UDC CHEATING Forum

[clk32]

Every semester law schools administer final exams in each course, commonly these exams consist of 100% of the students grades. Generally, Professors take a long time to create these exams as they are rigorous and cover material from the entire semester. However, Professor Robin Alexander of UDC Law School administered an exam to her first year students that was entirely photocopied from a professional study guide that students had utilized to study for the course. As a result her students received very positive grades; in fact 70% of the students received an A or better.
A few weeks after the final exams were graded Professor Alexander sent a memo (attached and really poorly written) to the class expressing allegations of cheating. She claims that a student must have broken into her office and stolen her answer sheet and distributed the answer sheet, since the final exam grades were so high. Furthermore, she adds that she has no evidence of these implications and that these allegations were initiated by rumors and a hunch. As a result, the Professor nullified the final exam grades leaving students with a tailored subjective final grade consisting of participation and a random group assignment created previously as a drafting practice activity. The grade distribution consisted of most students receiving Cs and Ds in the course and the third year law students that took her course, now face the threat of having their degrees taken away.
UDC Law students have taken a stand including visiting every dean, faculty and member of UDC Law in efforts to fix this injustice. Additionally, the Dean of Academic Affairs, Dean Richardson, has stated that she has no evidence of cheating but the students grades shall stand as they are, even if it means students are losing their law degrees, internships, scholarships, and job offers. Furthermore, Dean Richardson is protecting a Professor’s job by making the students look bad, in fact she has encouraged a witch hunt (the Professor wrote in her memo too) by asking students to disclose who the wrongdoers are and settle this matter for the administration. Dean Richardson has deliberately ignored all remedies and appeals available by UDC’s policy handbook, in which the students have requested and she has instructed Professors and other Deans to disassociate themselves with this situation. Furthermore, conveniently, UDCs board of academic standards is unable to meet to investigate the situation.
Interestingly enough, Professor Alexander use to serve as General Counsel for UDC until she was part of an OIG investigation for illegal contracting practices. Upon the close of their investigation, the University was instructed to either fire her or relegate her to a different position. Therefore, the University reassigned her as the Professor of Contracts and Professional Responsibility --No, I am not kidding.
Currently, numerous UDC Students are in the process of filing a law suit against UDC Law School. The Law School has violated their due process rights by sanctioning the students without a hearing and violating their self imposed policies concerning these types of issues. Furthermore, UDC Law students have filed a complaint with the ABA board that oversees the accreditation of UDC. UDC’s accreditation has been threatened numerous times in the past, law suits and situations such as this one are not uncommon with UDC Law.
Unfortunately, Dean Richardson has told students that bringing this situation to the attention of the media or getting involved legally would result in negative treatment from the school and its administration. In fact the Dean has been quoted as telling students that “life just isn’t fair”.



Contacts concerning this situation:
Dean Anna Maria Steward (student affairs)
Telephone: (202) 274-7322
E-mail: asteward@udc.edu

Dean Ann B. Richardson
Department: Bldg. 38 Rm. 212
Title: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
E-mail: arichardson@udc.edu
Phone: (202) 274-7345

Professor Robin Alexander
Telephone: (202) 274-7318
E-mail: ralexander@udc.edu

UDC Contracts II First Year Students
udcdcsl2012@googlegroups.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of the District of Columbia
David A. Clarke School of Law
4200 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Building 38, 2nd Floor
Washington, D.C. 20008
(202)274-7318


To: The UDC David A. Clarke School of Law
Class of 2012 Day Students and
Class of 2013 Evening Students

From: Professor Robin C. Alexander

Re: Contracts II Final Exam-taking Honor Code Violations

Date: May 13, 2010

By now you must be aware that I have circumstantial and physical evidence of cheating on the Contracts II final exam. Indications are that it may have been widespread and infects both the day and evening classes. Unfortunately, I have no solid evidence of the identity of the wrongdoers.

A number of persons have complained that they learned after-the-fact that, thanks to the TA’s generously detailed description of the topics of each exam question, someone was able to identify the questions I had drawn unadvisedly from a single published bar prep resource and actually put the questions in order with their answers. It is not beyond ken that someone acquired a copy of my Answer Key prior to the exam. Either method of access and preparation for the exam is cheating, not research, and is a violation of the Honor Code to which each of you was required to sign an oath of adherence during your orientation.

However, no one has been able or willing to identify either the person or persons disseminating the answers before the exam or those who accepted them.

