I would like to tell you about a situation that happened to a friend recently.
A student was dismissed from taking a final which resulted in an "F" in the course. It was their final course of the entire program. The cause for dismissal, "Violation of Classroom Rules," during an informal, optional quiz review.
Initially, there were false allegations made by another student that he had been reading questions to himself and recording it on his mobile device. Upon investigation, there was no probable evidence to prove that this student was cheating. The student was already passing the course and none of the questions reviewed were going to be repeated on the final; therefore, it showed no intent to cheat or gain an academic advantage.
After academic dishonesty was ruled out, faculty members decided to switch things around and cite the student for violating classroom rules by having a cell phone out instead. The violation resulted in an inability to take the final, fail the course, and subsequently repeat the class next year.
The student is an excellent scholar with a clean record and no previous history of offenses; holds numerous character references, tutors students, teaches children part-time, and has proven clinical competence throughout the program. Upon graduation, the student would of been ACLS, BLS, ECG, and Critical Care certified -- a truly ambitious, self-determined individual.
The student was disciplined with guidelines not set forth by the syllabus. He was also denied his first amendment rights. There were repeated attempts to speak with the instructor. Though the student posed no threat, security was notified twice to remove the student from campus.
The student does not feel that the totality of the circumstances were considered. These circumstances include the nature of their violation, their true intentions, the degree of premeditation, their acceptance of personal responsibility, the need for any unfair advantage, history of offenses, their academic history/honors, their pro-active approach to correcting their mistakes, and considering if there were any actual or potential harm that have caused to other students or to the school.
The penalties they imposed were not fair, humane, and proportionate to the infraction. As a result of the faculty's misapplication of policy and procedure, there will be a direct impact on the livelihood of the student's future which will result in a loss of income from a delay in their RN licensure.
The student is an excellent scholar with a clean record and no previous history of offenses; holds numerous character references, tutors students, teaches children part-time, and has proven clinical competence throughout the program. Upon graduation, the student would of been ACLS, BLS, ECG, and Critical Care certified -- a truly ambitious, self-determined individual.
With all due respect, all of that does little to prove his academic integrity--it's a mistaken belief that the only people who cheat are those who are doing poorly. Unless you ARE him, you have no way of knowing with absolute certainty that he wasn't going to use that information unethically.
I wasn't there so I only know the side of the story you tell. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say he meant no harm. If the student feels this was unfair, then he should file an appeal. But he should keep in mind that if he was in fact taping questions, he was recording test material that--and I'll bet my cat that he and you know this--he wasn't allowed to be recording, even if his intentions were innocent.
He also knew he couldn't be using his cell phone in class. The fact that others students may have done it and gotten away with it doesn't mean anything--he still broke the rules. He can use that as an argument in his favor...but I doubt it'll get him very far.
At least the student wasn't dismissed from the program, which would have been a career killer--he just has to retake the course. So it could have been far worse.
There just seems to be more to the story than what's out there.
In my class, we had a student that cheated on his own exams and then passed the information on to the younger, female, nursing students. All of his classmates knew about it, and the professors were aware, but nothing was ever done. That is, until 2 professors slowed him down. One was a med-surg professor that refused to have him in another class. He got around that by appealing and taking an on-line equivalent. The other, our OB instructor, granted him no leniency, and he repeated that class three times. Somehow, he did eventaully graduate. This guy was a military man, friendly enough, but was always wanting to take the easy way.
I get a guilty pleasure out of checking our state licensing board for his name, and noticing he hasn't passed NCLEX, after at least 3 attempts.
I'm just saying maybe there is more to the story than the OP knows, or is letting us know.
"I'm just saying maybe there is more to the story than the OP knows, or is letting us know"
My thought exactly. I've been very struck by this thread and another current thread, both of which purport to represent others' experiences. When we don't know any of the involved parties and are only hearing from 2nd/3rd-hand sources, who are we to issue opinions?
The student is an excellent scholar with a clean record and no previous history of offenses; holds numerous character references, tutors students, teaches children part-time, and has proven clinical competence throughout the program. Upon graduation, the student would of been ACLS, BLS, ECG, and Critical Care certified -- a truly ambitious, self-determined individual.
