Meeting With University Conduct Board

Location: New Jersey

I am currently enrolled in a post-masters certificate program through a university. I have nearly 20 years in critical care between my careers in nursing and EMS. I also have several national certifications for trauma, pediatrics, and critical care under my belt, which is a big reason why I decided to advance my career. I have obtained both my bachelors and masters in nursing from the same university. I have never had a disciplinary hearing or action against me.

Back in August, I finished one of my big courses (patho). The other day (now the end of October), as I was progressing through coursework, I received an email that stated that my new term enrollment is on hold and my prior final exams for this course and the one I took afterward were under review. I had no idea why.

I took the exams in my home, with a lockdown type of browsers, and a webcam with a live proctor. I did not wear any glasses, headphones, earbuds, etc. and I did not speak during my actual exam. At no point in time was I stopped by the proctor to explain any sort of alleged suspicious behavior or have the room re-scanned after prechecks and beginning the exam. I passed both of my exams and it took me about the same duration to pass each one.

I finally received the investigation notes. I am clear completely for the one exam (pharm), however with the one prior (patho) I’m being accused of several things. The first is that someone was allegedly in the room with me when I took the exam (no one was), the second is that I looked to the right before answering several questions quickly, the third is that I took my exam by a window with a curtain and the notes state that someone could potentially be hiding behind said curtain to be giving me answers (the curtain covers a window, on the 2nd story of my home, which my desk is butted against), and the third is that I have applications for remote access (they’re for work… and were not active during my exam… investigation notes specifically state “no misalignment” in relation to these apps) on my computer.

The evidence that was presented was me verbally reading the rules out loud during the precheck. It specifically says that no one can be in the room with me, so I read that out loud and asked my husband to leave to room. He he responds and then you hear my bedroom door open and close. I say “thank you” and move on… this was prior to doing my pre-exam room scan and prior to beginning the exam. The second piece of evidence is literally a video of me taking the exam and shows my eyes moving from left to right as I read… I was not looking in different directions for extended periods and I am literally just reading the questions and answering quickly. Notes state that I answered 5 questions within 2 minutes. The third is a screen grab of my applications which shows non-active apps.

My university is now forcing me to meet with a conduct board, which can take weeks to apparently be scheduled, and take a 6 month term break (semesters are 6 months each). I’m being told that my exam may now be voided and I can be removed from this program without a refund. I have since sent them copies of all of my test material and a video of me pulling back the curtain that covers my window to show that no one can fit against the window and that it is on the second floor of my home. I also sent them a log from Event Viewer on my PC that shows that there were no active remote applications running on my PC during the time of my exam. I don’t know what else I can possibly provide as “proof” that my exam is authentic.

It’s not even like I got a 100 on this exam. I passed, but did NOT get everything correct. There were most certainly some guesses.

If my exam is voided, the classes I passed after August will also be voided. I’ve spent thousands of dollars and mental energy on this program. Regardless of if my exam is voided and I have to retake the exam or if I am expelled, I now do not know what to do without losing thousands of dollars.

How do I approach this from a legal standpoint? What kind of lawyer handles this stuff?