I refer you to the following selected excerpts from Volume II of your Student Handbook for Academic Year 2009-2010:

The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of law operates under an Honor System. The legal profession is responsible for enforcing its own standards of conduct, and the School of law operates accordingly. Law students are preparing for entry into a profession that requires ethical conduct and integrity of its members. In order for graduates to enter the profession, the school must certify that they are of good moral character. Accordingly, students at the School of Law are expected to abide by the Honor System in all their relationships as members of the law school community. Students are also expected to prevent violations of the Honor System, and to ensure its effective functioning.

Students must conduct themselves lawfully and with integrity in all aspects of the School of law’s community. They must observe the norms of fairness and honesty in their personal conduct and in their dealings with others. They must not engage in conduct that is illegal or contrary to the general norms of conduct in a professional institution.

Student Handbook, Vol. !!, page 1.

* * *
1. Academic Norms and Standards, Subparagraph (b) Honesty in taking examinations provides that:

Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher. Students also may not assist other students in cheating on an examination.

Student Handbook, Vol. II, page 3 (emphasis added).

Under 4. (b), Procedure for reporting a complaint of a violation, there is the further admonition:

It is a violation of the Honor System to fail to report academic, professional or statutory malfeasance. Complaints by faculty members, students or staff of a violation of the Honor System must be made to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Dean Richardson advises me that no one has reported the misconduct to her. Consequently, every one of you who knows anything about the cheating is in violation of the Honor Code, whether or not you participated in the dishonest conduct.

Consequently, I am nullifying the results of your written examination. Your grades for Contracts II will consist of your participation grade, your midterm grade and your grade on the collaborative writing exercise, which will stand for 100% of the final exam. I am keeping my promise to not let the midterm grade hurt you. I expect this resolution of the problem will hurt some of the innocent as well as deprive the miscreants of their attempted gains, but, without sufficient evidence to identify the wrongdoers, I cannot think of a more fair way of addressing the problem.

One of the things I love about teaching is the opportunity to learn from my students. This lesson has been a bitter one, but a lesson nonetheless. Rest assured that I will henceforth put more energy, thought, time and creativity into fashioning exams and I will guard the Answer Keys much more carefully. I have also withdrawn my previous exams from the library reserve. Questions from those exams will not be reused.

But that’s not the end of it. The misdeeds discussed above were immeasurably compounded the week after the exam when someone posted on your class facebook page a threat of physical bodily harm to anyone who might consider coming forward: "Snitches get stitches." The newest name for that is "cyberbullying." It is a crime. Unless each of you is willing to live your law school career under the intimidation of your own classmates, you need to stand up to it now. Don’t let it taint your class or tarnish the reputation of your school. Only you can stop it: all of you and each of you.

HTML Translation provided by INSO Corporation's Outside In® HTML Export software.

[yinz]

Why so duplicative?

[romothesavior]

Don’t let it taint your class or tarnish the reputation of your school.

I don't think this should be too much of a concern.

[CG614]

I currently live in DC and a poster on the metro told me that UDC Law is one of the nation's top public interest law schools. ha

[Threepeat]

Only you can stop it prevent forest fires: all of you and each of you.

[blurbz]

Interesting, yes. Does it need tons of threads? No. One will suffice, thanks.

[doomed123]

I currently live in DC and a poster on the metro told me that UDC Law is one of the nation's top public interest law schools. ha

It seems like every bad school in oversaturated primary markets makes this claim.

[SHARK WEEK!]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

[NU_Jet55]

I currently live in DC and a poster on the metro told me that UDC Law is one of the nation's top public interest law schools. ha

It seems like every bad school in oversaturated primary markets makes this claim.

Lol public defenders ftw!

[CG614]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

This is a little strong. I mean, you are making some serious assumptions here, as was the professor in her email. What if during the review session a student realized the topics were similar to the prep test. They then shared the information with classmates, indicating it may be a good study source. How would that be cheating? If someone had express knowledge that the study guide would be the test and passed along that information, then I agree with you. BUT that is a big if and it is entirely unclear whether that was the case. To revoke grades, I think the professor needed more proof.

[rayiner]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

What does your post even mean? If a student uses a supplement to prepare for the course, and the teacher copies questions out of the supplement, that's unauthorized access to questions? If a student guessed that their con law exam would be on the healthcare bill, is that cheating too? After all, the teacher never authorized it!

What we have here is a teacher who is both stupid and corrupt, and an administration that is, well, stupid and corrupt. I mean, it is a DC public school after all.

