Possible Academic Dishonesty-really need some advice

[gagirl05]

I was accused of cheating earlier this week, and I really need advice on what to do or what I can do if this stands as cheating and how it affects my chances of getting into dental school.

So to give you specifics I got an orgo exam back several weeks ago and that same day (that I got the exam back) I went back through the test trying to clarify problems to myself and what not. On this one problem, you were told to assign R or S and the chiral centers to a molecule, and I got this problem wrong because I had the wrong configuration- an R instead of an S. Well, when I was looking over my exam I erased part of the molecule, and changed the wedge to a dash to see if I had at least labeled the molecule correctly with a different molecular form(dash instead of wedge) and realized I forgot to alter my answer at the end of the exam, because throughout the whole test I had the molecule with a dashed substituent, and at the last second I looked up and saw that it was wedge and colored it in and didn't think to change the configuration from R to S, and then my exam was collected. Anyways, I just left the molecule like that-altered from what was originally on my test and at the time I didn't even know I could have a regrade for the exam (I have witnesses to this since I was in a group when we were going over our exams and they all were in the same class as me and nobody knew about regrades).

So, a week and a half later my professor said we could submit our exams for a regrade and I did because there were a few grading mistakes on my exam, and during that time I forgot that the molecule described above had been changed and I just thought it had been like that the whole time (there really had been some serious issues going on in my life during this week health wise so school honestly wasn't on my mind) and so I put a note on the problem and was like "drew the wrong molecule-not sure if you would consider giving me an extra point for this or not- up to you?" So, my professor called me in earlier this week and told me that I was cheating because they obviously take copies of our original exams and said that I altered my exam to get more points. So his penalty was an F on this exam, I can't drop this exam and I can't drop the course. When he told me this I honestly could not remember changing the molecule- gods honest truth since by this time it had been almost 3 weeks since it originally was changed. So I talked to my friends and one of them actually was like "OMG- you know what happened.." and refreshed my memory on what I explained above. So the following day I went and told my professor this and he was like let me think about and I will get back to you- well he did and he isn't changing his stance.

I had a meeting with the director of student conduct to explain this situation and he told me to move forward with student honor committee. The thing I am concerned about is the possible academic dishonesty accusation. I asked the director about it and he said theres no mark on my transcripts or anything that would be sent to dental schools it is just an internal memo for the registrar, but I am still worried about this, especially since I wasn't trying to cheat the system on this regrade (nothing else that I was asking about for the regrade had been altered one bit). Also, the internal memo about my academic dishonesty is removed the minute I graduate so following graduation, if a dental school were to inquire about it my University could offer no information, since they have no record. This was a two point problem, and logically if I was trying to cheat and get away with it why would I change my answer to not the right answer... I have no blemishes or anything, I have a 4.0 and I am really sh*tting my pants about this because I feel like its crushing my dreams of going to dental school. I really would love advice on what to do from here and if I do end up getting a punishment (since if I go to honor court and even if the punishment they give me is a verbal warning not to do it again they still make a memo internally) should I report it when I apply to dental school? I am really scared and a mess over this.


P.S. I am sorry if this is so long, it requires a bit of info to understand :/

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[BearTeeth]

I think you should always be honest with dental schools. If anything they will just ask you about it in an interview and ask you to clarify the situation and you'll tell them you learned from your mistake (even if you don't think you did anything wrong, tell them you learned from it).

 

[beatsdre]

I've been on the academic judicial board. Heres my take on it.

A) You get an F and walk away. Yes your GPA may hurt, but you have a 4.0 and it won't really matter

B) You fight through the board, and they agree with you. Yay, you won! You have a 4.0 still.

C) You fight through the board, and you lose. However, they take mercy and do not punish you (with a warning that you would have to report).

D) You fight through the board, and you lose. They don't take mercy and do punish you as it IS academic dishonesty. (you would have to report this to dental school)

E) You fight through the board, and you lose. In addition to possibly having a mark for academic dishonesty, you will PISS OFF THE PROFESSOR. A pissed off professor can ruin people's lives by pushing for an academic dishonesty mark. Trust me, I've seen this WAY TO MANY TIMES, and its NOT worth it.

