Schools have so many ways to define cheating that a wise and cautious student should watch out when considering using any ingenious method of study. That's the best lesson to draw from the story of a student stunned by a professor's exam-cheating accusation when the student only thought he was doing a brilliant job of preparing. If you face false, unfair, or exaggerated charges of cheating or other academic misconduct at your college or university, retain national academic misconduct defense attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm‘s college misconduct defense team. Don't let cheating allegations derail your education and future.

Is It Cheating or Not?

A recent report based on a comment board discussion tells the experience of a student who prepared for his professor's exam by gathering up the course's prior quizzes, making a study chart of their questions, and memorizing the answers. Just as the ingenious student predicted, the professor was too lazy to write new questions for the exam. Indeed, the questions went right down the line from the first quiz to the last. Having memorized the quiz answers, the student finished the exam in ten minutes with a perfect score. But rather than get the deserved “A” grade and the professor's congratulations, the professor accused the student of cheating. Is studying a professor's prior quiz questions cheating or simply a wise use of available resources?

Schools Can Define Cheating Broadly

Colleges and universities give broad definitions to cheating while encouraging students to clarify with their professors anything that might run afoul of the school's commitment to academic integrity. That is precisely the approach that the University of North Carolina's Honor Code takes, for example. UNC's Honor Code urges professors not to reuse old exam questions, which would have avoided the whole problem in the above case. But UNC's Honor Code also cautions the student to consult with the professor “to identify allowable resource materials or aids to be used during examination or in completion of any graded work.” If the student in the above case had just asked the professor about the student's brilliant approach, the student wouldn't have faced cheating allegations later. The University of Arizona's Code of Academic Integrity takes a similar approach, broadly banning “all forms of academic dishonesty” including cheating, while also cautioning students not to rely on their professors' efforts to keep them from cheating.

So, did the student in the above case cheat? The report, though sympathetic to the student, acknowledges that the student was using a method that didn't require the student to study the course material, only the quizzes. And the report also reveals that the professor objected to a student using exam bank materials. But it's hard to say who is right. The better question is how the student should respond to the professor's cheating accusation. Get the skilled and experienced help you need to defend and defeat unfair, exaggerated, or unsupported misconduct charges. National academic administrative defense attorney advisor Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm has successfully defended hundreds of students against academic misconduct charges nationwide. Call 888.535.3686 or go online now.