[kalvano]

There's a school called UDC?

[romothesavior]

There's a school called UDC?

My first impression as well. Had to look it up.

[NU_Jet55]

long self righteous post

Jeez calm down dude.

[romothesavior]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

For a second I thought you were Matthies... glad you're not.

[holydonkey]

UDC CHEATING thread posted at 9:19 is best UDC CHEATING thread, suckas!

Enjoy dla piper, 9:24 thread.

[SHARK WEEK!]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

This is a little strong. I mean, you are making some serious assumptions here, as was the professor in her email. What if during the review session a student realized the topics were similar to the prep test. They then shared the information with classmates, indicating it may be a good study source. How would that be cheating? If someone had express knowledge that the study guide would be the test and passed along that information, then I agree with you. BUT that is a big if and it is entirely unclear whether that was the case. To revoke grades, I think the professor needed more proof.

You counter my presumptions by relying on a very far-fetched assumption of your own my friend! Do you know what a probit analysis is? It's a statistical measurement - that many legal cases are decided on by the way - that measures the likelihood that an outcome resulted by chance, or, if an exterior variable was at play in affecting/effecting the outcome. The STRENGTH OF THIS VARIABLE CAN ALSO BE ESTIMATED - e.g., the analysis can show whether the answers were "hinted at" or "studied in a similar fashion", or, if the answers were blatantly copied. In this case, a 70 percent rate of A's is ample evidence (assuming a standard law school grading curve) that there was something akin to an ANSWER KEY disseminated prior to the exam. Any professor will tell you that, and, no statistician would have to waste his or her time conducting a probit analysis to demonstrate this.

Courts may take statistical analysis as proof by the way. In many issues related to policy, there's no other "proof" to rely on.

[romothesavior]

You counter my presumptions by relying on a very far-fetched assumption of your own my friend! Do you know what a probit analysis is? It's a statistical measurement - that many legal cases are decided on by the way - that measures the likelihood that an outcome resulted by chance, or, if an exterior variable was at play in affecting/effecting the outcome. The STRENGTH OF THIS VARIABLE CAN ALSO BE ESTIMATED - e.g., the analysis can show whether the answers were "hinted at" or "studied in a similar fashion", or, if the answers were blatantly copied. In this case, a 70 percent rate of A's is ample evidence (assuming a standard law school grading curve) that there was something akin to an ANSWER KEY disseminated prior to the exam. Any professor will tell you that, and, no statistician would have to waste his or her time conducting a probit analysis to demonstrate this.

Courts may take statistical analysis as proof by the way. In many issues related to policy, there's no other "proof" to rely on.

LOLOLOLOLOL.

Wish I wasn't at work... where is meme generator when you need it?

[SHARK WEEK!]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

What does your post even mean? If a student uses a supplement to prepare for the course, and the teacher copies questions out of the supplement, that's unauthorized access to questions? If a student guessed that their con law exam would be on the healthcare bill, is that cheating too? After all, the teacher never authorized it!

What we have here is a teacher who is both stupid and corrupt, and an administration that is, well, stupid and corrupt. I mean, it is a DC public school after all.

You blatantly ignore the "advance knowledge" part of the honor code. This is why the professor, dumb as she may be, mentions the difference between securing what is effectively an answer key and RESEARCHING, i.e. studying. Again, you have to look past the professor's idiocy (which she effectively admits to by saying that copying the questions was "inadvisable") and get to the real issue: That the student(s) obtained ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE of the exam and did not report it to the Dean. THAT IS CHEATING.

Look at it this way: The burden, as unfortunate as it may seem, was on the students, not the professor. Had none of the students found the bar prep guide, the exam could have gone on without a hitch. It was unfortunate that the professor chose to copy from a potentially valid source, but the point is, once the professor DID copy from the source, it became invalid. Why did it become invalid? Because once it is used/studied word-for-word, it endows the reader with PERFECT ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE of the exam questions. Again, it is unfortunate that 1) the professor is a moron and 2) that the students can therefore unknowingly cheat, but that is LIFE.

Unknowingly cheat?? (Sarcasm) How can that be? Have you ever heard of unknowing plagiarism?? Same issue. Apply it here.

[CG614]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

This is a little strong. I mean, you are making some serious assumptions here, as was the professor in her email. What if during the review session a student realized the topics were similar to the prep test. They then shared the information with classmates, indicating it may be a good study source. How would that be cheating? If someone had express knowledge that the study guide would be the test and passed along that information, then I agree with you. BUT that is a big if and it is entirely unclear whether that was the case. To revoke grades, I think the professor needed more proof.

