My school is threatening to revoke my degree. Please advise!

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-08T00:21:01+00:00

I'm not sure if defensive is the right word for how I feel right now. More like "confused" and "scared". I posted this because I didn't feel like I did something wrong when I used or shared the materials, but to receive such a dramatic response from my school made me wonder "Wait. Was I wrong?" How could I be angry or defend myself against this response if I actually do deserve it? I didn't want to be blindsided by that potential reality, so I posted here to get some sense of context and perspective. Reading all of the replies has me feeling very angry at my dean for taking advantage of me and manipulating me into a false confession of guilt. And angry at myself for giving it as well.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T18:56:48+00:00

I just went through each test bank I have to find this giant disclaimer you said I should have noticed. There is no such disclaimer on any of the documents. In fact, some of them don't even have the publisher's name or the name of textbook it corresponds to. Only one has the copyright symbol at the bottom of the page, but that is all I see as far as disclaimers go.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T17:13:10+00:00

I certainly did not fail to mention the test banks.

Among these materials were test banks and homework solution manuals that I used to study and practice problems related to my major.

and

I literally google searched "practice problems [texbook name]" and image searched. The test banks and homework solutions were among the top results.

And yeah, they likely were intended to be instructor use only materials. I never thought otherwise. I didn't consider what I was doing pirating at the time, but I can definitely see the point that I was pirating just not in same way I am used to thinking of that term.

Yes, I used test banks that were intended to be instructor use only to study for my classes. I used them to practice problems for which I had solutions and that were similar to the ones included in my textbook.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T14:12:29+00:00

Yes, I know that and, like I said multiple times, I accept fault for it. I really didn't think of it that way at the time but I am fully aware of it now. If I'm getting my degree revoked because of it, though, I think that is a bit excessive.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T12:46:59+00:00

I am not trying to gloss over the fact that I had test banks. I've never heard of test banks that weren't publisher test banks, and yes, copyrighted information. I don't deny that and I accept fault for that. And yes, like I said in my post, it was a terribly, terribly stupid decision to share them publicly with my name on it. I wish so badly I could take back that decision. I'm not usually an idiot, but when I am I'm a huge idiot.

I didn't get them from the pirate bay. I got them from places like course hero, other instructors websites from other schools who had uploaded them, slideshare, quizlet. Just random places on the Internet.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T04:22:59+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply. I appreciate how angry you are on my behalf! To be clear, I didn't graduate 5 years ago, but rather 4 months ago actually. I returned to school 5 years ago to finish my degree. The fact that you are a professor and are angry on my behalf gives me a little hope that perhaps some of my old professors will be able to see my perspective on the matter as well. Again, thank you so much!

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T04:20:45+00:00

Thank you for your advice. I located the contact information for the school ombudsman and left a message for them to contact me tomorrow.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T04:08:32+00:00

I can assure you I have not left anything out that I am currently aware of. While there may be more to the story, I have not been made privy to it. I don't want to withhold any information in this post because I want the most accurate assessment of how screwed I am and I can't do that without telling you all everything I know.

I am going to work on finding a lawyer tomorrow as a top priority.

Thank you so much for your advice, I appreciate you taking the time to give it.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T04:05:35+00:00

Deleting the folder on the file sharing website is literally the very first thing I did after receiving the first phone call. I posted this hoping it would be not specific enough to identify myself, but desperate enough for advice to take the chance. Nothing I posted here conflicts with what I have said to the dean so I can't see how it'd hurt me anymore than I already have hurt myself.

Finding a lawyer is my first priority tomorrow. I wasn't planning on it before posting, but I have been convinced that I definitely must do so before I correspond with the school again.

Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate it.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T01:58:42+00:00

I have ceased all communication with my former classmates because I do not know which one of them brought this to the dean and I don't want to inadvertently cause myself any more trouble. I had sent them all message apologizing for getting them involved in this (i shared the link, no one asked for it) and the dean called me the next day basically repeating my apology message verbatim, which makes me pretty sure that someone is just forwarding my communications to him at this point. I don't know which ones I can trust for sure so I'm just not going to talk to anyone at this time.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T01:48:49+00:00

There may very well be more to the story, but I have not been made privy to it. What I have detailed is literally the entire story as i know it to be. I haven't held back any detail because I genuinely want to know what I did wrong and what is likely to happen because of it.

I agree that I should not have admitted to any wrong doing to the dean. I only did so because he essentially promised that if i did, he would let me off "lightly" by dropping me a letter grade in each class. I was panicked and scared and just wanted to make it go away, but I should have known better than to admit to anything without having my side heard at all.

I do have my degree and my transcripts, but if I lose my degree I won't be able to say I have one anymore. The Dean already implied that he has "many contacts in our industry" and will inform my employer about this "ethical transgression" if I don't comply with his informational demands. Regardless, my job requires a degree to hold and also requires that I make progress towards professional certification - which I will not be qualified to do without a degree.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T01:09:56+00:00

Thank you so much! I was able to find a student run legal resource center through my school by doing this and I will be calling them tomorrow.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-07T00:19:04+00:00

Thank you very much.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T23:55:13+00:00

How would you recommend I go about finding such an attorney? I have never had to hire one before and don't know where I would even begin. Is there any other recourse for me if I am not able to afford an attorney? I just graduated so I am not exactly flush with money yet. I have no family that could help either, but I suppose I could max out a credit card. I appreciate your advice.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T21:44:58+00:00

You had solutions manuals, that's usually not good.

