Help! Academic probation for using test bank.

<p>This has really gotten off-topic. I have fraternal twins and don’t believe identicals of opposite sex are possible. But even if they were what are the chances that is the case here- that one of the twins has Turner’s syndrome? Too many inconsistencies here to be true.</p>

<p>The twins in this case are both girls. The OP claims to be the brother of the twin girls, and he bought the materials for their use.</p>

<p>So, I´m guessing now the story is that he doesn’t actually attend the school but was helping his sisters out by obtaining practice tests for them? The same principle applies if this is really the case–was there, or was there not a clear policy on the part of the school that kids could not look for practice materials online?</p>

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<p>It is extremely douftful that the school did not have descriptions of academic dishonesty placarded in many places. It is also extremely douftful that students do not understand the dangers of ACTIVELY looking for academic crutches. </p>

<p>Inasmuch as none of us will ever know the finer points of the “fantastic” story told by the OP, it’s hard to believe that this is a case of mere ignorance of the honor rules. Fwiw, there is a world of difference between using a past released test and actively looking for “test bank” materials. And, fwiw, it does require more than a casual scouting to end up with previous tests for all of someone’s classes, especially in the college world. </p>

<p>Of course, as others have pointed out, there is something to be said about publishers offering this type of professional shortcuts, as well as teachers having to rely on canned tests. This is probably why this type of material is mostly found in the K-12 publications as it addresses the glaring deficiencies in subject teaching. </p>

<p>The last point is that we have to be aware that the explosion of web tools has also given birth to a 24/7 cottage industry of cheaters and fraudsters. Again, there is difference between students using released copies of the SAT, ACT, and other standardized tests and students ACTIVELY looking for tests obtained illegaly or under false promises. Although there are few geographical exceptions, it is also quite obvious that the biggest markets for such “enterprises” are located in Asia and that they target the US school system and a particular segment of the student population. </p>

<p>It seems that the definition and understanding of honor and academic “advancement” differ among cultures.</p>

<p>There’s something screwy about this story, surely (not even mentioning my suspicion that moneyisimportant might be a sock puppet as well).</p>

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<p>Can anyone point me to a college website that explicitly says that buying tests online is academic dishonesty?</p>

<p>Regardless of whether this is a true incident, I think it is an issue worthy of discussion if colleges professors are using pre-made tests. With the price of tuition, students at a minimum should be able to expect original exams, not least because of this very potential for an easily obtained unfair advantage. And if profs can’t take the time to make up there own exams, they better make sure that the ones they use cannot be obtained by just anybody online by doing their own search for them.</p>

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<p>Hmm, that thought has crossed my mind, from the very first page infact.</p>

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<p>He doesn’t appear to be from his earlier posts.</p>

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<p>ONE twenty seconds google search:</p>

<p>[-</a> Bethel University College of Arts & Sciences](<a href=“http://www.bethel.edu/cas/dept/aesc/academic-integrity/dishonesty-definitions]-”>http://www.bethel.edu/cas/dept/aesc/academic-integrity/dishonesty-definitions)</p>

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<p><a href=“School of Information | Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences | RIT”>School of Information | Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences | RIT;

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<p>I wouldn’t know, but he spells the word “advice” as advise, same with OP. He has detailed PM and put forth new info from OP but the original OP has disappeared.</p>

<p>I’m here, and the OP is not me. I lost interest in the thread when I started to figure out that’s the story wasn’t making sense and you started to argue about identical twins of different genders.</p>

<p>Please accept my apology if I incorrectly accuse something here.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure, but to me this sounds like it refers only to obtaining or attempting to obtain the actual exams given at the school. If a student goes online to find a practice chemistry exam and comes across a site that sells them with no disclaimer or indication that they are hacked or stolen material, is it incumbent upon him to ignore these study aids? I think it is the school’s responsibility to ensure that their exams are not accessible in this way.</p>

<p>I agree with Wildwood. As a student, I’m obviously allowed to find or buy study materials online: other texts, other lectures, study guides other people have put up, practice tests other people have made. How am I then to distinguish unauthorized materials, presuming
I did not misrepresent myself?</p>

<p>Sorry, moneyisimportant–the reason I suspected you of sock puppetry is that you have such a small post count, and you had unique personal info from the OP. It just added to the oddness of the OP’s story.</p>

<p>Sorry for all the confusions that anybody feels. However, I will not go into any more details of this case. I can’t tell everybody all the little details of this incidence because it’s still ongoing, I do not want anybody related to this incidence to find out about this and somehow let this post affect the outcome.
I first posted this thread in the hope that someone could point me to the right direction. I indeed received a lot of good advices and help. Thank you so much for all your help and even doubts. It’s deeply appreciated. To be honest, I did not expect this many people would respond to this post. Thank you again! When this whole thing is over, I promise to come back and fill in all the missing gaps and answer to all your doubts. I hope this thread could somehow be useful for others who are or will be in the same situation.</p>

<p>Hi you said you would update us on how things turned out, its been two years and still no update. after reading the thread Im still curious on how things worked out for you and your sister. Also would you mind sharing how exactly did your school find out?? Thanks</p>

<p>OP’s profile indicates he hasn’t been back to CC since his last post on 9/29/10. We’re not likely to ever hear how this story turned out.</p>

<p><a href=“In%20my%20view,%20being%20too%20lazy%20to%20make%20up%20your%20own%20tests%20counts%20as%20academic%20malpractice.”>QUOTE=CardinalFang</a>

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I know this is an old thread, with no update on the outcome, but I would just like to address this comment. I would never take an entire exam as is from a test bank, but it can be very helpful to have access to problems that others have successfully used on exams in the past. I have had a couple of occasions personally where a problem I put on an exam turned out to have major issues and was not appropriate for an exam format. I often turn to the internet for ideas on exam problems. </p>

<p>Personally, I have no problems with my students doing likewise.</p>