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So unfortunately during an exam, I had the misfortune of using an eraser (with cover) that was not mine and had a small amount of words inside it unknown to me. I did not know this was the case, as I don't have a habit of unraveling erasers or looking at them closely? However, now I face the problem in trying to defend myself against the accusation of me cheating. I'm specifically concerned on my university's blank statement of "possession of unauthorized materials during an exam" is considered academic dishonesty. Seems like student conduct has all the power in trying to prove academic dishonesty, despite none of my test containing any of what to me is unreadable, small notes.

Teun
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NobodyBelievesMe
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  • What is a standalone eraser? The results of a Google search do not seem to be things you would normally have during an exam – wimi Dec 13 '19 at 08:03
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    Why did someone lend you forbidden material? Were they trying yo set you up? The answer might depend on this. – wimi Dec 13 '19 at 08:04
  • just a common white rubber eraser thats about as long as a finger with some type of paper/plastic cover to grip it with. Also I picked up the eraser after a class along with some material I had forgotten. – NobodyBelievesMe Dec 13 '19 at 08:15
  • https://www.google.com/search?q=white+rubber+eraser – NobodyBelievesMe Dec 13 '19 at 08:21
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    If you do not know whose the eraser is, it is going to be difficult to defend your case. It is your responsibility to make sure that everything you bring is allowed... However, I would say that an exam in which you can get a significant advantage by writing a few words on an eraser is a poorly designed exam. Let us see if someone comes up with a good answer. Welcome to Academia.SE! – wimi Dec 13 '19 at 08:25
  • Thanks. I was considering telling that to my student conduct officer vs my teacher as they haven't even bothered to read my 600 + essay. – NobodyBelievesMe Dec 13 '19 at 08:29
  • now I face the problem in trying to defend myself against the accusation of me cheating When were you accused? – user2768 Dec 13 '19 at 08:33
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    You omitted quite important aspects: How was the supposed cheating detected? What were the notes on the eraser about? What was your exam about? How did the text end up on the eraser? – J-Kun Dec 13 '19 at 08:36
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    One standard rule in many exams is “you are not allowed to borrow materials from other candidates” - for obvious reasons... – Solar Mike Dec 13 '19 at 08:47

1 Answers1

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I am involved with both sides of issues like this; both in prosecuting students for academic misconduct and also in advising and defending students who are facing such accusations. I am therefore in a position to see it from both sides.

One thing I always tell students when facing such situations is to take advice. Universities usually have a Student's Union, Student Association or Student Advice Service. They can help you with the details of such a procedure in your individual institution. You may also have been allocated a personal tutor or supervisor who may also advise of procedures and processes you need to know about.

Now, to answer your particular point, you need to see the situation from the perspective of those who found the "unauthorised material". In these situations almost every student who intended to cheat will also have no problem with lying either. They will also say "it is not my eraser, I only borrowed it". We get something approaching the "Liars Paradox" in trying to find the truth. It will be hard for you to prove that your version is the truth. They have to work with the evidence at hand.

This situation can occur in University Exams for foreign language students, where they are permitted to use a translating dictionary. These being expensive, they borrow one from a friend, only to have themselves being accused of cheating when annotations are discovered written inside. I advise my students to never borrow exam equipment and retain special clean unused items of dictionaries, erasers, pencils, calculators etc. that they reserve for exam use only.

For those that think we need more details about the incident to answer this question: we do not. Those details are for the body that investigates the accusation of cheating. We should only advise on what the student should be able to do in such cases, and we have enough detail for that.

Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩
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