Navigating Plagiarism Accusations in an Online Course: A Unique Dilemma

In today’s digital learning landscape, misunderstandings can quickly escalate into serious accusations. A recent experience in an online college course underscores how easily such situations can unfold and what students might do to navigate them.

The Situation Unfolds

A few days ago, I received an unexpected email from my professor alleging that I had committed plagiarism. To my astonishment, she threatened to escalate the issue to the dean of academics of my university. This accusation stemmed from her belief that I had submitted another student’s assignment, which I learned was indeed true—but it was purely unintentional.

The submission instructions for the assignment directed us to share our work within a forum, stating, “Post your assignment here so everyone can view your ideas.” These guidelines led me to download a PDF of a fellow student’s completed assignment for a clearer understanding of the expectations. After successfully completing my own assignment and preparing my PDF, I mistakenly uploaded her file due to a mix-up in their names.

Clarifying the Misunderstanding

Realizing the gravity of the situation, I promptly emailed the professor, explaining that it was an honest mistake and shared the intended PDF. To provide evidence, I attached a screenshot of the file’s metadata, demonstrating it had been modified before the assignment’s deadline. Unfortunately, her response was disheartening; she maintained that I would receive a zero, claiming I had “crossed a line” by using another student’s work as a model.

Feeling frustrated, I decided to clarify my point. I politely reiterated the submission instructions that encouraged students to use each other’s work as a reference, quoting the specific sentence from the course page. However, to my surprise, after sending the email, I revisited the assignment page only to find that the crucial line had vanished within minutes.

A Quest for Evidence

It was concerning—had the professor removed it to bolster her argument? Faced with this challenge, I considered whether it was possible to access previous versions of the website to prove my point. Despite checking the Wayback Machine and finding no record, I was still hopeful that some method of archiving might exist within the school’s Moodle platform.

A Positive Resolution

In an unexpected turn of events, the professor later reached out to clarify the situation. She explained that the deletion was intended solely to prevent further confusion, assuring me that there was no intent to obscure