Accused of cheating? SMART students do THIS
Professor accuses you of cheating? What do do
Are you in a situation where your professor has turned you in for cheating, but you promise that you did not cheat?
However, you might also find yourself visiting this article if you really did cheat and you need some advice on how to deal with it.
If so, you’ve come to the right place because I was a professor, and I know exactly how to handle these situations.
There is nothing worse than being accused of something that you honestly didn’t do, and you probably feel really helpless right about now.
And if you did cheat, I will give you some REAL ADVICE on how to handle it.
What to do if you are falsely accused of cheating by your professor?
If you can deal with this allegation informally, the better the outcome. I want you to know that your professor may not have an option but to submit their allegation to the appropriate office.
This is done to protect you and to make sure you are represented, but if you can avoid that process, you might get a better deal.
If you are falsely accused of cheating, you need to talk directly with your professor. I recommend going in person and discussing the situation with them. Below are the steps you should take after you’ve been falsely accused of cheating in college.
1.) Go to your professor with evidence that you did not cheat
2.) Explain the consequences of this false allegation
3.) Offer to complete the same assignment again, with a proctor
4.) Give them examples that demonstrate your integrity
5.) Go to the Dean of Students Office (or similar office) for advice
6.) Appeal the allegation
You want to explain to your professor why they should believe you. Your approach will entirely depend on what type of cheating you are being accused of. Do you have any evidence to help prove that you did not cheat?
Let’s say that you are being accused of getting information from online sources, and your professor thinks you didn’t do your own work, you could offer to answer the questions verbally to prove that you really do know the information. Let them know that they could quiz you now over the material if they wanted to.
Another way to help prove that you didn’t cheat is to see if your professor will allow you to do the work in front of them to help prove that you really do know the information and didn’t cheat.
I also would try to let your professor know exactly how this allegation is going to effect you in the long run. Could you possibly lose a scholarship? Or would this hurt your G.P.A.?
You could also explain how this accusation hurts your mental well-being too since you really are not guilty of cheating. Explain that you have the upmost integrity and that this allegation bothers you emotionally. You can support this with evidence that shows your level of morality.
If you still aren’t getting anywhere with your professor, then find the Dean of Students Office (or similar office) to discuss your options. They will be able to help you understand how you can defend yourself against these allegations.
If your professor still thinks you cheated and the college agrees, you should have the ability to appeal that decision. Check your student handbook to find your college’s process. Sometimes it is out of your professor’s hands.
The key to success here is to be honest, professional and polite.
What can you do if your professor thinks you cheated?
If your professor thinks you cheated, you need to understand their perspective first. After determining what evidence they have against you, you should plan to discuss the allegation with your professor informally.
If you did cheat, I think that you should admit that you cheated and try to negotiate the consequences. If it is your first time cheating, you may be able to work out a deal.
If you are accused of cheating, don’t become defensive or angry. Try to stay calm and explain your situation with facts instead of emotions.
When I thought that students cheated, sometimes I had a lot of overwhelming evidence that proved that they cheated very easily but sometimes there was a logical explanation that disproved my allegations.
Occasionally I would have guilty students admit their wrongdoing but explain why they cheated. If you did cheat, it is best to explain to your professor why you cheated and what you have learned after getting caught.
You want to explain to your professor that you understand that you are impacting your student learning by cheating, and that you are willing to take integrity courses to educate yourself more.
Finally, you want to make sure that you tell your professor that you are willing to complete an alternative assignment or you will even take a grade penalty.
My best tip here is to just be honest about it. It takes a lot of humility to admit that you cheated, but it might work in your favor if you do own up to your mistakes.
How do you prove that you did not cheat in college?
If you want to prove to your professor that you did not cheat in college, you need to gather evidence that supports your stance. It is recommended that you tell your professor that you are willing to complete the same assignment, in front of them, to prove that you can recreate your answers very similarly.
If you can get them to agree, you can show them that you know as much as you did when you completed the assignment. I know you won’t be able to do it the exact same as before, but you should still perform pretty similarly.
Sometimes they might disagree with this proposition. If they do, you can explain to your professor that you can see why they think you cheated, but explain why you didn’t.
I had a student that I thought used artificial intelligence to complete her assignment. I talked to the student personally, and I told them about my suspicions. They apologized for giving me the impression they cheated and explained that they did their work independently but would be happy to redo the assignment to better reflect work that doesn’t imitate cheating.
