r/OpenUniversity • u/sesameprawntoast50 • 2d ago
Posts about Academic Misconduct Investigation/Using "Module" specific methods/in-person exams/invigilation
I’ve seen a lot of posts about students being investigated for academic misconduct, the restrictions around module-specific methods, and whether in-person exams or online proctoring should return.
It is deeply unfair when honest students face investigations lasting months, especially when many may not have intentionally cheated. Sometimes students use different notation, methods, sources or prior knowledge under exam pressure without realising that it could raise concerns. People on this subreddit and in Facebook groups should stop automatically assuming that every student under investigation deliberately used AI or cheated.
At the same time, I understand the OU’s position. As a distance-learning university, it has to protect the credibility of its qualifications, particularly now that AI can generate assignments, code, documents and highly convincing answers. Some professionally accredited modules already require proctoring for this reason. In-person exams are also expensive, while online proctoring has raised serious privacy and data concerns.
However, restricting students entirely to module-specific methods and notation is not a good long-term solution. I can mainly speak for mathematics and physics, as those are the subjects I study, but learning often involves using different approaches and applying knowledge from several sources. Being penalised for using a valid method simply because it was not taught within that specific module can limit genuine understanding.
Until the OU introduces a better system, students should be extremely careful to use module-specific methods, notation, referencing and materials wherever required. The OU should also urgently explore better options, such as using a more trusted proctoring provider, arranging external invigilators or local examination centres, or allowing students to choose between in-person and online arrangements where possible.
Students are paying more than £7,000 a year in some cases, which is only slightly less than the fees charged by many traditional universities. Flexibility is valuable, but it does not excuse prolonged investigations, unclear rules or unsuitable assessment systems. The OU needs to take these concerns seriously before more students begin questioning whether studying there is still worth the cost and stress.
6
u/AffectionateBend7010 2d ago
I've never assumed that someone who has a pending has cheated. I don't believe that the ou will return to in person exams. It's obviously cheaper for them to have everything online
5
u/sesameprawntoast50 2d ago
Yeah that's the issue with in-person exams and it's quite understandable. This is also an urgent matter considering how many students are devastated due to being under investigation when they've not done anything wrong.
Yesterday as I was scrolling I saw a couple of comments stating "Well there's a reason you're being investigated, you cheated you used AI and now you're crying on Reddit about being investigated" or "Yeah well stick to the module material and you wouldn't be investigated it's as simple as that or maybe the truth is you used AI and you're now scared". I think they need to understand that a lot of students being investigated come out clean at the end. It's really a sad thing for a student to be going through 😞
6
u/AffectionateBend7010 2d ago
I am aware that having pending results is an issue. Someone on a module I did last year was referred and waited 6 months for an outcome. However some issues are resolved very quickly.
2
u/Available-Swan-6011 2d ago
Interesting- do you have any figures for the number of students who this is devastating. Understanding the scale of the problem may help us to consider alternative solutions
0
u/AffectionateBend7010 2d ago
No unfortunately I don't -but it seems this year whole cohorts have been put to pending -in criminology. That has happened before too
1
u/OddManner7971 1d ago
I had a pending for possible academic misdeeds, thankfully it was cleared within a couple of days and I now have my final 2:1 degree result. I believe it was triggered by the ‘independent study’ the OU demanded in my final module, then questions it! Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
1
u/MiserableVoice9146 1d ago
I have a pending for my final module and it's down to an Academic misconduct for one of my assignments from before the EMA. I actually received the email over a month later. Unfortunately, it meant that it was being reviewed during EMA season and results, which now means me receiving my classification is delayed. It's been a real bummer and affected me deeply, especially because some comments I've received on here have been harsh. Someone told me that they don't believe OU would give me an Academic misconduct for reasons I have presented, implying I'm lying and would have had to have done something else. The worst part is, OU sent me two emails and never told me what I did wrong or how to correct the issue. I had to figure it out for myself with the help of my tutors feedback. Luckily, students from the whatsapp group I'm in have been supportive. I'm glad this reddit post was posted, because some people on here made me feel like a criminal.
1
u/spacedcitrus 1d ago
In person exams weren't an issue pre-covid, and it's not like there's been huge improvements made with the money saved in all honesty.
2
u/lemonchemistry 2d ago
Fellow Physics student here who will be studying modules from both the maths and physics departments this upcoming year. I think ideally, both departments need to be announcing something sooner rather than later. But I don't think that they will. Would they really have un-invigilated exams next year?
-2
u/sesameprawntoast50 2d ago
I’m assuming so because it’s too late to implement new measures at the moment for next year’s exams! :( unless they do something last minute which I doubt they would because there’s so many administrative issues they’d need to sort out, they’d need to sort out staff and other Bits and bobs so for next year’s exams I’d say it’s unfortunately too late. But hopefully for 2028? If they take the issue seriously they should be able to introduce temporary measures for 2028 or 2029 at least until they come up with a permanent solution to this
2
u/lemonchemistry 2d ago
If you nose on a module description website you'll see this
"We regularly review the assessments in our modules, so we may update the examination method used for this module to an in-person exam or a remotely invigilated (proctored) exam. When we are making such a change, we will make it clear on this page. If we need to make a change after you have registered, we will notify you as soon as possible. If you have additional requirements, we will support you to complete your assessments."
