I strongly believe that must be the cas, given the ridiculous bunch of crap I just received from CFAI. It seems I’m under investigation due to suspected cheating during the exam, which of course is totally false. The explanation from the bright proctor who sent the report is full of empty statements like: “At XX:XX I notized the candidate looking up frequently”: Soooo??? “From XX:XX to XX:XX (around 15 minutes) I observed the frequency of the can looking up and scanning the room looking toward (at least he doesn’t say “to”)” can XX", the one on my front left. I was lightly shifted to the left precisely because the space between my row and the one on my right was very narrow and didn’t want to take any chances of the proctors thinking I was looking to the guy on my right. “At XX:XX the can made eye contact with me for 5 seconds”. maybe I was thinking why the f were you staring at me. “From XX:XX to XX:XX (like 10 minutes) can XX shifted his body 7 times”. Well, the chairs where horrible, I was nervous… what the fuck!!? “At XX:XX can XX (the one on my left) took a bathroom break and looked to his sheet as the proctor took it. I can’t tell if the answers were visible”. Really!? I guess somebody moving by my side just got my attention, so what? Besides, why didn’t you asked the other proctor if the answers were visible?? Which woouldn’t be my fault, anyways. And I don’t even remember if there was someboby on my left. I also wonder how he can tell whether I was looking precisely at the sheet from a 20 feet distance. At least he says he only saw me looking at that candidate (wasn’t it the sheet in the proctor’s hands??) when he went to the bathroom. The rest of the time I supposedly looked toward the seat on my left front. I would like to know how am I supposed to look at the guy’s sheet from behind and a nearly 3 meters distance. By the way, I’m myopic and wouldn’t be able to see the answers even if he was holding the sheet in the air for me. The funny thing is that everything happened during am session. It seems that the proctor got laid during lunch break and stopped being a dick, or that I magically learned a lot and didn’t need to cheat anymore. By the way, nobody approached me during the exam. This letter is the first notice I got. Now it seems that I have one month to defend myself against this bullshit, and I don’t really know what to say. It’s my word against that of a bored proctor, I obviously don’t remember every move I did during that time and there’s little I can say besides I din’t do anything wrong. Does any of you ever received something like this? any advise? It’s unfair and ridiculous enough just having to defend one’s self against such empty accusations, but if I get suspended or punished in any way for this I will kill somebody… And of course CFAI and all it’s designations can burn in hell.
maybe the proctor thinks by reporting everything remotely suspicious, he can add it to his resume and find a real full time job.
why would you just get this letter kid? the exam was over 4 weeks ago?
wake2000 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > why would you just get this letter kid? That’s exactly what I think…
Wow-I’ve never heard of such a thing happening before. The truth is, none of this proves you cheated. The burden of proof is on them and this is circumstantial evidence at best. I would think if the proctor really suspected you cheated he would have confronted you in the exam, but he couldn’t. What is the procedure for defending yourself? I would answer each point like you did here, in a little nicer tone. By the way, shifting in your seat seven times is not unusual. I’m only about 5’ 6" and the low seats, combined with the high table, in my test center meant that my test was not at in a comfortable position. Also the chairs are such garbage that the rocked from side to side, so shifting in ones seat was inevitable. Good luck. You should beat this with no problem
Did you get it by mail or email? I dont think this makes sense at all 
its really weird… i mean they didnt mention anything about not looking at proctors, unless if u stare enough at a certain proctor then ull get to know the answers? i dont think it makes sense at all …
just an over zealous protocor. did the protocor warn u? i strongly believe that if a candiate is trying to cheat, the protocor gives a warning. if the protocor didnt warn u, y didnt he do so…this case is weak. good luck
Bilal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Did you get it by mail or email? I dont think this > makes sense at all its really weird… i mean > they didnt mention anything about not looking at > proctors, unless if u stare enough at a certain > proctor then ull get to know the answers? i dont > think it makes sense at all … where did you sit for the exam if u dont mind me asking …
GPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Wow-I’ve never heard of such a thing happening > before. > > The truth is, none of this proves you cheated. The > burden of proof is on them and this is > circumstantial evidence at best. I would think if > the proctor really suspected you cheated he would > have confronted you in the exam, but he couldn’t. > What is the procedure for defending yourself? I > would answer each point like you did here, in a > little nicer tone. > > By the way, shifting in your seat seven times is > not unusual. I’m only about 5’ 6" and the low > seats, combined with the high table, in my test > center meant that my test was not at in a > comfortable position. Also the chairs are such > garbage that the rocked from side to side, so > shifting in ones seat was inevitable. > > Good luck. You should beat this with no problem Thank you. Now I have 30 days to write a response to CFAI. Apparently there’s no form or standardized text. Some 20 pages about “Rules for Procedure of Professional Conduct” where enclosed with the letter and the “explanations” by the proctor. The letter just says about the 30 days period to response. I’m not at home and my girlfriend e-mailed me just the letter from CFAI and the crap from the proctor. I will take a look at the rest when I get home this weekend to see if it says anything else. I guess I will just copy the entire text by the proctor and comment what I can every few lines. What I have put here is basically it. There’s nothing more than a map of the exam room indicating where I was sitting and where the proctor was standing. Believe me, if I had had to write my response yesterday, when I received the letter, I could have get suspended, but certainly not for being a cheater. Now, after carefully reading it (multiple times) and letting other people read it (everybody thought it was some kind of joke) I’m more relaxed, though still wanting to set that guy in fire.
On a brighter note, maybe this means you passed. If you hadn’t they might not have bothered following-up on such a flimsy report. I think at the end of the day you’ll get a letter dismissing it but saying something like they say in the instructions–cheating is a very serious offense, you shouldn’t cheat or give the appearance of cheating, blah blah.