I went to school with a girl just like this.She was truly accomplished and intelligent, an abitious, self-determined individual. And she knew it. She also believed she above the rules the rest of us abided by.
There was no cheating. Think about it, if the device can record and capture a lecture from 10-20 ft. away from the speaker then why would he need to put the phone out in the open? Having placed it in his pocket or something would have been sufficient enough to get a clear recording. Needless to say, the student was set up. The person who made the report had interpersonal issues with the student.
The student is an over achiever. He has an exceptional ability to critically think, which truly reflects his knowledge. it's not about his character.
It was a simple mistake with disciplinary actions that were unjust. Imagine if you were this student -- ambitious, ready to tackle nclex, and had a new grad opportunity waiting -- then suddenly you're thrown for a loop over something as a small as answering your phone.
I agree with everyone else who says there's more to this than the OP is stating.
Given the school's response, I find it really hard to believe that the guy is completely innocent. The biggest indicator of that to me is the fact that his attempts to contact the instructor were met with removal from the campus. That's really extreme and signifies that something is definitely wrong. I also find it odd that such an ambitious student with "character references" and whatnot would have no other faculty from the program that's on his side in the matter.
Even though it's unfortunate he won't graduate when he was expecting to, under the circumstances he's lucky that he still has a chance to complete the program at a later date. He should still try to appeal and see what happens, but otherwise..it's a minor setback and he should just remain calm and try to learn from the ordeal.
I will be graduating in 2 weeks (yay me!) and I have spent the last 3 years of my life watching people expect to be above the rules. For those of us who follow the rules, seeing people expect special treatment after breaking the rules is infuriating! There is a student in my class who has repeatedly and openly plagiarized yet will still be graduating with us; while a student in the cohort behind us was expelled for doing the same thing (or so the story goes). While it looks unfair from the outside, I don't know the whole story of either student so what good will it do for me to worry about it? We don't know the OP's whole story, obviously, so it is very likely that there are things that have occurred that the OP is unaware of that make this consequence adequate.
The best advice I can give the OP is to turn around and walk away from this. Getting involved and vocalizing your opinions will only be detrimental to you. I learned the hard way a long time ago not to get involved in coming to other people's rescue. I can only worry about myself and what I am doing. Being in nursing school should mean there is no extra time or energy to focus on drama. Don't let this bring you down, too.
No one knows why the instructor called campus security. The student posed no threat, verbally or physically. Security was called once because he staff was leaving for the day and he was still on campus talking to his peers about the situation. The second time, they were called to guard the doors of the classroom during the final. Again, totally bizarre.
Something about your story just isn't clicking with me, and I trust my judgment. Your friend's option is to follow the appeals process of the school. Period.
Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
are you this "student"?
i'm thinking the same thing... either that or an advocate/lawyer for the student. this post is very well written from an advocate's perspective and it is too detailed to be a second person's account with the exception of one taking up this person's case!
Something about your story just isn't clicking with me, and I trust my judgment. Your friend's option is to follow the appeals process of the school. Period.
Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN
4 Articles; 7,907 Posts
With all due respect, all of that does little to prove his academic integrity--it's a mistaken belief that the only people who cheat are those who are doing poorly. Unless you ARE him, you have no way of knowing with absolute certainty that he wasn't going to use that information unethically.
I wasn't there so I only know the side of the story you tell. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say he meant no harm. If the student feels this was unfair, then he should file an appeal. But he should keep in mind that if he was in fact taping questions, he was recording test material that--and I'll bet my cat that he and you know this--he wasn't allowed to be recording, even if his intentions were innocent.
He also knew he couldn't be using his cell phone in class. The fact that others students may have done it and gotten away with it doesn't mean anything--he still broke the rules. He can use that as an argument in his favor...but I doubt it'll get him very far.
At least the student wasn't dismissed from the program, which would have been a career killer--he just has to retake the course. So it could have been far worse.
Best of luck to him and you.