Please help! I think my professor thinks I cheated…

[tavokeri9]

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[Dizziness and Giddiness]

Leaping to the worst possible conclusion is probably not advisable. Meet with your professor. Just be prepared to explain your situation.

 

[Spector1]

If you didnt cheat, then elevate this issue to the department.

 

[tavokeri9]

Leaping to the worst possible conclusion is probably not advisable. Meet with your professor. Just be prepared to explain your situation.

But how do I explain my situation? In reality it must have looked like we were cheating. We were seated close together and I kept shifting because I knew the guy was looking at my paper and it made me uncomfortable. I'm feeling very scared...this is not what I need the week of finals

 

[tavokeri9]

If you didnt cheat, then elevate this issue to the department.

What can the department do? Will they have a video recording or something of the whole thing? I'm not sure how to approach this situation...

 

[BluMist]

... that escalated quickly, it is not even clear yet that this is about cheating at all

maybe your professor's calendar freed up, and it is easier to discuss in person?
maybe your TA noticed what's happening and wanted to make sure it doesn't appear to go further?
even if it is about cheating, your professor giving you a chance to meet in person is probably the best outcome. would you rather get a F and cheating on your record without any explanation?

in other words, chill. At most, prepare to make a statement, in a calm, mature manner. Appearing nervous and coming up with excuses will just make things look worse.

If you didnt cheat, then elevate this issue to the department.

 

[Dizziness and Giddiness]

I think you just explained it. You can't even be sure your TA accused you. If you weren't cheating, then go meet with the professor to discuss the planned topic and see if the exam is brought up. Don't feel like you need to explain yourself if you're both innocent and not accused. That's just silly.

 

[ndafife]

Wait....

So you weren't ever accused of cheating? And your professor youve been planning to meet with wants to meet?

Holy neuroticism.

 

[TooMuchPressure]

Accusing someone of cheating is the biggest thing you can do. It can ruin a persons career entirely. There needs to be proof that you cheated and if you didn't cheat you will be fine.

 

[tavokeri9]

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[tavokeri9]

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[tavokeri9]

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[Cinclus]

Should I first ask the TA why he moved me or if he thought I was cheating or told the professor? I'm wondering if I should explain myself to the TA first before going to the professor

No. Don't make a big deal out of what could be absolutely nothing. You weren't doing anything wrong to begin with. Take some deep breaths and try to relax. And no, the TA's word should not be "proof enough." (I was a TA and exam proctor for several years.)

 

[tavokeri9]

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[Cinclus]

Thank you for the input. So in case my professor does directly ask why or whether I cheated on the quiz,stating the TA as proof, how can I explain myself without sounding like I'm throwing a bunch of excuses? I'm terrified because this professor is one that hates academic dishonesty to its core. She will most definitely not hesitate to send someone to the honor committee or put a mark on my transcript!

Tell her that the guy next to you was trying to cheat off of you? You were likely moved for the exact reason you initially thought: because the jerk was trying to look on your paper, and the TA was trying to prevent it. Calm down.

 

[BluMist]

well, that settles it, your career is officially over before even starting, time for plan B: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/careers.html

in all seriousness, even if this is about cheating, just explain your situation. You don't have to throw the other guy under the cheating bus either, just say something like he was mumbling, looking at your paper AFTER the test, made you uncomfortable, etc, etc.
You are an adult now, act like one, offer to retake a different version of the quiz if needed

Thank you for the input. So in case my professor does directly ask why or whether I cheated on the quiz,stating the TA as proof, how can I explain myself without sounding like I'm throwing a bunch of excuses? I'm terrified because this professor is one that hates academic dishonesty to its core. She will most definitely not hesitate to send someone to the honor committee or put a mark on my transcript!

 

[tavokeri9]

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[BluMist]

consider this a training run then, if you cannot handle this situation calmly even though you (supposedly) haven't done anything wrong, how are you going to handle the stress in a medical setting?

I get rly nervous and teary-eyed in such situations of accusation or fear of ruining my reputation , so I tend to come off as the guilty one...

 

[candbgirl]

You better get yourself together before you go see the professor. In your OP it sounded to me like you were totally innocent. As you have further explained I'm not so sure. You just keep digging yourself deeper into this mess. Find out why the professor wants to see you. Keep
CALM. And get your story straight. How did you know the guy was peering over your shoulder? It seems to me you were so busy looking around and asking for the pencil and seeing what the TA was doing you weren't focused on the quiz. None of this would have happened if you were paying attention to the task at hand.

 

[tavokeri9]

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[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Don't talk to the TA. At the present time, there is NO reason to. You're panicking and you're obviously imagining every possible bad outcome--please, try to stop for your own sanity. The only reasonable thing to do at this point is to wait and talk with your professor at your scheduled meeting.

IF (and only if!) your prof brings up the incident, you calmly, honestly, tell her the truth. You broke your pencil and asked your neighbor, who had finished the exam, to borrow one. They gave you a pencil and you proceeded to finish your work. IF she starts bringing up an accusation brought forward by the TA, I would say that, yes, you heard your neighbor shuffling papers around after they had finished. You were glad the TA moved you because it was distracting. At no point did you look at your neighbor's paper or speak to them about anything other than your broken pencil.

Assuming that this story is the truth, you don't need to "get your story straight." You just need to focus on trusting your version of the events. No matter what the TA thinks they saw, you know what really happened. If you can calmly, rationally explain it, you may have a chance of avoiding further investigation.

 

[kmp0410]

Quite simply

You are thinking too much about it.

