Navigating Accusations of Plagiarism: A Personal Experience

In the world of academia, few things can be as distressing as being accused of a serious offense like plagiarism. Recently, I found myself in just such a predicament when a professor claimed that the AutoCAD file I submitted for an exam had been created in 2013. As someone who takes academic integrity seriously, this accusation caught me completely off guard — especially since I had worked diligently on that file the day of the exam.

During the exam, we utilized the latest version of AutoCAD Electrical, and I was confident that my work was authentic and original. However, the situation took a confusing turn when I discovered that the file metadata revealed a creation date of December 11, 2023, which strongly contradicted my professor’s claims. What added to the perplexing nature of the situation was the fact that the file indicated a creation time of 9 PM and a last modified time of 6 PM on the same day.

Determined to understand what could have led to this discrepancy, I delved into possible explanations. Some of my peers speculated that a “bit flip” might have caused the erroneous date to display. I also investigated the Autodesk support resources, noting that files from the 2013 version of AutoCAD Electrical would likely be incompatible with the current software we were using.

To add another layer of complexity, I had completed the exam on a school computer, which resets itself upon shutdown, leading to uncertainties about accessing previous file versions. The workstation, a Dell OptiPlex 780 running Windows 11, was designed for optimal performance, yet this issue with the file metadata left me on edge.

Fortunately, I can provide a positive update: the matter has been resolved amicably. After a discussion with my professor, he acknowledged the error and apologized for the misunderstanding. He will grade my submission, alleviating my fears of receiving a zero or facing an academic integrity violation. Curiously, the 2013 date only appeared for a handful of students, and when he reopened my file on a different computer, it showed the correct creation date. Although the root cause of the issue remains unclear, I am relieved that it did not need to escalate further.

Reflecting on this experience, I believe it may be valuable for others in similar situations to consider the following potential factors for discrepancies in file metadata: