1 page Expository Essay on ethics

Tina - 1

Tina’s Troubles

This critical incident was prepared by the authors and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. The

views represented here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society for Case

Research. The views are based on professional judgment. Names have been disguised. Copyright © 2020 by the

Society for Case Research and the authors. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any

means without the written permission of the Society for Case Research.

Introduction

Tina anxiously waited for the grade on her first legal research assignment. She enjoyed her

undergraduate business law class but found it extremely challenging. She had spent the entire

weekend before the assignment was due researching the answers to 20 questions about U.S.

business law. When she logged into her university’s learning management system and saw the

grade of zero, she thought there must be a mistake. She immediately emailed her professor,

saying, “I am a bit confused as I submitted the assignment in class. Please let me know if

something is wrong with my paper.” Later that day, he responded to her email, saying, “Your

assignment matches another student’s assignment in significant regards.” He added, “It appears

that either you both divided the work or one of you copied the other’s work, neither of which is

acceptable.”

Tina was confused. She knew she had not worked with another student. She had done all of the

work on her own and had not allowed anyone to copy her work. She had no idea how this could

be happening to her. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” she asked herself.

Tina

Tina was an international student studying cybersecurity and management information systems

at a small, private university. She was in her early 30s and, as a first-generation college student,

prided herself on being dedicated and hardworking. Even though she enrolled in extra courses

most semesters, taking as many as 20 credit hours, she maintained a 3.5 overall grade point

average (GPA). Taking additional courses had paid off; Tina was a senior after only two-and-a-

half years.

Her heavy course load did not keep Tina from being involved in other activities. She enjoyed

her job at the computer center on campus. Not only did it relate to her major, but it also gave her

a chance to work with her fellow students. She hoped to get a full-time job at the computer

center after graduation while she pursued her master’s degree in cybersecurity. She was also a

member of Women in Information Technology and her university’s cybersecurity student club,

and she had been inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda, an honor society for non-traditional

students. Because she hoped to stay in the United States after finishing her education, Tina liked

the opportunities these organizations gave her to meet and network with professionals in her

field. Finally, she was deeply committed to her faith and attended church services frequently.

Business Law

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Business law was a required course for students majoring in business, and Tina had heard from

other students that it was one of the most difficult. Tina was well aware of the demands of the

course. The first assignment was only 2% of the overall grade, but Tina never took any

assignment lightly and wanted to make a good impression. At the top of the assignment was a

statement in bold, underlined letters: “This is NOT a group project. Any evidence of group

effort will result in zero points being awarded.” Tina didn’t give it a second thought, and she set

aside an entire weekend to research the answers by herself.

Tina met with the professor during his office hours the day after their email exchange. When he

showed her both hers and the other student’s paper, Tina agreed the submissions looked similar.

The professor pointed out that four questions Tina had answered incorrectly were worded exactly

the same by the other student. Tina was shocked.

The other paper had been submitted by a student named Paula. Tina did not know Paula except

through their business law class. She did recall that Paula had come to her desk at the computer

center while Tina was working and asked if she had finished the assignment. She told Paula that

she had, and it was a lot of work. Paula told Tina she had not started the assignment yet. Tina

was surprised because Paula had appeared to be a good student who attended class and took

notes. Paula said she was confused about how she should start the research. Tina told her she

had used the websites provided by the professor and the course textbook. Tina excused herself

to help a student who was having difficulty logging into the university’s network. When she

returned a few minutes later, Paula was still at Tina’s desk. She thanked Tina and left.

Tina explained her brief exchange with Paula at the computer center to her professor. He was

not pleased. He said she should not have spoken to Paula about the assignment. Tina said she

only helped Paula get started and did not share her ideas or her answers with Paula. “I was just

being a nice person,” Tina said. “I wasn’t cheating.”

Tina’s professor then asked if Paula had looked at her paper. Tina said, “Absolutely not. I never

showed it to her.” Her professor asked again, “How is it possible the answers are identical?”

Tina couldn’t explain it.

The University’s Academic Integrity Policy

According to the university’s Academic Integrity Policy, “Academic misconduct can be defined

generally as all acts of dishonesty in an academic or related matter” (“Academic Integrity

Policy,” n.d.). One of the categories of academic misconduct defined by the policy was

“Unauthorized assistance or collaboration. Giving or receiving aid on an assignment,

examination or other academic exercise without the express prior approval of the faculty

member.” Tina’s and Paula’s papers had some identical correct and incorrect answers. Her

professor assumed they worked together because he did not think there was any other way the

responses could be identical.

Another category of academic misconduct under the policy was “Engaging in or facilitating

academic dishonesty,” which included “giving someone your work product to copy or allowing

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someone to cheat from your examination or assignment” (“Academic Integrity Policy,” n.d.).

Tina had not given her work to Paula or allowed her to copy it. The policy also allowed faculty

members bringing charges of academic misconduct to determine the appropriate sanctions for

students who admitted they had committed the violation or who were found guilty of committing

the violation (“Academic Integrity Policy,” n.d.). In this case, the professor had decided a grade

of zero on the assignment was the appropriate sanction.

The Academic Integrity Policy also allowed a student the opportunity to file an appeal to the

university’s Academic Integrity Committee within 10 days of receiving the sanction. One of the

grounds for filing an appeal was the availability of “new information not previously available to

the student or faculty member” (“Academic Integrity Policy,” n.d.). If the committee decided to

hear a student’s appeal, it could rule the professor’s sanctions were appropriate, it could modify

the sanctions (making them more or less severe), or it could eliminate them (“Academic Integrity

Policy,” n.d.).

Tina’s Troubles

Shortly after she left the meeting with her professor, Tina recalled that Paula had been alone at

her desk in the computer center while she was helping the other student, and she realized she had

left her business law notebook on her desk. Her completed assignment was tucked into the front

of her notebook, with only the edges exposed. There was nothing on the notebook that indicated

it contained work Tina had done for the business law class or any other class, but could Paula

have opened it and seen her answers? Would Paula do that? Tina went to the computer center

and asked if anyone had seen a student rummaging around her desk that day. No one had. There

was not a security camera in that area, so there was no way she could confirm her suspicions.

Tina had no proof, but she had no other explanation. Should she tell her professor she suspected

that Paula had copied her answers? If she did, would that absolve her of responsibility in the

matter? And, even if she was not responsible, had she done anything unethical?

References

Academic Integrity Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://ut.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/catalog/Academic-Policies-and-

Procedures/Academic-Integrity-Policy