A Day Away From Her Final Exam - 1489 Words

Team Lyle – Elizabeth Scalco, Tyler Kerr, James Sylvia, Cory Casal Extenuating Circumstances Jessica is college student, who is a day away from her final exam in a very critical class. In the class, she is on the borderline of an A or B, but she needs to get an A in order to look like a solid prospect for medical school. Unfortunately, Jessica just had a devastating death in the family the week of the final, which has caused her to lose complete focus on her schoolwork. With her critical final exam the next day, she realized she is not prepared. With that in mind, Jessica comes up with a plan to cheat during the final. She recruits the help of her friend Candi to cheat on the final exam with her. They decide to communicate the answers to†¦show more content†¦Jessica explains that she just had a death in the family that has affected her a lot. She continues to say that she has not been able to study due to the death. Jessica also tells Dr. Lopez that she had asked Candi to help her out. Candi adds that she felt so bad for Jessica and all tha t she had to go through, so she felt obligated to help her friend out. Dr. Lopez knows Jessica and Candi pretty well and they have become fairly close over the semester. She would not have expected two of her brightest students to commit such an act of dishonesty. As Dr. Lopez continues to ponder the circumstances, she recalls that there were signs of Jessica slipping into depression. As a young adult, Dr. Lopez struggled with depression, so she knows the signs and what Jessica is going through. Dr. Lopez knows the impact of failing Jessica will have on her future. However, she is very concerned about the spiraling downfall of Jessica’s mental health. As a new professor at the university, Dr. Lopez does not want to get caught in a cheating scandal if she lets the two girls go. She has just 24 hours to turn in her final grades. How should Dr. Lopez handle the situation? Discussion Questions 1.) In your opinion, what should Dr. Lopez do? 2.) Based on Jessica’s circumstances, should the incident be looked at with further consideration by Dr. Lopez? 3.) It is clearly stated in The Honor Code of Institutions of Higher Education that cheating is wrong. Using a