Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Message Archive

This email is being sent to all members of the Baruch College faculty.

For an archive of announcements sent from the Associate Provost beginning June 2011, click here.

Dear Colleagues,

We’ve learned that some students are putting class notes in Google Docs, making a pdf, texting it to themselves, and then scrolling through it on their Apple (or other) watches during exams. Please be on the lookout for such practices. A best practice might be to ask all students to put their watches away—as we ask them to put their cell phones away—during exams. Most classrooms have clocks; one can always post the time on a whiteboard every 10-15 minutes.

Some additional suggestions, offered belatedly:

During exams…

• • If you use blue books, hand out only as many as needed and be sure to collect extras. (Students have been known to take extras home and write in them as preparation for other exams.) Mark your blue books inconspicuously so that a student cannot turn in a blue book he or she brought to the exam.

• • Do not allow students to take out their phones or other electronic equipment during exams.

• • Students should use the restrooms before the exam, but if an emergency arises, ask the student to leave his/her phone with you for safekeeping until the student returns or until the end of the exam.

• • Consider asking students to write and sign statements before administering the exam affirming that they will not cheat. Research suggests that doing so sharply reduces cheating (see, for example, Dan Ariely, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty HarperCollins, 2012). Any such statement should be brief, such as: “I will neither give nor receive unauthorized assistance on this exam.” Students can write this on the cover or first page of a bluebook.

• • Carefully proctor, including while some students ask questions or are turning in their exams

• • Make use of additional proctors for larger classes. Make sure all proctors know the rules and procedures.

If you suspect cheating…

• • If another proctor is present, confirm the suspicion.

• • If a student seems to be getting information from another’s exam, discreetly reseat the student. Note the time and circumstances of your observation(s) and the student’s location in the classroom (helpful when comparing exams).

• • If a student attempts to use unauthorized materials, remove the materials as inconspicuously as possible.

• • Allow the student to complete the exam—remember, your suspicions might be mistaken.

• • Talk privately with the student afterward and do not conclude anything without hearing the student’s side.

• • Follow these guidelines and report any incident to Associate Dean of Students, Annie Virkus-Estrada, within seven business days by calling the office (646-312-4570), sending an email Annie.Virkus-Estrada@baruch.cuny.edu  or by filing the report form at:  https://www.pavesuite.com/Baruch/PublicPortal/HomePage

• • Not reporting such incidents encourages students to repeat them in other classes. When the College is aware of multiple offenses, sanctions can be severe.

Thank you,

Dennis Slavin, PhD

Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning

Assistant Vice President

Baruch College, CUNY

646-660-6504 (phone); 646-660-6531 (fax)

Dennis.Slavin@baruch.cuny.edu

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/provost/teaching_learning.htm