On Thursday, July 4^th, 2024, the Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) heard and deliberated on allegations of false information & representation and plagiarism against a student for the Computer Programming course. The incident occurred during the summer semester of the 2023/24 academic year. The accused is a member of the Class of 2027.

 

Background to the case:

At the beginning of the summer semester, the accused tried applying for a waiver for the above-mentioned course. Unfortunately, the form was not found and had to be resent by the academic advisor for approval. The student in question was asked to attend all classes in the interim until the form was approved. On the 22^nd of May (week 3 of the semester), the student approached the head of the department to follow up on the waiver. The faculty member asked if the student had attended all classes and submitted all assignments from the beginning of the semester to which the student reported in the affirmative. The faculty member checked in with the faculty intern, who reported back to the faculty member, informing her that the student had not been to class since the beginning of the semester and had tried submitting one assignment due in week three (3), a day after the deadline. The submission was flagged by the FI, who realized that the error in the student’s code matched the same error presented by another student who had submitted it earlier from the cohort. The faculty member followed up with the student and the student insisted that he was in the class at the beginning and had submitted the assignment.

 

The faculty member reported this incident to the Dean of Student and Community Affairs. The Dean contacted all parties involved for their statements, and the matter was subsequently submitted to the AJC.

 

At the hearing:

During the hearing, the AJC deliberated on the following for the first allegation of lying:

1. The timeframe within which the student joined the class.
2. The timeline of his/her interactions with the faculty member and the faculty intern concerning the submission of the missed assignments.
3. The timeline within which the student submitted his/her missed assignments.

In response to the above, the student shared that…

• At the time of the student’s conversation with the faculty member concerning the waiver approval, he/she had already missed three assignments. However, they failed to mention to the faculty member that they had missed the classes and therefore, could not submit the missed assignments. The student tried covering up for their lapse in judgment and decision-making by submitting the first assignment after the deadline. 

In the second allegation, where the student was accused of plagiarising another student’s code, the student explained that…

• He/she indeed received help from another student where he/she copied the student’s work without their knowledge.
• He/she claims to have encountered issues with his/her laptop where documents saved on OneDrive bore a different document creation date from the one saved directly onto the desktop. Further investigation revealed that the student had only created the document the same day he/she tried submitting the assignment.

The AJC deliberated on the following infractions of policies in the Student Handbook:

• A student should not knowingly provide false information or make misrepresentation to any University office. (Section 9.2)
• Ashesi University, its students, and its professional associations will not in any way condone cheating, lying, or any other misrepresentations. Moreover, anyone who willingly conceals these activities will be considered accomplices and equally culpable. (Section 7.5)
• “Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, unauthorized exchange of information or use of material during an examination…unauthorized collaboration on assignments, and other unethical behaviour. (Section 7.4).

 

Verdict & Recommendations

The AJC concluded that the student is guilty of false information & representation and academic misconduct. For the two charges, the student will be suspended for two semesters (June – December 2024).

 

Advice to the Ashesi Community:

The Committee would like to advise that:

• Students are responsible for their academic journey and need to confirm or follow up on all requirements from the relevant authorities.
• Lying to a university official or office is unacceptable, and the AJC treats such infractions seriously.
• Students must learn from past infractions, to understand the seriousness with which cases are treated.

 

This case provides a lot of learning for the entire community, and the hope is that it is reflected on as such. Our code of ethics is central to our mission: 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. This code applies to all, no matter the circumstance.