The Ashesi Judicial Committee adjudicated a matter involving a student in the Class of 2027 concerning conduct in two separate examinations during the January term of the 2025/2026 academic.

Background
Two examination incidents, separated by approximately one week, were referred to the Committee through the Office of the Dean of Student & Community Affairs.

In the first incident, an Honor Code report submitted after the examination indicated that the student had been observed using a mobile phone during the test. When questioned by the faculty member, the student denied having a phone in the examination room. An investigation was opened. A subsequent review of the student’s examination script identified responses that were not responsive to the questions asked but were consistent with content generated by ChatGPT in the course of explaining the relevant material.

In the second incident, occurring one week later in a different course, a supervisor checking in on the class observed conduct suggesting the student was using a mobile phone during the examination. When questioned, the student denied having or using a phone. The denial was maintained when the matter was escalated to the Registry Office and then to the Office of the Dean of Student & Community Affairs. The student was subsequently searched privately by a member of the Student Affairs office. A mobile phone was recovered from the student’s person.

Hearing
At the hearing, the student acknowledged knowing that mobile phones are not permitted in examination rooms, acknowledged owning a second phone (contradicting an earlier statement to the faculty member), and did not contest either the phone recovered during the second incident or the ChatGPT-related finding from the first.

The Committee found that the conduct breached the following provisions:

• Section 7.4 of the Student Handbook, on academic dishonesty including unauthorized use of material during an examination.
• Section 7.5 of the Student Handbook, on the University’s position regarding cheating, lying, and misrepresentation.
• The Ashesi AI Use Policy, which prohibits the use of generative AI tools for academic work absent explicit faculty authorization.

Verdict & Recommendation(s)
The Committee voted on three charges separately and found the student responsible on all:

1. Violation of the Examination Code of Conduct during the first examination.
2. Violation of the Examination Code of Conduct during the second examination.
3. Sustained misrepresentation to University officials during the inquiry into both incidents.

The Committee determined that the appropriate sanction was expulsion from Ashesi. The conduct was not a single lapse but a pattern across two examinations in two separate courses, with the second incident occurring after an investigation had been opened in connection with the first. The conduct included repeated misrepresentation at every stage of the inquiry, and the first incident also included an independent violation of the AI Use Policy.

Advice to the community
Examinations under the Honor Code are unproctored because the community trusts students to write them in good faith and to respond truthfully when questions arise. This ruling is about that standard of trust. The original conduct (the presence of an unauthorized mobile phone in an examination room) would on its own have been a serious matter. What made this case more serious, and what led to the sanction, was the series of lying that happened next.

We trust that this case will serve as a clear reminder to the Ashesi community. Academic integrity and personal honesty are not optional; they are at the heart of what it means to be an Ashesi student. Our mission is to train a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within our students the critical thinking skills, concern for others, and the courage it will take to transform a continent. That mission demands integrity at every turn, no matter the pressure or circumstance.