In my opinion, take the F. The risk is greater then the reward. If you have a mark for academic dishonesty, it will be incredibly tough to get into dschool even with a 4.0 29 dat. It's not worth it. Consider yourself lucky that your prof didn't push for an academic mark of cheating.

But its up to you...But i've seen option D and E happen way to many times. Many times academic board are strict. They see it in black and white, no really grey areas. It's tough to convince them that it was an honest mistake. It's really not worth it in my opinion. Just my collection of thoughts since dealing on the board. GL and I'm sorry it happened.

 

[gagirl05]

The problem is, if I accept the professor's punishment I still get the internal mark of academic dishonesty. So no matter what, if I get any form of punishment from the professor or the board, no matter how insignificant or trivial I still get this internal memo. I didn't know this originally until I talked to the director of student conduct because I was prepared to just swallow my pride and take my professors punishment until I learned that I would still get the academic dishonesty mark (even thoguht it doesn't show up on my transcripts or anything?)

 

[gagirl05]

And trust me, I am also very worried about my professor ruining the rest of the course for me. The witnesses I have won't even go before the board if he is anywhere in the building for fear that he will have some form of retribution for them if he finds out they were involved. AGH- I am so upset about all of this I literally have lost 5 pounds in a week because of all the stress, I wish I had never submitted this exam for a regrade L

 

[beatsdre]

The problem is, if I accept the professor's punishment I still get the internal mark of academic dishonesty. So no matter what, if I get any form of punishment from the professor or the board, no matter how insignificant or trivial I still get this internal memo. I didn't know this originally until I talked to the director of student conduct because I was prepared to just swallow my pride and take my professors punishment until I learned that I would still get the academic dishonesty mark (even thoguht it doesn't show up on my transcripts or anything?)

Hmm...I say live with the internal memo, graduate, and apply to dental school. I'm just afraid if you push for "justice" through the board, i may backfire and they (pissed off professor or board) may push for an actual mark on your transcript. It can go both ways. I just think the risk is greater then the reward. Having to report any type of academic dishonesty on AADSAS will raise huge red flags.

Edit: After reading your next post. I say don't go for it. It sounds like he might be that type that will push for academic marks if you push against his decision.

Anyways, an F on a test can't be that bad. Ace the next few tests and the final and you may pull off a B-C. That's great for ORGO. Just ace the DAT orgo, so that you can show adcom that you are a capable student. In addition, a B-C barely effects a 4.0, so don't worry about it. Yes, its unfortunate this happened, but I don't think its worth pushing the envelope.

Oh yeah- see whether you can get a W in the course. A W is better then a D-C.

 

[ecft07]

I'm sorry to hear this and i hope it gets resolved soon. If it's not gonna appear on the transcript then i guess you should be fine? but wow they actually took copies of everyone's exam paper? how many students are there in your class?

 

[gagirl05]

Well the only way that it will get marked explicitly on my transcripts is if it's a second offense (which it isn't) or if I get suspended which the director of student conduct said is unable to happen.

 

[gagirl05]

In my class theres roughly 180 students, and our exam was 4 pages long (front and back)- I know, lots of paper and ink waste o_o

 

[beatsdre]

Well the only way that it will get marked explicitly on my transcripts is if it's a second offense (which it isn't) or if I get suspended which the director of student conduct said is unable to happen.

Hmm its up to you, but don't be surprised if you get "punished for a second offense," somewhere down the line. I'm not trying to scare you, but I've seen professors go after students. It's not really pretty. It's really up to you. GL

 

[AmpedUp]

Your professor is a jerk. Did he mention that he has copies of all exams and that it would be cheating to submit a regrade on points you've already earned? Then again, I'd go with beatsdre's advice - fighting this might backfire, especially since the professor has your grade in his hands. Take the fail and kill the next few exams - it's ok to have a few B's on your record, given that you have a 4.0.

 

[dentalWorks]

If I was you... I would take the F on that exam and NEVER open this issue again. Trust me, you don't want to take the risk (even if they tell you nothing will show up on your trascripts)....

if anything like this shows up on the trascript, I can confidently say you'll have a HELL of a time getting interviews even if you have a 3.99 GPA and a 25 DAT.

