Altered Re-grades Don’t Pay
A junior was referred to Student Judicial Affairs for submitting an altered quiz for a re-grade. By comparing the re-submitted exam to a scanned copy of the original, the professor noticed that the student had made substantial changes to his exam. During his meeting with a Judicial officer, the student acknowledged changing his answers but argued that he thought he should have received more points for his original work. Whatever the reasoning, it is a violation of the Code of Academic Conduct to submit altered exams for re-grading. This student’s sanction included Deferred Separation status and 15 hours of
community service. This means that he may continue taking classes for now, but any future referrals to SJA would likely result in suspension or dismissal from the University.
That’s Quite a Memory You’ve Got There
While reading a final paper, an English TA noticed a sentence that seemed inconsistent with the rest of the paper. A quick Google search later, he found it word-for-word in a Wikipedia article. Further reading of both the Wikipedia article and the student’s paper revealed multiple plagiarized sentences, so the student was referred to SJA. During her informal hearing, the student claimed that she hadn’t intentionally plagiarized but that she had memorized the sentences when studying for a quiz and then used those sentences in her paper without thinking. However, it is still considered plagiarism to memorize a sentence
verbatim and then use it later as your own words, whether you use it in a paper or in an exam. Had this student cited properly, she would likely have lost a few points for using Wikipedia, which the instructor had specifically told the class they couldn't use as a source for the paper. But by not citing her source, she was referred to SJA for plagiarism where she was placed on Disciplinary Probation until graduation, meaning that any misconduct before she graduates will likely result in suspension or dismissal from the University. In addition, she is required to complete an assignment on plagiarism and to meet with a
Learning Specialist from the Student Academic Success Center.
It’s Still Copying If You Both Copy the Same Thing Instead of Each Other
Two first-year students were referred to SJA for suspected unauthorized collaboration after the class TA noticed many similarities between their assignments. In addition, both papers had similar, unique arguments, and similar misspellings. During their separate meetings with an SJA officer, both students admitted to collaborating on the assignment. Theystated that they wrote their outline together on a whiteboard, including topic sentences and arguments, and then copied these points with exact sentences into a shared outline. This amount of collaboration exceeded what the professor had allowed for the assignment, so the students admitted to violating the Code of Academic Conduct. Both students agreed to
be placed on Deferred Separation and to complete 10 hours of community service. They also agreed to complete an unauthorized collaboration assignment given by SJA. From now on it would be wise for them to work independently and stay away from whiteboards!