7.2.3. Cheating
(a) Cheating by an applicant in applying
for or taking the examination shall be considered to invalidate any grade
otherwise earned by a candidate on any part of the examination, and may warrant
summary expulsion from the examination room and disqualification from taking the
examination for a specified number of subsequent sittings.
(b) For purposes of this Rule, the
following actions, among others, may be considered cheating:
(1) Falsifying or misrepresenting
educational credentials or other information required for admission to the
examination;
(2) Communication between candidates
inside or outside the examination room or copying another candidate’s
answers while the examination is in progress;
(3) Communication with others outside
the examination room while the examination is in progress;
(4) Substitution of another person to
sit in the examination room in the stead of a candidate;
(5) Reference to crib sheets, text books
or other material inside or outside the examination room while the examination
is in progress.
(6) Violating the nondisclosure
prohibitions of the examination or aiding or abetting another in doing so.
(7) Retaking or attempting to retake a
Test Section by an individual holding a valid Certificate or by a Candidate
who has unexpired credit for having already passed the same Test Section,
unless the individual has been directed to retake a Test Section pursuant to
Board order or unless the individual has been authorized by the Board to
participate in a "secret shopper" program.
(c) In any case where it appears to the
Board, while the examination is in progress, that cheating has occurred or is
occurring, the Board may either summarily expel the candidate involved from the
examination or move the candidate to a position in the room away from other
examinees where the candidate can be watched more closely.
(d) In any case where the Board believes
that it has evidence that a candidate has cheated on the examination, or where a
candidate has been expelled from the examination, the Board shall conduct a
hearing immediately following the examination session for the purpose of
determining whether or not there was cheating, and if so what remedy should be
applied. In hearing, the Board shall decide:
(1) Whether to give the candidate credit
for any portion of the examination completed in that session; and
(2) Whether to bar the candidate from
taking the examination in future sittings, and if so, for how many sittings.
(e) In any case where the Board permits a
candidate to continue taking the examination, it may, depending on the
circumstances:
(1) Admonish the candidate;
(2) Seat the candidate in a segregated
location for the rest of the examination;
(3) Keep a record of the candidate’s
seat location and identification number, and the names and identification
numbers of the candidates on either side of the candidate; and/or
(4) Notify the AICPA of the
circumstances, furnishing the candidate’s identification number, so that
after the initial grading is completed the candidate’s papers can be
compared for unusual similarities with the papers of others who may have been
involved. Upon introduction of a computer-based examination, notify the
National Candidate Database and the AICPA and/or the Test Center of the
circumstances, so that the Candidate may be more closely monitored in future
examination sessions.
(f) In any case where a candidate is
refused credit for parts of the examination taken, or is disqualified from
taking other parts, the Board shall give the candidate a statement containing
its findings, the evidence upon which the findings are based, and a notice of
the right of the candidate to a formal rehearing by the Board, with right of
appeal, pursuant to West Virginia Board of Accountancy Rule, 1 C.S.R. 2,
Contested Case Hearing Procedures.
(g) In any case where a candidate is
refused credit for any part of an examination taken, disqualified from taking
any part of the examination, or barred from taking the examination in future
sittings, the Board will provide to the Board of Accountancy of any other state
to which the candidate may apply for the examination information as to the Board’s
findings and actions taken. Notwithstanding any other provisions under these
rules, the Board may postpone scheduled examinations, the release of grades, or
the issuance of certificates due to a breach of examination security;
unauthorized acquisition or disclosure of the contents of an examination;
suspected or actual negligence, errors, omissions, or irregularities in
conducting an examination; or for any other reasonable cause or unforeseen
circumstance.
