u/Front_End_9520

I’m a first-year engineering technology student at a Canadian university and I’m looking for advice on how to handle a possible academic integrity issue.

During my final exam, near the end, a professor moved me because he thought I was talking to the student beside me. I deny that I was communicating with anyone. I sometimes quietly read/mutter questions to myself when I’m working, and I believe that may have been misunderstood. An incident form was filed.

After grades came out, I received an F on the final exam/course. Before the final, I was passing and I believe I only needed around 35–40% on the exam to pass the course. I attempted most of the exam and expected at least some partial marks, so the F confused me.

I emailed the professor multiple times asking whether I failed because of the incident or because of my actual exam performance. I did not get a response for about 2–3 weeks. I also emailed other people in the department/chair’s office asking for help. After that, the professor finally replied saying he wanted to meet with me “regarding my final exam.” I had also requested to look at/review my exam, so I thought the meeting was going to be an exam review.

At the meeting, he asked me to explain a specific part of my solution from the exam. I couldn’t explain it clearly because the exam was about a month ago, I was not told beforehand that I would have to explain or defend a specific solution, and I had not been reviewing that material daily (I'm no smart student as this is the hardest course imo). He questioned how I could forget the math/electricity concepts. My issue is not that I forgot the whole course, but that I could not remember the exact reasoning behind a specific exam solution after several weeks.

He said my method was unusual compared with other students and that other professors had looked at it. He also said that only Gemini could come up with something like my solution. I found this concerning because I did not use AI or cheat during the exam. Also, there was a TA/invigilator behind me during the exam, so I do not understand how I could have used AI or outside help in the exam room.

He also said I have until Friday to write an explanation of how I solved that question, and if he is not satisfied, he may send it forward as an academic dishonesty issue. Another issue is that he only gave me a small piece of my written work to use for the explanation — basically one equation/formula. He did not give me the full exam question, the circuit diagram, or the full context of my answer. The question was a nodal analysis circuit problem, so the diagram and values matter a lot. Without the full circuit, I do not know how I am supposed to accurately explain where every term in the equation came from. I’m worried that if I try to reconstruct the explanation from only a small equation, it could accidentally look inconsistent even though I did not cheat.

I did not cheat. I’m worried because I genuinely don’t remember the exact steps I used during the exam, and I don’t want to accidentally write something that doesn’t match my exam work perfectly. I can explain the general method I think I was using, but not every exact step from memory.

How should I write my response? Is it reasonable to say that I cannot honestly reproduce the exact solution after a month, but I can explain the general approach I believe I used? Is it reasonable to ask for the full question/circuit diagram and my full written answer before submitting the explanation? How can I properly explain a nodal analysis equation if I was only given a small piece of the equation and not the full circuit? Should I contact the university ombuds/student advocacy office before submitting anything?

Also, is it normal for a professor to ask for my tutor’s contact information in this situation? I mentioned I had a tutor, and the professor asked for the tutor’s contact info. I’m not sure whether I should provide that directly or only through the official academic integrity process.

Any advice from professors, academic staff, or students who have dealt with this kind of process would be appreciated.

Hey, need some advice on this.

I’m in first year and I just got an F in one of my courses. Before the exam I was around mid-50s, so I only needed like a 35 on the final to pass.

During the exam, the prof thought I was talking to someone. I wasn’t having a conversation with anyone I legit might’ve been talking to myself while thinking through a question, but I didn’t share anything or look at anyone’s work. He moved me and made me fill out an incident form at the end.

Right after the exam, both me and the other guy he thought I was talking to went up to him and tried to explain. He said he saw us talking but wasn’t sure what we were saying. I asked if this could be a fail and he just said “maybe” and left.

I also emailed him the same day explaining everything, but now my final grade shows an F and he hasn’t replied to my follow up.

What’s confusing is I only left like 2 questions blank and attempted basically everything else, so I feel like I should at least get part marks. I only needed around a 35 to pass, so I’m trying to understand how it ended up as an F.

I’m not sure if this means my exam got a 0 or if this is being treated as some kind of academic misconduct case. I also haven’t received any official email or notice about anything like that, which is why I’m confused.

I’m planning to contact advising, but wanted to see if anyone here has gone through something similar or knows how this usually works.

Any help would be appreciated 🙏