To tell someone that he cheated?

[SharkiraSharkira]

I'm in my last year of my uni degree and have just done my final exam for one of my units.

One of the other students who was in the course last year has had to repeat the year as they didn't pass overall but did pass the particular unit I was doing so I didn't have to retake it.

We were talking about the exam and he told me that he blatantly cheated in the exam, as in took his phone in and looked stuff up. He said he didn't know how he got away with it and that without it he wouldn't have passed. I do believe him, the invigilators at the uni are not particularly strict, none of them even checked us for phones when we went in.

I'm now feeling really uncomfortable about this. On the one hand I think it would be really mean to dob him in and potentially ruin his chance of passing but on the other hand it doesn't sit right with me that he cheated. Wibu to tell someone?

I wouldn't. You have no proof. They will ask him, he will say no. It's not worth the hassle.

I would. What lottie says is probably true, but if you tell someone you've done your bit and it might, if nothing else, cause them to improve their invigiliation in future.

^invigilation.

Not sure. He'd probably deny it and how would you prove it and also the consequences would be so severe for him ( banned for life in my uni) that even if he did I don't think I'd have the heart to do it to anyone no matter how wrong it was

Thats just plain mean. What you give out you get back x3.

He obviously trusts you a lot to have told you this.

As pp have said, you couldn't prove it. It could make you look bad/jealous if you say things like this without proof.

Maybe he didn't even cheat, but is just telling you this to show he's done something "cool" or whatever.

If he HAS cheated, he'll come to realise he can't get through life this way. He won't get far at work if he is lacking the knowledge he should have from his degree.

That's what I was thinking about Flora, he was quite blasé about it, there was another person there when he told me who also knows and from the way he was talking about it I don't think he would hide the fact in the future which could get him in a lot of trouble in the wrong situations. But I'm not sure I can bring myself to say anything, he already failed that year once and this won't help at all

It seems really unlikely that he'd get away with looking stuff up on his phone during an exam.

Maybe just tell him that he should be careful letting everyone know he cheated. He doesn't sound very smart, to be honest. Cheating is bad enough, going round telling the world is even more idiotic.

From what you've told us here, this guy is going to do a perfect job of screwing his own life up without any help from anyone else. Hopefully, he'll start to mature soon!

I wouldn't get involved if I were you.

It was the invigilators fault for not paying attention. I had an exam once where they (after handing out 90% of the papers) realised that they didn't have enough copies of the test. Queue the examiner leaving the room without collecting back the papers from other students. Some got their books/notes out and started filling out the questions. On their own conscious be it. I feel sorry for people who can't be tested on their own merits, eventually their inability to do their own work will catch up with them.

I think the important thing is that you're not responsible for his actions.

Don't feel guilty if you decide not to say anything.

Depends on the course if it's healthcare e.g nursing or medicine then he hasn't met the full criteria to safely practice. If it's something like English literature then I wouldn't.

It's law related moonlight. Not a law degree but similar area.

I suppose he can't cause any harm in regards to obtaining the degree but he sounds like an idiot shouting his mouth off that someone who no doubt tell the university.

I was in a similar situation at university a few years back and spoke to my tutor about it. I explained that the chap in question had written formulae all over his hands and arms and that I felt really uncomfortable about it going on. I didn't name who it was but would have if they pressed me on it. They stepped up the invigilator after that so had he done it again he would have got caught, but I think for him it was this one specific exam.

Could you talk to someone about it and not name names?

Queue the examiner leaving the room

Wasn't an english exam, then.

Pseudonym99, very good catch. I suppose I shouldn't be on MN when I've had about 5 hours sleep in two days. It makes my English go very not good, but so glad we have posters like you to pick it out! Do you get a special badge for doing so?

Oh, but you were wrong about one thing, it was an English exam. Hope you're not too shocked that even those of us who studied the language make mistakes every so often.

I wouldn't tell on him.

I agree with the people saying that if he DID cheat, and only does well because he cheated, it will catch up with him - eventually. Because he will not be as good at the subject, as he is going to appear to be (IYSWIM.)

It's like when my kids were doing GCSEs (a few years ago, when it was 50 or 60% course work,) the school were trying to 'look good' in the eyes of OFSTED, and the teachers were instructed to help the kids that weren't so academic. And by 'helping,' I mean by doing most of their course work for them, to make sure that they had an 'A' in the course work. Then if they got an E in their exam, they would have an overall 'C' grade...

So loads of kids left with high C and even low B grades in their GCSE's, when they should have really have had high and low D's, and even E's.

It caught up with them though in college, when they couldn't do their A levels. They got no help there, and struggled massively, and some had to drop out. Some were made to leave, as they didn't even make it to a low E in their A.S's. (the first half of the A level.)

(My kids never had any help, and did everything themselves, and got high B's and A's in their GCSE's, and consequently went on to do well in their A levels...)

Report this lad if you wish, but I'm not sure how you can prove it now.

Let him stew in his own juices. If he DID cheat, then he is lying about his abilities, and he will take a massive fall; eventually.

EdmundCleverClogs

Think you need a sense of humour transplant.

Pseudonym99, oh sorry, you don't read as if you're being funny. Must be down to my awful English skills, and not your inability to set the tone of your post . How does one go about having a 'sense of humour transplant', is there a place near your grammar correction comedy school?

Have you decided what to do, OP?

I'd go with Sweary's suggestion.

It depends on how heavy it would weigh on your conscience if you felt complicit in helping someone cheat. Ie they have told you, which kind of makes you party to it.

All you can really do is speak to someone in confidence, let them know what was said. You saw no proof of cheating so it would be your word against theirs.

But again, if you think they're just trying to big themselves up by claiming they cheated then just let it lie. Either way the truth will out.

Declaration of interest: I'm a university lecturer.

Talk to your tutor. It's not your job to prove anything, but, for many good reasons, no university wishes to tolerate cheating, nor to be seen to tolerate it.

It's difficult. It also complicates things that there was someone else there when he said it as I'm now worried that they might say something and if I don't I might get in trouble. I really don't know, never been in this situation before!