What Actually Happened

There seem to be some discrepancies about the whole situation. So, The Third Eye spoke to a BCOM student to get some clarity on the ordeal.

The unit EMA1008 consists of 3 test papers- one being given every two weeks and each consisting of 33% of the final mark. This specific test was the second of the three. Students’ had already been given warning after having been caught cheating on Test 1 in the main BCOM group chat on messenger.

Student’s were caught cheating once again on Test 2 and of course, FEMA had to take action with this email:

The decision was made after 43 screenshots of a group chat were brought up to the faculty as evidence for this occurrence. Somewhat resembling this one:

The ‘Unjust’ Consequences

FEMA decided that to reduce the mark of this test to a 0, for all students who sat for the test. This decision was made in line with section 3c of the official University of Malta Examination Regulations. They also decided not to penalise anyone on the other 2 tests. This arrangement gives students the opportunity to pass without the need for a resit. That is, if they manage to get the required 45 marks out of the remaining 66 marks.

This decision fails to acknowledge the students that tried their best to abide by the rules, resist temptation to cheat and ignore those people who carelessly discussed answers on the main group chat. Surely there must be an alternative way to settle this issue.

Shortly after the ordeal, multiple student organisations, including ASCS- Association of Students of Commercial Studies, released their statement about the matter;

𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐒: S𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐌𝐀𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟖 S𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 U𝐧𝐢𝐭 D𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. ASCS has 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. However, they are confident that a 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲.

ASCS strongly condemns cheating in every form and are aware that the faculty in charge of handling this situation was required to take action. Students should abide by the regulations at all times, especially now that examination formats have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we strive for the fair treatment of all and find it unjust to take a blanket decision of failing every student in their first University test, including individuals who were completely unaware of the situation at hand.

The penalisation for the unit will be given on one of the 3 tests carried out throughout the unit. Further investigations are still being discussed by the board. The organisation believes that these accusations should not penalise the ones who acted fairly throughout the test and believe that the matter should be looked into in order to address a proper way of penalisation.

What did the students have to say about it?

The decision left students rampant. The Third Eye reached out to first year students who experienced the ordeal first hand. For the sake of ensuring confidentiality, their identities will be kept anonymous. This is what they had to say:

I felt like I wasted my time and money. I could have studied another subject and instead I wasted money on private lessons that I could have used for something else.

The student carried on telling The Third Eye,

I didn’t even check the group chat because I was worried they [ the other students] were going to post wrong answers.

KSU’s Statement

The main representatives of the student body believe that the action taken in the case is unjust.

It is unjust that students who worked hard and sat for their exam independently of their peers whilst following all regulations receive a failing mark due to the actions of other students. Therefore, KSU calls for the reconsideration of this decision, following a thorough process that considers students individually rather than en masse.

Statement released by KSU on the 4th of January 2021

Refreshing Perspectives on the Matter

There seems to be a ray of hope however. The multiple pressures from several student organisations and platforms has lead the Dean of FEMA to reconsider the decision. This morning Prof. Frank Bezzina- the Dean of FEMA, got in contact with The Third Eye, stating the following:

As I write, I have constituted a new Disciplinary Board chaired by myself to review the previous Board decision and look afresh into the matter.

The Third Eye will be posting updates regarding this issue as the relevant information is released.

The post EMA1008 Collusion: Updates on What Actually Happened appeared first on The Third Eye.