You counter my presumptions by relying on a very far-fetched assumption of your own my friend! Do you know what a probit analysis is? It's a statistical measurement - that many legal cases are decided on by the way - that measures the likelihood that an outcome resulted by chance, or, if an exterior variable was at play in affecting/effecting the outcome. The STRENGTH OF THIS VARIABLE CAN ALSO BE ESTIMATED - e.g., the analysis can show whether the answers were "hinted at" or "studied in a similar fashion", or, if the answers were blatantly copied. In this case, a 70 percent rate of A's is ample evidence (assuming a standard law school grading curve) that there was something akin to an ANSWER KEY disseminated prior to the exam. Any professor will tell you that, and, no statistician would have to waste his or her time conducting a probit analysis to demonstrate this.

Courts may take statistical analysis as proof by the way. In many issues related to policy, there's no other "proof" to rely on.

Hahahaha... you are great! My scenario is more than plausible. So, the burden of proof is now on the accused? Guilty until proven innocent, is that right? First, we must be talking about a multiple choice test, cause an essay exam would allow the teacher to enact a curve. So, let's say almost all of the class studied using the same guide the professor used, it is certainly feasible that 70% would remember the answers. Also, this is a 3L class, so we have no indication of the class size. If it is 20 students, 70% is only 14 students, and it would be more feasible that a majority of the class studied together. Also, all caps never helps make a point.

[CG614]

To the OP:

It's quite frustrating to me that you have posted the professor's email, which clearly states the school's policy on cheating, and, which clearly covers the type of indiscretion your classmates (and presumably, you as well) have committed. Your basis for your counterargument seems to rest on the fact that the professor herself copied the questions from a bar prep guide. That is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether your classmates cheated as defined by your school's cheating policy.

"Students may not cheat on examinations, or get advance knowledge of examination questions by means not authorized by the teacher."

You're probably hoping that the "not authorized by the teacher" portion of the above statement does not apply to your case because it was never said that you may not consult bar prep guide materials when studying, no? Again, this fact is irrelevant. I am SURE your professor expected you to abide by the common sense rule that if you came upon an answer key of any sort that endowed you with advance knowledge of the exam questions, this should be reported to the professor and NOT to your fellow students, hence the honor code system's primary purpose, if no other purpose exists for it at all!

SHAME ON YOU FOR KNOWING WHO THE CULPRIT(S) ARE AND NOT REPORTING IT. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK FROM YOUR DEFENSIVE POSTURE AND RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM "CHEATING".

What does your post even mean? If a student uses a supplement to prepare for the course, and the teacher copies questions out of the supplement, that's unauthorized access to questions? If a student guessed that their con law exam would be on the healthcare bill, is that cheating too? After all, the teacher never authorized it!

What we have here is a teacher who is both stupid and corrupt, and an administration that is, well, stupid and corrupt. I mean, it is a DC public school after all.

You blatantly ignore the "advance knowledge" part of the honor code. This is why the professor, dumb as she may be, mentions the difference between securing what is effectively an answer key and RESEARCHING, i.e. studying. Again, you have to look past the professor's idiocy (which she effectively admits to by saying that copying the questions was "inadvisable") and get to the real issue: That the student(s) obtained ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE of the exam and did not report it to the Dean. THAT IS CHEATING.

Look at it this way: The burden, as unfortunate as it may seem, was on the students, not the professor. Had none of the students found the bar prep guide, the exam could have gone on without a hitch. It was unfortunate that the professor chose to copy from a potentially valid source, but the point is, once the professor DID copy from the source, it became invalid. Why did it become invalid? Because once it is used/studied word-for-word, it endows the reader with PERFECT ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE of the exam questions. Again, it is unfortunate that 1) the professor is a moron and 2) that the students can therefore unknowingly cheat, but that is LIFE.

Unknowingly cheat?? (Sarcasm) How can that be? Have you ever heard of unknowing plagiarism?? Same issue. Apply it here.

Wow, you are dense, huh?

[vanwinkle]

Unknowingly cheat?? (Sarcasm) How can that be? Have you ever heard of unknowing plagiarism?? Same issue. Apply it here.

If you read something before you are told it will be a part of your test, and it ends up being a part of your test, how is that in any way knowingly cheating?

[vanwinkle]

You know what, if folks want to discuss this, go here:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=123864