Education

My mother has a court apperance on the 11th of March charging her with a violation of section E48293, somthing to do with the compulsory education law). We think it is something to do with my teen brother. Can you give us an explanation on this.

I have taken the USMLE step 1 boards four times and failed. On my third attempt, I failed by a point. I feel my last attempt was due to a recent job I had started. My school says that it is mandatory to repeat a semester, but the handbook says it may be required. Also, the acceptance letter states nothing about having to pass this semester. It only specifies I must pass the final shelf exam by 60%. I want to know if it is mandatory for me to retake the semester. If so, must I actually show up and pass every test?

If one can commit plagiarism without intent, can one be found guilty of plagiarism if one did not intend to or knowingly attempt to steal another's ideas or pass another's work off as one's own? The issue is my daughter is being sanctioned and punished by her college (put in her record that she is guilty of academic dishonesty/plagiarism) when the only thing she is guilty of is not knowing how to cite correctly in the APA style. I think her college is misinterpreting the law. How can one be found guilty of academic dishonesty without intent-doesn't dishonesty imply intent? The policy says 'plagiarism is an attempt to present as one's own what has come from another source.' It goes on to give examples of plagiarism like not citing correctly, etc. and saying plagiarism can be accidental or intentional. I am confused because if it is an 'attempt' then it needs to be intentional. My daughter did not attempt to steal another's ideas. She cited each and every source, but not correctly. And it is going on her record that she is guilty of plagiarism. The only thing she is guilty of is not including quotation marks when she should have. I think this is wrong. Please answer this question according to the law. In addition, can you direct me to sites that explain the guidelines that other universities use to determine whether a student is guilty of plagiarism and how these unintentional cases are sanctioned/punished if at all.

My 2nd grader has 17 days of unexcused absences. I notified the school when he was going to be out for vacation with family or sick. Never warned of legal action. I am now charged with truancy and have a court date. What is going to happen? This is the 1st time I have ever had legal action with the school system. I am a nurse and if I have crimal charges I can loose my license.

I am the mother of a student who attends college in New York. She is undergoing disciplinary action for academic honesty violation for plagiarism. Basically she submitted a research proposal in APA style without including quotations when citing other sources. She did site sources, but did so incorrectly because she has a learning disability and misinterpreted conflicting information. She was told by a prior professor that quotation marks do not belong in APA papers. He probably told her no quotes in the body of the paper, but she did not understand that. At the same time as writing APA papers, she had been doing Communication classes which are ALL quotations, so she became confused. So, in this recent APA paper she did not have ONE SINGLE quote and she thought she was doing it right. School policy says, 'Plagiarism occurs when individuals attempt to present as their own what has come from another source.' It doesn't matter if this theft is accidental or deliberate. The handbook continues to include examples of plag like not acknowleding the source, attempting to rewrite material, failing to place quotes around the material, etc, etc. The procedure to be followed is if the instructor receives work he believes to be plagized, he is to meet with the student. 'If in the face of evidence presented by the instructor, the student admits to have engaged in academic dishonesty,' then sanctions are imposed. He met with her, she never did try to pass the material off as her own, but he did not care because she did not include quotation marks which is in the handbook as 'examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to.' My question is this: my daughter never 'attempted to present as her own what has come from another source.' She sited each and every source after the statement, but did so incorrectly, she did not use quotes. She tried to give credit where due. There was no attempt on her part to hide or change the info. The 1st sentence of her paper is from someone else. She was not trying to hide of steal any ideas. If so, she could have done a better job of it. It is out in the open, she cited, just without quotation marks. She did not know she was plagiarising. She has never cheated and has no prior offenses. This is devastating to her. Did she engage in academic dishonesty even tho she made no attempt to present as her own someone else's ideas. I feel the instructor is mistaken in his interpretation of the college policies. In the meeting he had with my daughter today, he found out she was not attempting to take credit for anyone else's ideas, but he is enacting sanctions anyway including giving her an 'F' on the paper and escalating the issue to a disciplinary Dean. I'm going to need to counter his interpretation of college policy with facts. His ignorance may very well effect her academic career. There is an appeal process but I need to know where we stand considering the facts.