I received a warning for writing questions I was unsure of on the paper covering the table in the morning session of level 1. But didn’t receive an email before hand stating that they were investigating me.
It is unfair that Proctor submit a written report about you to CFAI without even telling you on the day of the exam.
I would like you to get out of this soon if you haven’t done what the written report says, however I feel it can be very difficult to fight this because CFAI will only believe Proctor’s written report.
i am sad to say that there are about 1500 cases a year initiated regarding exams (in total for levels 1, 2, 3). That is about 1% of the people taking the exam.
Go to https://www.cfainstitute.org/ethics/conduct/sanctions/Pages/candidate-sanctions.aspx and look at the sanctions. There are two categories which dominate. 1. Writing past time called. 2. Looking at someone else’s exam/cheating. By far the most common sanctions for writing past time are voiding your test, and a private reprimand. You really don’t want to be in the other group, the cheaters. Most of them got prohibitions.
That document says you should have received a copy or link to the Rules of Procedure. No big surprises, and I will let you read it.
It certainly sounds like you are going to respond. It also sounds like you think there is no basis for an investigation. Is that right? In that case, you may want to include a recent photo with your response. If a proctor somehow wrote down the wrong seat number, there is a chance they may say “not that guy”.
Having no inside knowledge of the discipline process, and not being allowed to discuss exam security measures, I am not sure what else might help. Maybe ask if the proctor claims they did anything at the time that you would remember if indeed they have the right person.
Regarding how to find the people next to you, I bet the Institute can find them. Ask the Institute to do so if you are sure you’re right.
I’ll never understand why anyone would do anything remotely close to questionable on exam day. Look at the ceiling or straight ahead and high up on the wall in front of you haha there’s so much that goes into this exam and if you F up you just wasted a year. Why do anything that could be questioned? Some dude a couple seats over from me was looking in his book well after they called time and got caught. I hope that dude got a write up, what an idiot.
P.s in regards to my situation, I thought the paper on that covered the table was scrap paper for working out. Proctor saw it relatively early in the morning session and told me it was not allowed. Lesson learnt in level 1 that cfa is strict as f and you should be only writing in the exam booklet or answer sheet. I thought nothing of it until I received a email stating I received a warning and no further action was taken. This was my only a week before results came Out.
OP: your reports says 5 minutes or 5 seconds of additional writing? Cause I can see how you can get in trouble for 5 seconds, but 5 minutes is simply impossible. There would be no one left in the hall to accept your paper 5 minutes after the exam end…
At what time did the exam end, though? If instructions were read to 9:04, exam end should have been at 12:04, and then you would be in violation (if his alleged observation were true). If exam end was 12:00, I don’t see how it’s possible to put an answer at 12:05 when everyone would have left by then…
In L1, I saw a guy erasing something on his answer sheet 5 minutes after tie was called as procs were picking up booklets, don’t know if anything happened, but it was definitely a time violation way after pencils-down.