A little over a month ago I got an email from my professor addressed to me and another student saying he found strong evidence of copying on our engineering exam. He gave both of us a 0 on the final which brought my overall grade down to a C- (still passing so I can go on with my other classes in the fall). This exam was not multiple choice, it was all calculation problems that you had to work out. He said that he is going to send us and the dean a copy of the report, however, weeks later and I still haven’t received anything from him or the dean. I emailed my professor a week later after getting the email asking if I had missed something as I’m anxious to put this behind me and I never got a reply.

I did not cheat. I get anxious at the thought of cheating. This whole thing is tearing me apart to the point I had to get a counselor to help me control my anxiety that has been shot through the roof because of this. Since it was a calculations exam I believe that I would have been copied off of step by step on a problem or more. I don’t know why I’m being accused in the first place. This student sat next to me during class/exams/the final & we studied a together for 30 minutes before every exam just to go over each other’s questions. This person also only studied the night before while I studied every single day for hours. I scored 5%-30% better on the 6 exams we had before the final so why would I cheat off someone who is doing way worse than me? I also turned my exam in first.

I am not sure what to do at this point. My professor isn’t answering my email and I am frightened to go straight to the dean. I know I don’t deserve this grade but I am scared if I bring it up and this student doesn’t confess then the consequences might get greater. I am at a loss on what to do and could use some advice.