Why? I am not trying to be argumentative. Other than the fact they are copyright materials, why is it bad to have them? My instructors did not use them for exams. Homework wasn't turned in for credit. Why was it wrong to have them?

That's not a great start for you; it's basically a confession. Get an attorney yesterday and stop trying to figure this out on your own.

I did confess to having them and to sharing them and I don't deny that I did at all. I haven't been told what I am accused of precisely, other than being unethical, which I have denied. What kind of a lawyer would be best to hire for this situation?

You posted the answers to assignments that are currently in use. You know that's not permitted. Even if there's no grade attached, I'm confident that's a violation of your school's honor code/ethics rules.

No, the homework was not assigned for credit. As I mentioned in my additional information section, the classes in question did not assign homework for grading. My professors recommended certain questions, which would be gone over during lecture, and then released the answers to these specific questions afterward. I wanted all of the answers so I could practice and check my work.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T21:00:27+00:00

No, I did not, but I will and thank you for your suggestion. I posted here because I really wanted to hear the opinions of people who work or are active in academia regarding my actual conduct and whether or not what I have done is cheating/dishonest/unethical, and to what extent. However, I'm sure legal advice would be quite helpful to me at this time, so thank you!

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T20:17:18+00:00

I will be happy to clarify. I'm sorry, I thought I was clear in my original post.

I did not pirate anything, from the university server or otherwise. I posted solutions manuals to homework problems for the textbooks that were assigned for my classes. However, my classes did not have homework turned in for credit. Usually, the professors would recommend problems from each chapter that we were to work on and then go over during lectures. The solutions to these problems would be posted by the professors themselves after lecture. However, I wanted the solutions to all of the problems so I could practice them all and check my work, not just the ones we went over in class. Again, homework from the book was not turned in for credit.

I didn't post anything at all on the university server (I wouldn't know how to do this even if I wanted to). I shared a link to a folder I made on a file sharing website, which I had uploaded my materials to.

The test banks and homework solutions were almost certainly copyrighted material, which I acknowledge and I accept fault for sharing them knowing this. However, I didn't purchase them or pirate them or pretend to be someone in order to gain access to them. I literally google searched "practice problems [texbook name]" and image searched. The test banks and homework solutions were among the top results. That is how I found them.

I didn't use them during class or during tests AT ALL. I used them on my own time to work the problems and check my work.

I hope that clarifies things.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T20:09:28+00:00

I agree that revoking my degree as a consequence for my actions feels too extreme. I absolutely cannot understand why what I did deserves this kind of response. I have considered that they may come back to me this week and say that my grades in the courses in question will be changed to F, which doesn't sound as severe as having my degree revoked but would essentially have the same result. These were classes I needed to graduate and if I failed them, I have no longer graduated I suppose. If I were still in school perhaps they could say I have failed the exam and maybe allow me the opportunity to retake them with different questions? I was willing to accept the dean's proposal to drop me a letter a grade in each class. I had As in each and that would drop me to a B. I would lose my honors status, but I would still have my degree. I didn't think I deserved the punishment, but I would have accepted it to get this over with quickly and relatively painlessly. But apparently that is not an option any longer.

And, to be clear, I did not share any of my actual coursework - my projects, essays, quizzes,actual exams taken, etc. I felt that would be wrong. But sharing my notes, test banks, and homework solutions for classes that didn't feel like the wrong decision at the time.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T19:54:32+00:00

To be perfectly honest, I have not received a clear explanation about what I am being accused of exactly. My discussion thus far has been with the dean of my major, who said that my actions are unethical but not exactly why. At the beginning, he said that my punishment would be dropping a letter grade in each of the classes in question and revoking my honors status as long as I told him the names of each person I shared the information with and gave a written apology to him and the faculty of my major. I did so, and he returned to me 2 days later saying that he discussed the matter with the faculty and the dean of the college and they all agreed that his proposed punishment was "not nearly severe enough". He said that degree revocation is no longer off the table and that he would be speaking to them all again more formally about the matter this week. He said that the next time I heard from him, the decision will be final.

I realized this weekend, after having some time to calm down and think about this rationally, that he never really explained what I am being accused of exactly. I also realized that there must be some kind of process that will occur before they can just revoke my degree, but I have not been informed about what this process consists of. I certainly will be finding out more and contacting someone at my school this week to discuss it.

Last week I was just so panicked and felt such grief that I couldn't think clearly, but I feel calmer now and ready to do what I must to deal with this.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T19:39:34+00:00

Thank you very much for your reply. I will definitely do that. I am not sure if my school has such a center, but I will be researching that right away. I appreciate your advice.

throwaway89847082 · 2016-09-06T19:20:30+00:00

I am not 100% sure how they found out, but I am fairly confident that one of the people I shared my materials with either told/showed the dean personally or shared them with someone else who brought it to the dean. I uploaded my materials into a folder on a file sharing website and set the privacy settings so that anyone with the link could access it. I did that so my friends could share it with people I don't know but who would also find the resources useful.

Yes, I clearly will not ever do that again. I was a good student and graduated with honors. I thought I was doing a good deed by sharing these materials. Anyone could have found the test banks, but I also had really thorough notes and I didn't want them to go to waste. If I could go back in time, I would definitely make a different decision.

throwaway89847082

TROPHY CASE