Crying deep inside, y doesnt anybody want to listen to me, im not a cheater.?

Question

a senior at a univ. and soon graduating. taking summer school. & after geting my first exam back i noticed one questiion which was supp. to be worth 5pts &i only got 1pt. i compared it with my friend and was proving him tht i knew how to do the problem, and re wrote it on top of my original answer. what appears to be the case is that the prof keeps copies of the orginal exam and compares them in case if someone chages something and goes like how come i didnt get this right. well. there were 2 ? for the problem that i got one point 4 where there shud have been total 5ptz poss. my answer for a. was right, and wrong for b. if u do the math 5/2= 2.5 each then y did i get 1 pt if i had the second ans right. i emailed him saying this and he goes like u have writing on it which wasnt there before and i know this cuz i was showing my frined if the way oi was doing it was right or not but he goes like and this is cheating he didnt understand what i was asking him. i will kill myself if this goes on my record. what will the dean do, will she listen to me. or will she favor the prof. my record is clean then why would i do it now, besides this is not like that big,y is he making an end to my life. he didnt listen to my story, and claims of me being dishonest.

Answer 1

I've taught at universities for over ten years. I have a LOT of experience with this.

In the end, NOTHING will happen to you. Unless the prof goes out his way to press academic charges against you, nothing will happen. And there is practically no chance of that happening. He would need ROCK SOLID EVIDENCE to present to the governing body, and a lot of time.

Unless he has a REALLY good reason to press charges against you, (If you really did cheat and lied about it and then stole his car), then you are in the clear.

Worst case scenario: you get the grade that was initially given to you. If he tries to fail you for the exam or class, then you can press charges against him (this process is MUCH easier for students than it is for faculty).

Answer 2

Although I can't offer any methods to changing you professors mind, I will say this: Please do not over exagerate the problem. Everything will be okay sweetie. Everything always seems bad now and I hope this is helping you. You should just chill and calm down. be rational about it and don't think on it too hard. You should agree to retest if you think you will get the same results.

Answer 3

Get over it. It's not the end of the world. There are much bigger things to worry about in life!

Sorry, but it looked like cheating and no teacher is going to believe your story. Never show anybody your paper during a test.  I'd say it was cheating too. It's called a test, not groupwork for a reason, you're not supposed to look at anybody's paper.

Answer 4

Don't commit suicide. Be honest about what happened. Offer to take an equivalent test to show what you know about this part of the curriculum. Be rational and hopefully this will be OK. Good Luck.

Answer 5

That's not how it works - the professor assigns a certain number of points to each part of the problem, and they are not evenly divided if they think the second part is worth more than the first.  They determine the points, not you, and if they held on to copies of your exams, they also have records of how the exams were graded.  Sorry, it looks like you cheated and there's no way around that - you should know better by now than to write on an exam before you go talk to a professor about it.  If your record is clean, you'll probably just get an F on the exam, or in the class at the most.

Answer 6

First, stop and take a break.  If I understand correctly, there are a few issues here:

1.  Small prob first.  If the prof really does keep your exams, then he MORE THAN ANYONE else can help you. Ask him nicely to pull his copy of your exam (since yours is of little use to you/him now) and then explain (rationally, calmly, politely.)  Also, it helps if you go in trying to find out how you can "improve" for the next exam instead of trying to "fix" your current exam.  This is more likely to put them in the right frame of mind -- a helpful faculty member - then in defensive mode.

While asking him to "work through" the problem with you, say  "Okay, I understand that x therefore y and y therefore z, etc....I guess  what I am confused about is the manner in which points are distributed."  Again, you missed the question because you didn't have the right answer!  So, his copy will only serve to reflect that.  What you are really wanting to know is how points are assigned, either for you own edification in order to obtain a better grasp on his grading methodology OR to up it, which he is not obligated to do.  Either way, you leave with something.

2.  YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO BE PREPARED WHEN YOU TALK TO PROFESSORS!!!  However, the point is not to get into a debate with the professor but merely to not be completely taken off guard by misinformation.  Therefore, you are more effective at demonstrating that you have carefully considered every detail about the class/lecture/test and are aware of the professor's expectations of you.  (You never know when something like that little clause in the syllabus that is on the back page in 8.5 font will somehow be the cornerstone to his entire class philosophy!  Personally, I have about three hidden within 8 pages of my syllabus.)    Thus, knowing his standards is helpful in dealing with him. I once had a prof tell me that the key to his class was learning to take his exams!  His exams had nothing to do with the class, but that little lesson has served me well (not only in that class but in subsequent ones, as well).  Anyway, the point is: the best way to show someone that you know your stuff is to actually know it.  

3.  It is only the first exam.  You are a senior, and it sounds that you haven't gotten too many "bad" grades or you wouldn't  be freaking out right now.  So, realize that there is still time to do better in the class.  And, if not, you will probably still graduate.  If you are looking to school beyond a BA, it will probably still be okay.  Admissions folks are not really looking at one class you once took... they are looking overall.  If you are getting into the real world, same thing.  In the real world, work experience trumps a 1/5 on the first exam of some summer class.

4. He hasn't reported you for academic dishonesty!  So, you are about 5 steps ahead of yourself.  If that happens, then you will need to freak out.  But, the prof has to have "proof" of your dishonesty.  Universities are your basic bureaucracy.  There are steps, and they fear the paperwork!  Thus, there is about 3 steps between one email to your professor and getting a meeting with the dean.  In general, I have found that university's tend towards the "keep it in-house" approach.  Meaning, it is highly suggested that we (the faculty/staff) work out problems with our students.  If it gets to be a problem worth going through the steps, then you must be prepared.  OF course, at that point, it is beyond ideal and into "compromise".  So, you should have a clear idea what you are willing to accept as a reasonable compromise based on what they are wanting to give you.  Then, you re-email your prof putting this into writng and then wait on his response.  At this point, you take a print out of your email to the departmental ombudsman, who is usually an unbiased liason between the student and the staff member.  Then, you go through the dept chairperson.  He/she usually backs the faculty.  Afterall, prof talk.  I know that I will not do anything without my chairperson's approval.  So, the dean will prob back the faculty member.  Finally, you can appeal to the Committee for academic affairs (its named differently per school) dedicated to ethical standards/behaviors.  It is usually comprised of students and faculty members from a variety of departments.  Oh, in my experience, students are usually harder on other students that faculty members. Again, the procedure is different per school, but your process will be spelled out for you in your student handbook.  

5.  Okay, so at this point, realize that this is just one grade.  Calm down.  Research your argument.  Put on a smile and ask for help (NOT A GRADE CHANGE!!!).  If you don't get it, then that is because you didn't get the question "right" and students usually only get points for questions.they answer right.  Also, maybe he is a jerk.  But, he is the jerk that is in charge of your education right now.  So, that is irrelevant.  Figure out what you can do right now that will have a positive effect on your semester (i.e. - study more, ask and ask for help, etc.).  You can only control your actions.  You still have options; just take the time to figure out what they are.

Anyway, I do hope that it turns out well; but, if not, learn something from it.  I wish you the best of luck.