goro]

During COVID open note exams were given in a period of 24 hours to take. I did not collaborate with other students but I did study with them/teach them ways to do the problems easier from Youtube channels, which I feel like is why I have been reported, as we probably have similar answers. Our school's academic integrity committee is swarmed with referrals so they have not emailed me to set up a meeting, but I am pretty sure I will be found guilty, as I don't have a way to prove we didn't work together during the exam. What would the timeline be like? I know I have to report it, but if I were to do a master's program before applying, will it help my case to show more academics without misconduct?

No. The problem with a cheating charge is that it makes people wonder how much one got away with.

Fight this tooth and nail.

 

[LizzyM]

You can make your case. You can, perhaps, reconstruct a time line with dates and times that you met with your study group. They should need to prove the case that you broke a school rule, not to make you guilty unless you can prove yourself innocent. (It is very hard to prove that something did not happen.) Let's face it, with "open note" exams unless you collaborated and plagiarized so that you all had the same copied answers, it would be hard to make a case for cheating.
Stand up for yourself and don't be railroaded if you didn't do anything wrong.

A masters would be good. So would being a TA, serving on the conduct review board or similar position of trust.

 

[JimKimSlim]

IA sucks. It can sometimes act as a coffee spill on one’s otherwise perfect application.

I’m not saying IA = bye bye to med school, but it’s one more hurdle to an already stressful admissions process. If you are found guilty, you really need to boost your stats, especially more if you’re ORM.

Since there are other students involved, perhaps reach out to them to tell the truth. Also, have character witnesses mail the honor council or its equivalent of your school. You will likely still be found guilty, but the punishment might be light (best outcome = warning with no disciplinary record).

 

[deleted1089118]

You can make your case. You can, perhaps, reconstruct a time line with dates and times that you met with your study group. They should need to prove the case that you broke a school rule, not to make you guilty unless you can prove yourself innocent. (It is very hard to prove that something did not happen.) Let's face it, with "open note" exams unless you collaborated and plagiarized so that you all had the same copied answers, it would be hard to make a case for cheating.
Stand up for yourself and don't be railroaded if you didn't do anything wrong.

A masters would be good. So would being a TA, serving on the conduct review board or similar position of trust.

My school is known for its guilty unless proven innocent. I will try my best but its not looking good.