I don’t even know what to say to this. It is just a “bad beat.” Good luck.
Bilal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Did you get it by mail or email? I dont think this > makes sense at all its really weird… i mean > they didnt mention anything about not looking at > proctors, unless if u stare enough at a certain > proctor then ull get to know the answers? i dont > think it makes sense at all … I got it by mail. I took the exam in Spain, but most of the proctors -and all the ones in my section, I think- where american. At least some of them where teachers or something from some American School. faraz70s Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > just an over zealous protocor. did the protocor > warn u? i strongly believe that if a candiate is > trying to cheat, the protocor gives a warning. if > the protocor didnt warn u, y didnt he do so…this > case is weak. good luck Nop. Nobody told me anything during the whole exam. I remember being going into level 1 obsessed with this kind of “misunderstandings” and keeping my head down to the point that I got out of there with a huge neck ache. I guess I should go back to that attitude next time, in case there is any.
GPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > On a brighter note, maybe this means you passed. > If you hadn’t they might not have bothered > following-up on such a flimsy report. > > I think at the end of the day you’ll get a letter > dismissing it but saying something like they say > in the instructions–cheating is a very serious > offense, you shouldn’t cheat or give the > appearance of cheating, blah blah. In fact I got out being quite sure that I failed, so I don’t think that’s the case. Besides, do they have the results already? 1 month before releasing them?
damn this is really sucky…i feel for you pal anyway, i guess this is a really really rare case, and from what you’ve described there is no violation here whatsoever…but just to be completely safe, perhaps you should speak to a few people, like some senior profs in schweser/stalla or the like…if theyve been in the business long enough then they may have heard of a few cases like these and might be able to suggest the right way to going about the response to CFAI. it seems very idiotic really on the part of the proctor, and cfai too, but you having prepped this hard shouldn’t go to waste just bcos they misinterpret what you write to them now (cos theyre obv not v smart with interpretations what with the way theyve described your on-day ‘antics’)… all the best mate, hope everything clears out without a hitch…
Im not trying to get u scared or tensed but PCP investigation is really hard to win. Best case scenario would be getting ur scores canceled and you’ll retake next year. It’s really rare to win a PCP investigation but your case is weird i mean, why would he report you if u looked at him/her? and i honestly think it all comes down to the proctors you have, some proctors are really nice however others dont really know what would happen if you were reported cheating… you might get suspended for a life time for cheating and i dont think they know the amount of time and pressure a candidate invests to sit for such an exam… if it was cheating for sure then i think they should report it but “i think they are cheating” is totally unfair if its not supported by solid proof.
On the website they indicate the exams are graded in week 3 and 4, but the MPS isn’t set until week 6. That could mean you’re a straight up pass. On a different note, this was just posted: June 2011 CFA Exam Results Information We will e-mail June 2011 Level I and Level II CFA exam results Tuesday, 26 July 2011, no earlier than 9:00 am ET. They will be available online Wednesday, 27 July 2011, no earlier than 9:00 am ET.
Duplicated post
Thank you all, guys. I will write my response this weekend, after getting home and reading the whole text of the rules of procedure. And if they don’t openly dismiss it I will probably quit the program in disgust even if they don’t suspend me. I don’t know anybody from Schweser, Stalla, etc so I’m on my own. I will just try to chill a little these two days and be objective.
Bilal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Im not trying to get u scared or tensed but PCP > investigation is really hard to win. Best case > scenario would be getting ur scores canceled and > you’ll retake next year. It’s really rare to win a > PCP investigation but your case is weird i mean, > why would he report you if u looked at him/her? > and i honestly think it all comes down to the > proctors you have, some proctors are really nice > however others dont really know what would happen > if you were reported cheating… you might get > suspended for a life time for cheating and i dont > think they know the amount of time and pressure a > candidate invests to sit for such an exam… if it > was cheating for sure then i think they should > report it but “i think they are cheating” is > totally unfair if its not supported by solid > proof. The thing is he doesn’t even dare to say I cheated. Everything goes “he looked toward”, “he shifted his body”, “he was scanning the room”, “he looked, but I can’t tell if the answers were visible”, … I don’t even understand why I have to explain myself.
Some things I would add in your letter is the following: 1) It really doesn’t make sense for you to copy off another test takers exam. Most people taking the exam fail. So if you cheated, copying another students answer is pointless. 2) You likely wrote a lot in the exam book. Ask them to examine your book where you showed your work and would show you had little motive to cheat because you were more prepared that any student you would be cheating off of. 3) The test is under a time constraint, the likelihood of seeing the question you need on a near by test taker and having the time to pull it off, is likely low. I REALLY don’t see how someone can cheat by copying off another person’s test for this exam unless there is a co-conspirator that you can “share” your answers with. Even then, with time constraints and the fact that SOMEONE needs to know the answer, I am not sure it would be effective. Your best defense in my opinion is a strong score with detailed “work” in the booklet. As an FYI, on level 1 the proctor did come up to me and asked me to cover my answers and not write them as large better because someone was looking at my answers. It may have just been the proctors reaction to my test taking style (I write in large letters the answer and box it when its a final answer, that way when I fill out the scan tron I avoid the urge to read anything other than filling it in). Good luck. And one bit of advice for all test takers: WARNING FOR TEST TAKERS - LOOKING AT THE PROCTOR IS HAZARDOUS! Having taught a couple classes, I hate to say it but the easiest way to spot a cheater is if they keep looking at me. Most guilty culprits need to be careful they are not being watched so they have to look at the teacher/proctor. So for these exams, you really should not look at the proctor. It does make you look guilty and it is a sign teachers/proctors look for when they look for cheating. I guarantee that is part of their training. I was taught that if someone keeps looking then go behind them so they cannot tell you are monitoring their behavior. It does not mean they are cheating but it is a red flag.