Let it go, take ur loss

 

[slowlybutshelly]

Whatever you do, be sure it was not contrived by the department. I happened to be in a medical school where a professor gave a physiology test, gave the answer sheet back to the students. He posted the right answers on the board. Then weeks later, said he had to give take up the answer sheets to the test for an entire class rgerade. Well, as may expect what happened, many students changed answers, and were accused of cheating. Were given F's and a year off even though whatever they did was not meant ti improve their grades. It was a contrived event on the part of the physio department (and a pedophile professor to boot) that could have been prevented by the department had they just used the grades the students originally got. A lawsuit ensued, petitions were signed; it was a mess. This scenario was entirely created by faculty. and in a school where a 3 marginal passes or two Mp's and an F can mean you are out. all because someone entrapped you. It was insane to be in such an environment. I left and even though I had to pay to go to a new school and go more in debt; it was worth it. Life is too short to be mixed up in some other chaos humans create.

 

[slowlybutshelly]

In my case, it was a pissed off psychopathic professor; lunatic at best. RUN AWAY: SOLVE THE DILEMMA AND tiptoe around crazy beaurocracies forever.

 

[Maygyver]

Just for the record, you don't need a 4.0 to get into dental schools.

 

[dantemac]

This is tricky...

I am a chem TA at my school and I know that we don't photocopy every exam, just select ones. If your school works the same way and you got shafted like that out of 180 students, that sucks.

That said, what if kids saw the answers, changed them, and submitted them for a re-grade and their exam wasn't photocopied? You'd be pissed if those people were pre-dental and got a better grade back on their re-graded exam and made admissions more competitive. That photocopy system is in place to prevent all cheating, even accidental 🙁

I would take the W, fail the class with no more attendance, or attend the class and try to get whatever grade you can with one F. I would not fight it. Begging for clemency seems like the fair thing for you to be able to do but they probably won't give your excuse the time of day

That sucks! 🙁

 

[cougarpride]

happened to a friend of mine.....very similar to your situation and its for the exact same class.

basically same situation as yours....professor thought she erased something and put in another answer that wasn't what she put on her exam. professor looked at the photocopied of the test and accused her of cheating. her position was that she erased the wrong answer and put in the right answer....but she also wrote her wrong answer and boxed it and put it next to the right answer and questioned "isn't that the same thing?". i believe it was an R and S question too.

The professor accused her of cheating and wanted to give her and F, so she had to go up to the entire board and explain her situation. Luckily for her, she also took Chem 1 and 2 with a professor who happened to be a director of student affairs for the chemistry department. He basically backed her up because she made an A in both of those courses, and said she's not the type to cheat. That pretty much got her out of the situation, and she continued with the course and eventually made an A in the course anyways.

So my only advice to you is that....since you do have a 4.0.....that pretty much means you have a perfect track record....the one thing you can show them is that you made an A in both the introduction to chemistry courses and that could possibly show the board that you are not the type to cheat and it was just accidental!!!

 

[Impulse155]

If I was you... I would take the F on that exam and NEVER open this issue again. Trust me, you don't want to take the risk (even if they tell you nothing will show up on your trascripts)....

if anything like this shows up on the trascript, I can confidently say you'll have a HELL of a time getting interviews even if you have a 3.99 GPA and a 25 DAT.

Let it go, take ur loss

I would either
A) Drop it,
or B) Talk to theprofessor and ask if you can work something out. If you have a 4.0 and havent been cheating you should be able to ace the rest of the organic exams. Tell the professor that instead of taking it to court and putting a ton of weight on both of you, make both lives easier and see if he can simply just drop the test and not count it and just have your test avg replace it. Or even better yet tell himt hat you are willing to have your lowest other test grade replace it. Even if your lowest test grade is a 60, thats 60 morepoints right? If he says hes not willing to do this, then I would just submit and take the 0.
C) Ask for a retake on the question/entire exam.

 

[iDreamofDent]

Your school needs to begin a policy of taking tests in ink if they are to to allow re-grades. take the W, re-take the course, and kick it in the AS*!!!