You take your education seriously, and you're scrupulous about avoiding even the suggestion of academic impropriety. You'd never cheat on an exam, and you write your papers yourself.
Unfortunately, not everyone is so honest. You know what we're talking about. Survey after survey has demonstrated that cheating is rampant on college and university campuses and is only growing worse as technology improves.
There's another component to this equation, though. In an effort to combat all that cheating, schools are increasingly turning to their own technology. AI programs like Respondus Monitor promise to weed out cheaters with the push of a button, and they can be very effective. Respondus Monitor has its own problems, though. It can feel like a violation of privacy, it can disrupt a student's concentration, and—maybe most importantly—it can level false accusations at you even if you're perfectly innocent.
If you're facing a charge of academic misconduct, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team is here to help. We've helped hundreds of students just like you defend themselves from all types of charges, including those made by Respondus Monitor. What can we do for you? Find out by calling 888-535-3686, or take time right now and tell us about your case.
Respondus Monitor
If you haven't been subjected to Respondus Monitor, it's probably only a matter of time. It's the latest in surveillance technology—surveillance not to catch burglars or inside traders but to catch cheaters.
The principle is simple: Respondus Monitor takes advantage of laptop cameras, speakers, and even keystroke recorders to analyze a student's physical behavior during an exam. If it picks up suspicious sounds or notices your eyes glancing away from your screen, it tags that event for later review by your instructor. In simple terms, if you pull up your cell phone to look up an answer, you're going to get caught.
The Student Perspective on Respondus Monitor
Respondus Monitor catches cheaters. So what's the problem?
The problem, as many students have already pointed out, is that the program can feel like an enormous violation of privacy. As strange as it may sound, taking a test is a very private, personal experience. We all process information differently. We all respond to the stress of an exam differently. What right does the Respondus Monitor company and your professor have to intrude on that experience?
Just as importantly, many students report being unfairly distracted by this technology. They worry that the software will report them simply for staring out into space, trying to think of an answer. They're concerned that when they are taking an at-home exam, their roommates will make too much noise and trigger a violation. As a result, they're handicapped when it comes to completing the exam itself.
False Allegations
The most serious problem with Respondus Monitor, though, is that it can get things wrong. No matter how sophisticated a piece of technology may be, if its job is to interpret human behavior, it is necessarily going to make mistakes. No two humans act in the same way in a given situation, and using algorithms to predict human behavior is always a losing proposition.
The danger of false allegations is exacerbated by professors who don't take the time to carefully review testing data from Respondus Monitor. If they take for granted that any time the program flags behavior as suspicious, they're bound to wind up accusing some students unfairly.
You can defend yourself from such accusations, but the process for doing so can be complex. The standard of responsibility (guilt) at most colleges and universities is "preponderance of the evidence" rather than "beyond a reasonable doubt." If a judicial officer or a hearing panel decides it is "more likely than not" that you committed an offense, that's enough to result in a responsible outcome. Academic misconduct charges are typically treated more informally than disciplinary misconduct charges, and an instructor's view can carry an enormous amount of weight, even without "technology" to back up that view.
And should you be found responsible for cheating? You can face sanctions from classroom punishments, like lower grades, to disciplinary penalties like probation, suspension, and even expulsion. Plus, even a warning can have dire consequences if it appears in your permanent record. A notation about cheating on your transcript can interfere with scholarships, internship and graduate school applications, and even job opportunities.
You have some important rights you can use to defend yourself, like the right to a presumption of innocence, but you have to know how to use these effectively if you're going to protect yourself.
The Lento Law Firm is on Your Side
Whether you're looking to challenge your grade because Respondus Monitor interfered with your right to fair exam conditions or you're trying to defend yourself against an unfair charge of academic misconduct as a result of a Respondus Monitor accusation, there are ways you can prepare.
- Keep Calm: Getting upset can lead you to do and say things that may ultimately harm your defense. Your best option is to say as little as possible and to respond to faculty and administrators politely.
- Save Everything: It's always a good idea to hang on to your coursework, even from past courses. You can never tell when an old essay or homework assignment might be useful in proving what you know.
- Contact the Lento Law Firm: Don't wait. You can be sure your instructor and your school are building their case against you. You need to be building your defense as well.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team was founded to protect student rights, and we take that job very seriously. We know the law, and we know how you're school's judicial system operates. We also know what kinds of issues tend to come up when technology is involved in the learning process. Whatever your situation, you deserve fair treatment. We'll make sure you get it.
Call 888-535-3686 today, or take time right now to fill out our online form.
