How to resolve the academic integrity issue from Midterm 1.
As we discussed on Monday, I’d like to make a clear, unambiguous statement about some ways we can resolve the academic misconduct issues that occurred around Midterm 1. I’ve listed some important facts and principles below, followed by two forms of resolution that I hope some of you will pursue. It’s unfortunate that we have to be so formal about these things, but it is important to be clear.
Some relevant facts
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A significant number of students took advantage of confidential information to give themselves an undeserved boost above the rest of the class.
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Unless something changes, I can’t generally trust the results of Midterm 1 to provide an accurate assessment of how students did.
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The vast majority of students did not engage in any wrongdoing, and some of you did very well on the midterm based on your own effort.
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After our first conversation about this, several students proactively came to speak with me about their role in the situation. That took guts. It doesn’t negate the harm done, but it is commendable.
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Taking responsibility for one’s actions is an important part of professionalism, even (or especially!) when taking responsibility for one’s past instances of unprofessionalism.
Some principles for resolution
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Students who earned good marks themselves should be able to benefit from them.
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The innocent shouldn’t be treated worse than the guilty.
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Those who own up to their misconduct shouldn’t be treated worse than those who fail to do so.
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There are levels of misconduct: some offences are worse than others.
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Remedies and resolutions should be consistent, where possible.
Proposed resolutions
Based on these facts and principles, I propose two forms of resolution for two different groups of students.
Declaring innocence
For those students who did well on Midterm 1 based on their own effort, I will provide an opportunity for you to come and affirm your innocence by writing and signing a declaration that you had nothing to do with the academic misconduct around Midterm 1. If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity, you must let me know by the end of this week, and I will have you come by my office during the week of March 31–April 4 to write and sign a declaration in front of me (I will be away next week).
If you do this and your Midterm 1 mark turns out to be unhelpful to you (i.e., you do better on Midterm 2 and/or the final), I won’t count Midterm 1 against you. Doing the right and honourable thing shouldn’t put you in any worse position than your classmates who leave things as-is (where Midterm 1 doesn’t count).
If any student signs such a declaration and then I hear that they did participate in the misconduct in any way, that will become a much more serious issue. So, this path isn’t for everyone, but if you are entirely innocent of this misconduct, it could be for you.
Taking responsibility
I invite students who participated in the academic misconduct to come talk with me about it: what happened, their role in it, etc. I hope that, by discussing this frankly and openly, truth can come out, valuable lessons can be learned and we can close the book on this incident. For the students who come forward, I have no intention of pursuing any further sanction beyond what everyone else is already suffering under: the loss of all credit for the midterm [1].