Some students take extreme measures to secure their placement in college and perform activities that jeopardize their reputation. To improve their grade or pass a challenging course, they try to obtain test questions before the day of their test. Whether this is the work of the single student or multiple, college administrations deal harshly with transgressors, and penalties range from re-taking the exam to expulsion.
An academic misconduct charge has a detrimental impact on your educational path and may affect your future career. If you receive notice of a policy violation due to obtaining advanced information on an exam, your chances of a favorable case outcome increase with an advisor's support. With professional advice, you can create a plan to decrease the impact of the allegations against you.
To ensure that you receive the fair treatment you deserve, you need the help of a knowledgeable legal expert like Attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento. Attorney Lento has years of experience helping students in the US and abroad overcome complex academic misconduct cases.
Obtaining advanced information is an offense that is more serious than copying an answer off of a colleague. Hence, an ally who helps you navigate the process and prevents false assumptions from ruining your academic path is crucial for success. With advisor Lento by your side, you have a better chance of a favorable case outcome.
How It Happens
There are numerous methods that students use to find their exam questions ahead of time. Even if multiple people are partaking, this does not absolve students from taking full responsibility for their actions. Some of the ways that students access the questions include:
Finding Questions Online
Some courses have information that doesn't change, including their test questions. In other instances, a professor has a reputation for recycling exams across several semesters. These are just a few examples of how the material ends up on a student's smartphone.
Nowadays, it is easy to upload and download material with a higher degree of anonymity. With a simple search for the course number and school, students can easily exchange information, including uploading the questions of a test on social media.
Hacking Portals and Bypassing Tracking Codes
Some professors upload test questions to an online portal that has a specific access window. Using their coding skills, some students hack into these portals to download the exam. Some colleges try to prevent such instances from happening and assign tracking codes to exam questions. However, students are still finding ways to bypass these security measures.
Exchanging Tests With Other Students
Some professors give the same class to a different set of students every day to accommodate different schedules. This setup provides an opportunity for some students to collaborate and exchange test answers. Students who finish a morning exam memorize the questions and give them to students taking the evening exam, or vice versa.
Receiving Tests From A Faculty Member
In rare instances, a professor or faculty member collaborates with students to provide exam questions in exchange for money. While this is not a common occurrence, it does happen and complicates the case for the panel. In other cases, an assistant or member of the faculty has access to exam questions and distributes them without the professor's knowledge.
Taking part in any of these activities and getting caught leads to an investigation by your school's disciplinary panel. Along with a hearing where you defend yourself in front of the board, you can gather crucial evidence that supports your claims and bolsters your case. With an advisor by your side, you'll have a comprehensive strategy to approach the hearing, and you rarely have to do it alone.
College Disciplinary Measures
Each college handles allegations of obtaining advanced information differently. Usually, the professor or administrator making the claims has evidence or suspects that a student is engaging in academic misconduct.
Before referring the case to the committee, the professor addresses the incident by contacting the student to avoid making assumptions. If the professor does not receive a satisfactory explanation, they escalate the matter to the ethics committee or Dean's Office.
Students have the right to ask for a hearing to defend themselves before the panel. Although they must appear at the hearing alone in some cases, most colleges allow students to bring an advisor for support and advice. The advisor does not speak on behalf of the student but can offer support during the process.
How An Advisor Helps
Academic misconduct involving obtaining information is a serious charge that comes with severe implications for students. Without the right strategy and evidence, it is more challenging to receive a favorable case outcome. Cheating is a chronic problem on college campuses, and obtaining exam questions before their release is high on the list of punishable offenses in colleges worldwide.
An advisor gets you through the hearing process with less difficulty and obstacles. The more experience your advisor has, the more likely you will have a strategy to counter any question that the panel asks you. Moreover, the support that a legal professional gives you during a hearing boosts your confidence and self-esteem, and you're less likely to fear facing a committee.
Call Lento Law Firm For a Consultation
If you receive a guilty charge or a finding of responsibility for obtaining advanced information, the consequences can be severe and can have serious short and long-term consequences including no longer qualifying to receive your degree. Whether it was a lapse in judgment or you did not commit the charges brought against you, the Lento Law Firm can help. Whether it's by reducing the penalty or having the committee re-evaluate the evidence, the Lento Law Firm enables you to fight for a favorable case outcome no matter the charge.
You don't have to face the repercussions of an academic misconduct charge without support. Call attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm for a confidential consultation today at (888) 535-3686.
