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Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Photo: Gorm Kallestad
NTNU students took tests at home in a subject in which it is highly unusual. Now 60 of them are suspected of cheating. – They are having a hard time, says the student leader.
It is in the subject “TDT4100 Object Oriented Programming” where the cases are reported. Before Christmas, the freshmen had had a regular school exam with supervision. Then came the crown and the school was obliged to give exams at home. Of 700 students, 60 are now suspected of having cheated, Universitetsavisa reported yesterday.
Uvant
NTNU student leader Åste Solheim Hagerup says many were surprised by the homework they had to solve in the four-hour exam.
– In this subject, there is a long tradition of having a supervised school exam. It has to do with the nature of the issue, where you have to give concrete answers, he tells VG.
Åste Solheim Hagerup is a union steward among NTNU students. Photo: Private
The suspicions against the students are that they have been physically together, that they have communicated online, as well as shared screens and documents.
– You can use online resources, but not people, says subject teacher Hallvard Trætteberg to VG.
– Did the students know it was not allowed?
– We’re pretty sure of that. General information on the rules has been provided. But there have probably been more questions about how one could be caught if one cheated. We could have worked more with attitude work, and now we are doing it until the next exam period.
Penalty fee
If cheating is detected, students risk everything from canceled exams to exclusion for two semesters. The case is now on the NTNU Board of Appeals.
Are you one of the students suspected of cheating on this exam? Contact VG
Hagerup believes that it has been difficult and difficult for students to have to handle this exam in an unfamiliar way. She believes that maladaptive home exams are one of the reasons there is a general increase in cheating.
– The teachers of the subject were surprised when they were not given the opportunity to take the exam as usual. The school exam was then moved with supervision to the home exam, without changing it. The framework was completely changed, but not the exam itself. So the students got very confused.
– Extremely resistant
Hagerup has been contacted by several people suspected of cheating.
– They’re having a hard time. It is uncomfortable to find yourself in a situation where you are accused of cheating. If you have cheated, of course, you must bear the consequences. For many it is very difficult to be accused and many have stated that they did not understand the framework surrounding the exam.
– Does anyone admit to cheating?
– Yes, we have heard that someone admits it and needs more help in the process.
– Cheating is never okay. Students know it. But I understand that this and the previous semester have been very hard for many. One has lost access to a good learning environment, campus, subject teacher, fellow students, and the opportunity to collaborate. There has also been pressure on privacy in terms of finances and concerns about the crown.
– I should have changed the content
Having the same exam at home if you live together can be challenging. You’re in the same room, but you can’t talk about homework or share anything professional.
– Many don’t even have desks in their own room, so they have to sit together in the living room or kitchen, says Hagerup, who believes it is wrong to transfer a traditional school exam to the exam at home.
– You can change the shape, to better suit the home situation. You just moved here anyway. One should change the content.
– awake
Subject teacher Trætteberg is fully aware that this was new for the students.
– How do you think it has been for the students to have an exam at home in this subject?
– It is a programming subject that has been worked on throughout the semester with the appropriate tools and aids. This home exam has been a good professional test of what they can do, but the actual form of the exam was new to them. Many people have likely been stressed by the fact that they had to deal with a number of practical things, like setting up tools, that they hadn’t needed on a school exam.
– Have you learned anything from this?
– We have learned a lot about how to manipulate the exam form and what kind of tools are available to detect cheating in this particular type of coding exam. I also believe that the students received an alarm clock.
