On December 13 2006, the Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) ruled against a student for attempting to cheat during a Quantitative Methods mid-semester examination. The student in question asked for help from two of her colleagues after the lecturer had distributed examination papers. The case was brought to the committee by a student whose high level of integrity compelled him to report the incident. The AJC commends this student for the commitment to upholding Ashesi’s commitment to integrity, citizenship and scholarship. Despite affirmation from the two witnesses that examination was in progress, the accused denied emphatically asking for help during the examinations but admitted asking for help before the examination started. As stated in the academic regulations and policies: “Neither this school, its students nor its professional associations will condone cheating, lying or any other misrepresentations. Moreover anyone who willingly conceals these activities will be considered accomplices and equally culpable.”
Sanctions:
- For attempting to cheat, the student will receive a Failure in the examination
- For lying to the committee, the student will be suspended for a semester
The AJC hopes that others learn from this case and avoid making the same mistakes. The AJC would especially like to advise students of the following:
- Follow examination rules and regulations as laid out by the Registrar’s office and lecturers.
- Encourage colleagues to abide by examination rules and regulations
- Support the institution’s commitment to integrity by informing the Dean of Academic Affairs/Dean of Students of incidents of academic misconduct.
- Willingly concealing cheating, lying or any misrepresentation of a colleague makes you equally culpable.
