A junior in a science class was referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) after allegedly paying another student to take an exam for him. Another student in the class alerted the professor to the possible misconduct after overhearing the reported student discussing his future plans to cheat. Upon meeting with a Judicial Officer, the reported student said he was “only joking” and that he took the exam without help. The student claimed that he was “never planning to go through with it.” The professor was able to confirm that the student did in fact show up and take the exam himself by examining the student’s handwriting. The reported student was issued an Administrative Notice. An Administrative Notice serves as a formal notice of University policies regarding student conduct. Because the student was not found in violation of the UC Davis Code of Academic Conduct, he will not have a disciplinary record.
Be your own manual!
SJA received a referral for a sophomore physics student who had supposedly submitted a problem set that contained answers that were directly copied from the instructor’s manual. The professor had explicitly stated that students were not permitted to refer to the instructor’s manual for answers. It was evident to the professor that the student had simply copied the answers because his problem set had the same layout, formatting and particular steps taken as the ones in the manual. In addition, one of the answers that was listed in the instructor’s manual was incorrect, and the student had the same incorrect answer. The reported student admitted to copying from the instructor’s manual and agreed to be placed on Disciplinary Probation through Winter Quarter 2013. This means that if he is found in violation for academic misconduct again, he would likely face suspension or dismissal from the University.
Authentic work is better work
An anthropology major was reported to SJA for allegedly submitting a written assignment for a lower division sociology class that was nearly identical to another student’s work. The TA for the class noticed the striking similarities between the two students’ work and referred both students to SJA. The first student explained that he and the other student had worked on the assignment together in the library. He admitted that rather than doing his own work, he had simply copied off of the second student’s paper. The second student insisted that she didn’t know that her friend had simply copied her work. The first student agreed to Disciplinary Probation through Spring Quarter 2013 and 10 hours of community service. The second student was issued an Administrative Notice.