This worked, and I allowed the student to redo the assignment. Their response did not necessarily admit that they cheated, but I had a pretty good idea that they did. At least they were willing to redo the assignment and took the news pretty well.
Can a professor give you a F if they think you cheated?
A professor can give you a F if you are found responsible for cheating. Before they can give you a grade for the assignment or their course, they will likely have to go through a formal process first. Most colleges will require professors to submit academic dishonesty accusations to the college for further investigation.
After a professor gathers enough evidence to make a cheating allegation against you, they will likely have to report that to the college for a formal and fair investigation.
When they do this, that office or committee will investigate and come to a decision. If they agree with the professor, the professor will almost always come up with the penalty.
Some professors may fail you in their class altogether, or they could give you a F on that assignment. It depends on the professor. The professor should have their penalties outlined in the syllabus.
If not, check the student handbook to see if they have the penalties for academic dishonesty listed there.
What can my professor do if they think I cheated?
Your professor has a variety of penalties that they can assign to you if they think you cheated, but most colleges will require the professor to wait until the college has investigated the allegations themselves. Penalties for cheating can range from a failure in the course to a redo opportunity for that assignment.
Some professors might not tell the college that they think you cheated and instead will talk to your personally.
This approach can sometimes work out better for you because your professor may be able to deal with it informally and you might avoid more serious consequences.
Remember, if you are dealing with the allegation informally, it is possible that you could suffer far worse consequences depending on how your college works.
I like to equate this to the criminal justice system. If you plead guilty and settle outside of court, you are going to give up some of your rights. The same is true in this situation. You won’t have anyone on your side and will be at the mercy of your professor.
So, please understand your professor’s personality and intentions. Are they trying to get you to admit to cheating just to punish you or are they wanting to help you avoid more serious outcomes?
Can my professor accuse me of cheating without any proof?
Your professor will need to have some proof to formally accuse you of cheating. Without proof, they might have a conversation with you if they suspect cheating and see what you say about it. If they don’t have real proof, the allegation cannot go anywhere.
Most colleges in the United States will require the professor to provide evidence that helps support their cheating allegation. If they don’t have enough evidence, the allegation will be dropped.
As a former professor, I never saw a circumstance were a professor accused a student of cheating without ANY evidence. Now, I am not saying that your professor can’t accuse you of cheating, but the college should drop the case if there is nothing to back it up.
But this entirely depends on your college. Most public universities are going to have a formal process that they will follow for academic dishonesty, and it almost always requires some evidence rather than a hunch or gut instinct.
If you are outside of the United States or attending a private university, it might be different for you though so check with your college to find out their process.
But for most universities, they can’t just accuse students of cheating if they have NO proof. But the proof doesn’t have the be solid proof. I like to explain to students that the scales just need to be tipped in your favor.
If it is more likely than not that you cheated, you will be found guilty. They don’t have to get a confession from you to claim you cheated.
Should I admit to cheating if my professor accuses me?
As a professor, I would tell students that they should maintain integrity and admit that they cheated if they truly did. You have the opportunity to redeem yourself and gain the trust back from your professor.
It is very likely that your professor is going to appreciate your honesty and the college could go easy on you.
If you deny it, and are still found responsible for cheating, you could still be penalized. At least they could give you a lighter penalty if you admitted it early on. It isn’t guaranteed, but it definitely might help your case.
It is going to be pretty hard to escape the cheating allegation if your professor has some solid proof so you might as well own up to it.
But sometimes those consequences of cheating are far too severe for you to just admit it, and if they don’t have proof, you might want to appeal the allegation instead.
You need to weigh the pros and cons of admitting wrongdoing before you commit either way.
Do professors always report cheating?
No, professors do NOT always report cheating because they have a lot of discretion on how they deal with the situation and reporting the allegation to the college can be timely.
But if the professor wants to have the college involved so that the student can receive some disciplinary action, they will need to report it.
I find that the more experienced professors may just handle the first offense informally while other professors prefer to report it to the college so that it can be on the student’s educational records.
I am not aware of any university wide policy that requires professors to report cheating. And honestly, if professors reported every single allegation of scholastic dishonesty, the college would have to hire more people to deal with the offenses.
Now that you know all about cheating and its consequences, I know you can forge ahead and deal with this allegation to the best of your ability.
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