I Cheated On My Online Exam And I Feel Guilty
Anger at cheating is a positive sign; it demonstrates your awareness that it’s wrong, and that you are willing to change.
If you can successfully deny cheating charges, then you may be able to avoid harsh punishment; however, you will still be required to pay for your misstep.
1. Accept Responsibility
Cheating can have serious repercussions for students when caught taking online exams without authorisation, including academic, social and professional ramifications as well as impacting the reputation of schools or programs where this activity took place. Cheating may even result in suspension or expulsion from these institutions altogether.
Cheating can be motivated by many reasons; one such reason being the desire for higher grades. Many students believe they need to pass an exam in order to continue with their course, graduate on time, or find employment; this belief may cause them to feel pressured into cheating in order to attain what they perceive to be necessary results and get what they want out of life – their degree.
One of the primary reasons that students cheat on online exams is due to how convenient cheating can be; students have easier access to test questions online and search engines may provide answers they are unsure about. Furthermore, online exams typically take less time than in-person exams so students may opt out of answering certain questions altogether.
Students often use private chats during an exam to communicate with other students, conceal their faces using webcams or turn off their screens to prevent being seen by the proctor. Most online exam proctoring services also record audio and video, so if someone suspects any student of cheating during an examination session they can end or flag it for review immediately.
Though instructors have tried to discourage cheating by emphasizing academic integrity, university students still possess their own internal moral compass and will eventually decide to cheat if their urges become overwhelming. Cheating can have serious repercussions for one’s future career plans such as suspension or expulsion from their institution of study.
2. Deny the Allegations
While online testing may seem more secure and effective than traditional exams, students are still finding ways to cheat despite its efficacy and security. Although methods may have changed, the motivations remain the same: limited in-person supervision, increased competitiveness or simply the fear of failing an exam are still motivators enough for some.
Playing up the innocence angle may backfire, so be honest when dealing with authority figures who accuse you of cheating. Tell them you were anxious or nervous during a test and had an error of judgement which wasn’t intentional – telling them this won’t undo your actions, but may make them view you in a more favorable light and allow more leeway from them.
Once again, any accusations that you cheated must be denied immediately to anyone, including friends who believe in you. Even though your friends might believe in you, it is still best to keep the matter private until consulting an attorney about the situation.
If the person accusing you is someone with whom you share a strong relationship, try to convince them that you were not cheating and did your best on the exam. Although this can be challenging, it is vital that you attempt to be as convincing as possible in your arguments.
Becoming accused of cheating in an online exam can have serious repercussions, from losing financial aid and expulsion to having to retake your class. But with an impeccable academic and behavioral history and convincing proof that any violations were caused by one-time mistakes in judgment, you may be able to reverse any sanctions that were applied against you.
Duffy Law’s experienced student defense attorneys are here to help if you’ve been accused of cheating on an online exam. We know how to navigate the new distance learning landscape and can work with faculty to ensure their policies match up with new technology being utilized in classroom settings. Get in touch with us now so we can arrange a consultation session and advocate for you; free and confidential evaluations of your case available upon request.
3. Own Up to Your Mistake
At all costs, it is necessary to acknowledge your cheating to authorities regardless of whether it seems justified. Any attempt at concealment will only cause more problems in the long run and could even lead to harsher punishment. When discussing cheating with authorities, be honest and apologize profusely; try to convince them your actions were motivated by fear rather than temptation or greed for example, this might make their response more understanding and less severe in terms of punishment.
At this meeting, it is also essential that you provide an explanation for why you cheated. This doesn’t have to mean making up an excuse; but rather giving a plausible justification that doesn’t go against who you are as an individual. For instance, cheating might have occurred due to being overwhelmed by course material or fearful of failing an exam; that would be acceptable justifications; however if simply too lazy or time consuming extracurriculars prevented study then that should not be used as a justification and must be avoided as valid justifications for not cheating!
Once you recognize that cheating was wrong, the next step should be devising a plan to move forward with life. This may involve studying more frequently or hiring a tutor; altering some after-school activities; or altering your schedule altogether. By devising such an action plan you will help prevent future instances of cheating as well as help ease any feelings of guilt over what was done.
Realistically, most of us will cheat at some point or another in life. While it is inevitable, this doesn’t mean you should expect perfection from yourself or punish yourself for mistakes made; everyone makes errors and learning from these errors is all that matters.
If cheating is becoming an issue for you, seeking professional guidance could be beneficial in finding out why and providing guidance on how to overcome it. While it can be tough, working through it will certainly pay dividends when it comes to succeeding academically and personally.
4. Stay Positive
As a way of combatting guilt, finding ways to positively reinforce yourself can be very helpful. One such technique is through positive affirmations – statements about yourself that you repeat throughout the day in order to increase positive thought processes and help shift negative ones into more optimistic perspectives. You could also take some time out for yourself and surround yourself with supportive individuals willing to assist. Unfortunately, guilt can often be difficult to shake alone and seeking professional assistance may be essential – for this reason cognitive-behavioral therapy might provide much-needed help.
Unleashing emotions and replacing negative thoughts with more constructive ones is essential to overcoming feelings of guilt. One approach to doing this is learning the various forms of negative thinking that contribute to these guilt feelings, then finding strategies for shifting those into more productive ones. For example, it can be easy to blame ourselves for things outside our control (such as surviving tragedy when others didn’t) which leads to feelings of guilt; to combat this tendency it may help to list things over which you have full and partial control.
As part of your strategy to deal with feelings of guilt, another strategy you can employ to cope with them is creating a plan on how you plan to address them in the future. For instance, if cheating was your issue on an exam, create a plan to study harder or visit tutoring in order to increase test scores – this will demonstrate to authorities that you’re taking steps toward change and can ease some of their punishment burden.
Finally, it’s essential to keep in mind that everyone makes mistakes, and being human means learning from our errors. By forgiving yourself and moving forward with life, you can become stronger as an individual.