If you didn't cheat, then there is no "story to get straight." Just tell the truth as it happened and stand by it. Your worrying way too much over every little detail/what could possibly happen.

 

[40323431]

methinks the premed doth protest too much

 

[heebeejeebies]

I'm gonna be frank here, I went over your post history, I think first and foremost you need to relax. And relax is an understatement.

One of the (if not the) most important traits sought in a doctor is sound decision making in uncertain situations or under ambiguous circumstances. Be deliberate and start demonstrating that.

 

[tavokeri9]

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[ndafife]

So my professor just responded back and she wants to meet after the final not sure if this is good or bad….I'm still concerned about the whole thing. I feel like if I don't settle this now, she may accuse me of cheating after the final and then, it would be much harder to defend myself on the last day of the semester. Also, what if she doesn't grade my final or let me take it? I'm not sure what she is wanting to talk me about…

Is it bad to just ask her if I am in any kind of trouble?

If you were accused of cheating you would know by now.

STOP THE NEUROTICISM

 

[Lawpy]

So my professor just responded back and she wants to meet after the final not sure if this is good or bad….I'm still concerned about the whole thing. I feel like if I don't settle this now, she may accuse me of cheating after the final and then, it would be much harder to defend myself on the last day of the semester. Also, what if she doesn't grade my final or let me take it? I'm not sure what exactly she wants from me

Is it bad to just ask her directly if I am in any kind of trouble?

If you were accused of cheating you would know by now.

STOP THE NEUROTICISM

See @lalex this is what neuroticism is

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

So your professor wants to meet later than previously planned?

If you were accused of cheating, you'd know about it. I have no idea what your professor wants to meet you about. But it sounds like you had made plans to meet with this professor at some point anyway so it sounds harmless.

Bringing it up with her would be LOOKING for trouble, which is the last thing you want, OP. No one is planning any sort of conspiracy against you, I promise.

 

[tavokeri9]

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[Donald Juan]

So my professor just responded back and she wants to meet after the final not sure if this is good or bad….I'm still concerned about the whole thing. I feel like if I don't settle this now, she may accuse me of cheating after the final and then, it would be much harder to defend myself on the last day of the semester. Also, what if she doesn't grade my final or let me take it? I'm not sure what exactly she wants from me

Is it bad to just ask her directly if I am in any kind of trouble?

Well, it is possible that maybe your teacher is just swamped with getting ready for finals and other work, and thinks it would be best to discuss the career opportunity you mentioned earlier after the finals so that you both have more free time.

However, I think it is much more likely that she is waiting to see how you do on the final exam to sentence you with cheating and destroy your career (and your grade). I suggest you bomb the final exam so that noone can accuse you of cheating on it. If you get an A it might look suspicious.

 

[tavokeri9]

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[thatwouldbeanarchy]

If it is the case that your professor thinks you may have cheated (and I'm not saying it is!!), there's really nothing you can do about it until she (or whomever handles these kinds of offenses) brings it up with you. Just try to relax. Focus on studying for and acing your finals!

 

[lalex]

See @lalex this is what neuroticism is

I see... My situation tends to be different aka worse aka getting fired or turning in a final 5 hours late though.

 

[jl lin]

well, that settles it, your career is officially over before even starting, time for plan B: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/careers.html

in all seriousness, even if this is about cheating, just explain your situation. You don't have to throw the other guy under the cheating bus either, just say something like he was mumbling, looking at your paper AFTER the test, made you uncomfortable, etc, etc.
You are an adult now, act like one, offer to retake a different version of the quiz if needed

But I am thinking Cinclus is right. TA moved him b/c she observing the other guy's behavior, and it appears like cheating. Why would you pull a paper out of your pocket during an exam/quiz???? If that doesn't look suspicious, what does? He doesn't have to say the other guy was cheating. If she inquires about the situation, he only needs to say what his impression was--and what he thought the rationale was for him being moved.

 

[jl lin]

So my professor just responded back and she wants to meet after the final not sure if this is good or bad….I'm still concerned about the whole thing. I feel like if I don't settle this now, she may accuse me of cheating after the final and then, it would be much harder to defend myself on the last day of the semester. Also, what if she doesn't grade my final or let me take it? I'm not sure what exactly she wants from me

Is it bad to just ask her directly if I am in any kind of trouble?

Why would she not let you take the final? Even if you didn't cheat, you do realize you are sounding like you have to jump to your own defense for, ummm, cheating--or not cheating. See what I mean?

 

[Lawpy]

I see... My situation tends to be different aka worse aka getting fired or turning in a final 5 hours late though.

But it's better than tavokeri's potential cheating issue going on!

 

[tavokeri9]

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[lalex]

But it's better than tavokeri's potential cheating issue going on!

True and I wish him/her the best.

 

[lalex]

Do you think its better that she wants to meet after the final though? I mean, do professors usually wait to bring up cheating accusations until after a final? I would think they would warn me to not cheat before…or maybe she is doing this to check on me throughout the test…or even worse, maybe she is waiting to see a videotape of some kind to check my "cheating" on the quiz.



Okay, yeah I need to relax. I'm sorry, this incident has just rly got me riled up…guess I'm having a rough week. But, I'll try

Well if you didn't cheat you have nothing to worry about? And in my school they have to contact the dean ASAP if they are certain and unless they want to meet with you to discuss it.

 

[Lawpy]

True and I wish him/her the best.

That's the spirit!

 

[Lawpy]

I'm down. I went to a therapist today. She's pretty rad, but group sessions are great.

Can you help tavokeri?

 

[dreamadream]

Can you help tavokeri?

Yeah, lets private message.