Looking for advice. My kid got flagged with the honor council because a professor saw “irregularities” in a recent exam. The test was hand written, the prof was in the room the whole time, and the students turned in their phones and smart watches beforehand. Cheating is nearly impossible. My kid will hear tomorrow if there will be a hearing or if it got dismissed. The final is Friday and I’m worried the professor will not grade fairly - the allegation is so far fetched, I don’t trust the prof.

Assuming your child is an adult and this is college? If so, I would say let him/her handle it. Of course provide advice if they ask for it, but I wouldn’t push too far on what to do but more on what do they think they should do and what would be the implications? This is a life lesson. Life is hard and unfair. Sometimes people in authority will make things harder. What can you do to overcome that? What fights are worth fighting vs. using that energy to be more successful elsewhere? It’s hard to do, but if your child is an adult, it’s time to let them figure it out.

Offer to retake test in prof office, do oral exam. She should be pissed if she didn’t cheat. Maybe someone cheated off her

Let your son deal with it, he’s a big boy.

My kid talked with the Dean and the allegation is that my child’s written response used terminology that sounded like AI or “the internet.” So the professor isn’t even alleging AI or the internet was used for the exam itself - but to study for the exam.

This is BS. You have business professors teaching students how to use AI and history professors accusing students of cheating by using AI to study.

(Continued) I know the professor is very concerned about AI use for this class. My kid appreciates that and most definitely didn’t use AI for the exam (again - that would be nearly impossible - it was a handwritten test with no electronics in the classroom).

I told my child to make an appointment with the Dean of Students to let her know what’s going on. If this professor suspects my kid is cheating despite all evidence to the contrary, I worry that she will not grade the final fairly.

I’m trying to be supportive without taking over, so I’m mostly cheering on from the sidelines.

Any advice?

Cheating has existed since way before smartphones, watches, AI, etc. Not saying your kid cheated but to say “cheating is nearly impossible” without these things is naive.

Tough situation. I assume this is college (since you used the term ‘Dean’). Has your child spoken with the professor personally? Maybe guide your child to have a 1:1 with the professor - not challenging the professor’s assessment but to understand the reasoning from a positive standpoint. I agree with the other comment that life is unfair and we’ve got to teach our children how to counter those issues vs stepping in ourselves to resolve them. Obviously, criticality matters. Also, one has to choose which battles to fight and which ones to let go.
If the consequence is retaking the test, it may not be the worst outcome. Yes, inconvenient and frustrating.
Good luck.

If this is college you really need to leave this for your adult child to deal with. Are you asking if you should speak to the school yourself?

Best news is it’s not your problem! It’s for your adult child to figure out. Isn’t the ability to take feedback you may not agree with, interact with difficult personalities, and be agile across courses and styles the whole point of college? This is nothing compared to what they will encounter consistently in the workplace. Let it be a learning experience.

Nothing in here tells me your adult child's perspective and I think the point of college is learning how to deal with things. How do they want to deal with perception vs reality in this case?

When things sound too outrageous and unrealistic to be true, they’re usually not. Not trying to be mean, but how do you know your child is telling you the full story here? This is all secondhand, right?

My son had a similar situation in an advanced math class exam. They flagged his final because he didn’t show enough work even though the test was controlled and in person. Fortunately he resolved it with the professor who actually tested him verbally on the exam content on the spot over a video call and he passed with flying colors and retained his A on the final. He studied super hard for the test and was fortunately provided with a forum to prove that which overruled the grader’s assessment. My advice would be for your child to self advocate. They need to give him an opportunity for fair hearing. The university probably won’t weight your perspective as a parent given your child is now an adult.

I’m invested, need an update! OP what’s the latest?!

I used to write the formulas on my desk so when the exam came I could refer to them. Sometimes I would try to compare answers with those sitting near me. I considered this a study aid and teamwork not cheating. No man is an island