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Original poster

found my university exam online

129 replies

uniadvice84747 · 19/01/2022 16:05

i’m in my final year of university and have just done one of my exams. it was a multiple choice question exam done from home online.

basically i’m really confused and feel a bit like i’ve done something i shouldn’t have - my teacher had released practice quizzes over the last few months. these quizzes were taken directly from an external website not linked to the university, so they’re not the teachers own questions etc. didn’t think much of it as they were practice quizzes. i’ve been doing those, printed them off, studied them multiple times etc.

the actual exam today was made up entirely, word for word, of those questions. it took me about 10 minutes to complete an hours exam because i had literally studied the exact questions as revision. so my teacher has basically copied and pasted questions from a different website for our exam. is this allowed? i feel like i’ve cheated because i sort of knew every question and answer before they were up and it’s panicking me a bit, i also don’t understand why a teacher would copy and paste official exam questions for a real exam, it seems so risky? you can literally google the question and the whole quiz comes up with all of the answers on the original website? Hmm

OP posts:
pinkyredrose · 19/01/2022 16:07

Well you will have passed so i wwouldn't worry!

Justkeeppedaling · 19/01/2022 16:11

Something similar happened to me when I was doing my O Levels many many years ago.
I did loads and loads of past papers for Physics with DDad (physics teacher) because I was hopeless at it. The past paper I did the night before the exam was almost identical to the actual exam - I couldn't believe my luck.

BuanoKubiamVej · 19/01/2022 16:11

Its not your fault that the teacher was too lazy to compose an original exam and just copied one from the web. It's very poor practice on their part and means that your exam isn't a good measure of your knowledge or achievement but you haven't done anything wrong.

Ideally the teacher should be sacked for their laziness and that exam result declared void and your final outcome judged on other papers.

Winniewonka · 19/01/2022 16:12

Won't everyone else sitting the exam from your group also get 100% ? Whoever is marking the papers will surely realise something odd is going on.

Suzanne999 · 19/01/2022 16:15

There are only so many questions you can ask about a subject.
In multiple choice questions they have to be factual, so again the choice is going to be limited.
Essay questions give far more scope with the criteria set in advance ( eg students are expected to cite multiple theories of x and quote from so many theorists)
As far as I remember there are websites full of practice papers for every subject, so there’s bound to be crossover.
I wouldn’t worry.

NarcissistsEyebrows · 19/01/2022 16:18

Your teacher is going to be in a world of trouble if they're found out, I'd assume. That's not what they're paid to do and is piss poor IMO

CovidCorvid · 19/01/2022 16:19

Poor practice on the lecturer’s part but you haven’t done anything wrong

hivemindneeded · 19/01/2022 16:21

You have been conscientious in your revision prep. That's how you know the questions and answers. If you score 100% and they query it, explain this and say you had used that very paper as a practise paper and it is freely available online. Tutor's mistake, not yours.

MindyStClaire · 19/01/2022 16:22

@CovidCorvid

Poor practice on the lecturer’s part but you haven’t done anything wrong
This.

Your lecturer will have an uncomfortable time explaining the results at the exam board.

All you did was use a resource they provided for your revision. Nothing wrong with that at all.

LuchiMangsho · 19/01/2022 16:24

As an academic if I did this I would be in a WHOLE heap of trouble.

Tal45 · 19/01/2022 16:26

This just happened in one of my sons mocks.

How on earth can you do exams at home? The potential for people to cheat (or in your case to look like they've cheated) is huge. Seems like a terrible idea to me and would never be allowed in schools. Crazy.

MindyStClaire · 19/01/2022 16:26

@Tal45

This just happened in one of my sons mocks.

How on earth can you do exams at home? The potential for people to cheat (or in your case to look like they've cheated) is huge. Seems like a terrible idea to me and would never be allowed in schools. Crazy.

Yup...

We do put mitigations in place. But, yup...

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 19/01/2022 16:27

@Justkeeppedaling

Something similar happened to me when I was doing my O Levels many many years ago. I did loads and loads of past papers for Physics with DDad (physics teacher) because I was hopeless at it. The past paper I did the night before the exam was almost identical to the actual exam - I couldn't believe my luck.
Do teachers get the papers the day before exams?

I'd be quite suspicious of the fact your dad may have given you the actual paper as a practise paper just to give you a bit of a leg up 😂

CuriousaboutSamphire · 19/01/2022 16:27

You have been diligent and have cmpleted a lot of practice questions. That's what you are supposed to do.

Your lecturer on the other hand has been lazy. If there is any fall out it cannot land on your shoulders. If anyone asks tell them the truth. You have nothing to lose. Lecturer has quite a bit to lose and deserves to be caught out.

I could never have got away with it.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 19/01/2022 16:28

It's university @sparepantsandtoothbrush The exams aren't universal - yet!

RincewindsHat · 19/01/2022 16:29

IDK. It happened in my final exam for my degree, the paper was composed of the exact same questions we'd done as pre-exam prep. Sadly I had not studied them closely as I'd figured they WOULDN'T be in the exam, so it didn't help me anyway!

CuriousaboutSamphire · 19/01/2022 16:30

Oh, I see. Different post Smile

I've taken a few A level classes through past papers and, towards the end of a syllabus's life, got them to write their own questions based on what has not been questioned before. It's never a surprise at that point when they virtually write the exam.

There are some weaknesses in every system!

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 19/01/2022 16:35

@CuriousaboutSamphire

It's university *@sparepantsandtoothbrush* The exams aren't universal - yet!
I was replying to a different post. Sorry, probably didn't help that I didn't even reply to the OP!
justasking111 · 19/01/2022 16:39

Happened with my exams decades ago. It's not cheating you did your best the first time round

Spud1130 · 19/01/2022 16:41

I think I'd have to raise it. Are you studying anything where integrity is a key attribute? Maybe that's the test 😬

CuriousaboutSamphire · 19/01/2022 16:42

I realised about a squillisecond after I posted @sparepantsandtoothbrush Grin

Lottle · 19/01/2022 16:42

It's quite standard for them to pick from a bank of multi choice though I was first year when I experienced this

mynameiscalypso · 19/01/2022 16:43

I don't think it's unusual in a multiple choice exam for there to be a 'bank' of questions. If you learn the answers, you can pass very easily. There are only so many ways to ask the same questions. I did a post graduate professional qualification last year which was assessed by a proctored multiple choice exam and I just worked my way through the question bank a few times until I could do the whole thing in about 10 mins.

Rewis · 19/01/2022 16:44

Reminds me of a teacher that just recycled the same tests. My best friend sister is 4 years older and and very organised. She had her old tests saved up and in one subject they were always the same.

Jonesy88 · 19/01/2022 17:02

When I was at university one lecturer was well known for putting out the last mock that would be virtually identical to the real exam, just with the starting numbers changed. It became almost a way of testing the students that paid attention and kept her average up!

Given you completed the test online can you prove you didn’t cheat during the test? Ie that you remembered from revision rather than having the key in front of you?