Investigation into possible plagiarism

Has anybody got a response yet?

 

Nope!!! They said MID-August... I called this morning and I got asked to email them instead. Do you think if we all keep calling they'll eventually respond?

 

I have got nothing too.

 

Did anyone specifically ask IFoA how their data was being processed with this software and when IFoA had sought their consent for this in line with GDPR and for a list of what their script was compared against?

 

No I kept it simple but in hindsight I would have as I think it’s a good point. Also very unprofessional for them to drag this past mid august without no communication on the delay. I’m just so disappointed with the ifoa right now.

 

There's also no one we can really contact at this point. I called the Assessment Regulations team and they said they can't provide me with any information and said to email them. I've emailed but received no response. I emailed the Education Services team and they said they can't confirm anything either. How do we get any more info? At least a date on when we can hear by? Some of us have already had 2 exam sittings in limbo due to circumstances well out of our control.

 

Tbf this should be unacceptable but they know they can get away with it.

 

It seems like the definition of "copy and paste" given by IFoA in the exam regs / FAQs (not sure which, which itself is probably important) was not sufficiently clear.

Presumably most would have taken this to mean you can't use Ctrl-C Ctrl-V from your electronic notes (which would likely be in MS word) to paste directly into your answer word document. This makes sense as there would be a time advantage. But from the above email, it seems like you were also not allowed to type word for word from your notes into the exam answer script. I don't believe this second interpretation was made at all clear prior to the April exams.

 

This is a very important battle for candidates to win. For themselves and the profession generally. Who can seriously prepare and take these exams with the fear of being branded a cheat and your professional reputation destroyed?

 

I did manage to get hold on a person on the phone who said they are dealing with a substantial number of queries regarding this and hence there is a delay. Please email.

Interesting that, when the ifoa says only “a small number of people are affected”, seems it’s a larger number than we are being led to believe. My theory is that they waiting on lawyer go ahead before releasing to ensure they are aware of all implications.

 

Personally, I think this is a very weak angle to pursue. It's an actuarial exam not a typing exam so the notion that you could just type lots of statements word for word doesn't really feel right to me. I doubt it's an excuse that employers would be particularly receptive to.

I'm not trying to put you or anyone else off - just trying to give you a different perspective. Good luck with the process - I really hope that all candidates affected have a fair outcome.

 

The FAQ page stated that the IFoA could use software to check for plagiarism. At the time you incorrectly said that they wouldn't.

 

As they state themselves, we have allegedly broken the assessment regulations. This wasn’t in the assessment regulation but an FAQ. They can’t assume everyone had seen the FAQ unless they refer to it in the assessment regulation (which they don’t). they did move this from the faq to the updated assessment regulation in July

 

I'm not too sure of your point here - are you trying to argue that the IFoA are in the wrong as they took steps to identify possible plagiarism?

 

I would say that they are in the wrong because their definition of plagiarism is not normally applied to an open book exam. A more standard approach is not to ask questions where copying answers from pre-prepared notes gains marks or at least not many.

As a professional examiner, I have not seen any exam operating in this fashion.

 

My point is to ensure that due process is being followed. A bit like if someone was to be convicted of a crime and the court later found that the evidence used to form the conviction was on the basis of an invalid property warrant.

When we submitted our exams, we signed off on the assessment regulations not the FAQ.

 

"...the notion that you could just type lots of statements word for word doesn't really feel right to me." I think that's why quite a lot of students were surprised that the exams went ahead in this format (online and "open book") in April, given that a large chunk of many of the exams involves regurgitating statements as close to word for word as possible (so called "book work"). It appears that the IFoA are going to be setting papers for September that largely remove the book work element, but that this was present in the April exams, presumably because there was insufficient time to modify the exam papers.

 

I don't see where in the exam syllabus it says they're testing candidates to express definitions using words different than that in core reading. Must wonder what is actually being examined in these exams.

 

Has the Institute replied to any of the affected students yet? given that mid August has now passed.

 

I got an email yesterday saying that they've finalised their deliberations and will give an outcome within the next 5 working days

 

Good luck