Students raise concerns over computer science investigation

An investigation into academic integrity involves 217 students enrolled in Computer Science 201 this semester and 208 in the Spring.
An investigation into academic integrity involves 217 students enrolled in Computer Science 201 this semester and 208 in the Spring.

The deadline for current and former Computer Science 201 students to turn themselves in for academic dishonesty passed Wednesday night.

A week since the computer science department launched an investigation into potential violations of academic integrity in Computer Science 201, Data Structures and Algorithm, students received an email Wednesday afternoon, reminding them to “come forward and be sincere.” The investigation was launched at the request of Tabitha Peck, former visiting professor at Duke and course instructor in Spring 2014. The investigation involves 217 students enrolled in the class this semester and 208 in the Spring.

“The circumstances surrounding the whole situation were very unfair," said a student who took the course in the Spring and wished to remain anonymous. "It was almost like no matter what position you are in the class, you feel like you were coerced into coming forward."

Ronald Parr, chair of the computer science department, deferred all comment to the Office of Student Conduct.

Stephen Bryan, associate dean of students and director of student conduct, wrote in an email Wednesday that once the Nov. 12 deadline passes, he will be conferring with Parr and Jeffrey Forbes, academic dean for students that have declared a computer science major, to discuss next steps.

Owen Astrachan, director of undergraduate studies in the computer science department, said some students approached him because they were unsure about coming forward. Astrachan, however, advised them to turn themselves in because of the leniency resolution.

The initial Nov. 6 email stated that students who had no previous infraction and voluntarily come forward will be offered faculty-student resolution. Students who enrolled in the course Spring 2014 would resolve the situation with the professor who taught them. Peck, however, is currently a full-time faculty member at Davidson College.

The email sent out Wednesday clarified that the department is looking for "a full and honest account" of any potential wrongdoing.

The anonymous student, however, noted that the department did not clarify this in a timely fashion. Students who took the course last semester, but could not remember precise details of their dishonesty, might have been forthcoming had the department been more clear from the very beginning.

"The tricky thing is, if you turn yourself in for two things, and they find that it’s actually ten things, then you are going to be sent to student conduct and don’t have the option of faculty-student resolution," they said, adding that the smart thing for students to do is to implicate themselves in every way possible. “If you even have a slight shadow of doubt to something you did, you should include that in your list, and let the department decide during its investigation."

Anika Radiya-Dixit, a sophomore who was enrolled in the course last Spring, is confident that she has not violated the honor code. She noted, however, that many classmates are unsure about how they should approach the situation because their actions fall into the “gray areas.”

Some students complained of a lack of clarity over what what constitutes academic dishonesty, which was never explicitly explained in both the course policies and the subsequent emails sent out by the department chair. Using solutions from the internet is not unlike copying line-by-line from a solution manual in a math class, they added.

“The email said that people who receive help from the undergraduate teaching assistants are not the people they are looking for, and I think I fall under that category,” she said. “But it is just concerning for everyone, even those who didn’t do anything wrong, because of the suddenness of the email, and the words they used were quite harsh.”

Radiya-Dixit added that the computer science department recently discovered a website that has solutions to most of the homework problems assigned in Computer Science 201.

“I never used the website, so I am confident that my codes look nothing like [the ones on the website] in any sense,” Radiya-Dixit said. “However, the homework problems for our class are very common computer science problems that other schools have assigned and that Duke itself in the past has also [assigned]. Students, even those who didn’t copy and paste, are likely to have looked at them or worked their solutions off them."

Computer Science Email Nov. 12 by thedukechronicle

This article was updated Nov. 13 at 5:45 to reflect the scope of Jeffrey Forbes' role as academic dean.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Students raise concerns over computer science investigation” on social media.