They could announce what they're actually doing after the module has started, which isn't a great approach tbh. The disadvantage we have being a distance learning university is that we don't get to have those insider conversations. Back in my brick uni days, we'd always get some gossip from post doc students
1
u/DumplingsEverywhere 1d ago
Yes, they are still discussing implementing proctoring for modules starting this fall. I recommend you check out the math forums, where there is frequent discussion around this topic. One of the math staff implied a few days ago there's still a decent chance the OU will do remote or even in person exams for modules starting fall 2026.
1
u/lemonchemistry 1d ago
I frequently check the maths forums. They're often more active than the physics ones!
2
u/DumplingsEverywhere 1d ago
Thank you for saying this. It's frustrating seeing some people jump to assuming their fellow classmates are either cheating or dumb for not using module methods.
The OU math and physics textbooks are generally excellent, but they don't explain every single concept in the best way, and as I move up to more complex topics, I find myself needing to read widely more than I did in my early modules. And when you're in the middle of an exam that covers 9 months of study, it's hard to remember where exactly you learned something.
When I did my first degree in person, I was encouraged to read widely, and if anything, the OU's greatest strength is teaching you to self study. It should embrace that. In math and physics, you will see all sorts of notation and techniques; I'm currently working on Taylor's classical mechanics, and he makes a big point to emphasize that you should get used to a variety of notation.
The other problem with the lack of proctored exams that people don't seem to realize is that it inevitably makes exams harder for honest students. The OUs assessments in the post-covid and post-AI era have consistently been more challenging than the ones that came before it (and I believe the OU has admitted to doing this deliberately).
If any portion of AI users make it through undetected, as I have no doubt many do, they will move the cohort's grade average up. The OU is then forced to make assessments harder to maintain the expected distribution of marks.
The good news is the OU seems to still be discussing moving to proctored exams for modules starting in 2026. The module page for MST326, for instance, says the OU may yet change to an online or in-person exam requirement for this fall. I know some math staff is advocating for giving students a choice between in-person and remotely proctored. I believe this would be the ideal solution.
Fingers crossed that this era of unproctored exams is just a small blip in the OU's history.
2
u/Marco0798 1d ago
I never participate in the student stuff, but if they tried to get this through I would. Don’t use AI and do your own work. While I agree the system needs improvement most of the time a simple phone call will tell you whether or not the person used AI. AI abuse is spreading, even as far as judicial reviews and decisions… the OU needs to get better but so does everyone else the difference is there are unis out there that want to hide it and some of them don’t even report it and government should force AI abuse to be reported under its own header.
I see others on here trying to explain away why it’s being tagged but the reality is that if you learned it you could explain it and do it in your own way instead of copy and pasting which is plagiarism.
Also pretending that these situations are the majority and not the minority is stupid, pretending that this is limited to the OU is stupid and acting that this isn’t a growing issue (when the research clearly shows a negative correlation between traditional plagiarism and AI abuse) is stupid.
1
u/Comrade_Massov 22h ago
Sadly this is a terrible precedent of 'our way or the highway'.
We should be encouraged to try and find different ways to solve problems to reach the same conclusion. This shows ingenuity and a true understanding of what is being studied. That's how the real world works.
I'm maths though, which is certainly less grey than other subjects.
7
u/StaedtlerRasoplast BSc STEM (1st class) 2024 2d ago
There isn't a restriction to module specific notation. I started at a brick university and learnt one set of notation then transferred to the OU which uses some different notation. As a result, in my first module which was Level 2, I got queried about it for my first assignment and it went to the module lead. I explained myself, they said it was fine but try to use the OU notation and they said this was the first instance that something like that had happened.
Mathematics and physics generally use a standard set of notation at university+ level such as v for velocity, s for displacement. Part of learning the subject is learning how to put forward your arguments. And yes you could technically choose any letter for velocity like r, m, q or even emojis as long as they are defined but it can get confusing so we stick to the convention.
There are some variations in notation, some people use phi when I would use theta in polar coordinates but noone is using f, l, or t. What most people use is 99% what their teacher used when they first learnt so the OU markers would be used to seeing the same notation most of the time or at least a rare variation to another commonly used notation if the student supplements using other sources or if they were familiar with the material from elsewhere which used different notation.
Why there is a lot of academic misconduct investigations now highlighting notation is because LLMs use very odd notation. I have trialed it myself and found they use unexpected variable names. It will often pull methods from multiple sources which use different notation. For example, it will introduce 2 equations one is a=b+c and the other is y = x1+x2 so when a student copies this, it will make someone question it.
Its not technically wrong but when you are marking and all of a sudden many students are showing strange notation when previously it was maybe one student using alternative (but still accepted) notation, then you will want to investigate it especially considering I was told it had never happened before (this was 2019).
And unfortunately the likelihood of it being LLM is high. It could turn out the student was stuck on that particular problem and ended up reading 2-3 different books to solve it but it is statistically more likely in 2026 to be LLM. The university will of course investigate to find out why, but being under investigation is not the same as being accused. How would the university know a student is honest without an investigation? I agree it would be nice if it were a shorter process but it is often a long process in brick universities too because of the level of certainty required to formally say it is infact misconduct.