A University of Maryland master’s student resigned from Gov. Larry Hogan’s cabinet after she was found using state resources and employees to complete coursework, according to a Baltimore Sun article from Friday.
The Sun’s investigation into C. Gail Bassette’s resignation from her position as Department of General Services secretary in early July revealed 75 pages of documents that showed employees were completing interviews and research used toward Bassette’s master’s degree in professional studies coursework at this university. The documents exposed several emails that had been sent between Bassette and state employees with email subject headlines such as “class assignment,” according to the Sun.
An initial July 1 news release from the governor’s office said Bassette had resigned from her position to take an executive position in the private sector. Bassette had worked on Hogan’s cabinet since 2015, according to the Maryland Manual.
“Our administration takes allegations very seriously and move swiftly to resolve them,” Shareese Churchill, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office, wrote in an email. “We hold every state employee to the highest standard possible.”
University official Crystal Brown said she was unable to comment on whether this university will be taking punitive action on the matter, citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
Looking at the Code of Academic Integrity, however, can shed light on what the university might do in a situation such as Bassette’s, said Andrea Goodwin, the Office of Student Conduct’s director.
The academic code defines cheating as “fraud, deceit, or dishonesty in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage and/or intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic course or exercise.”
Additionally, this university’s honor pledge that some instructors require students to write and sign on exams and some assignments states: “I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination.”
Violation of these standards could lead to an honor review by the Student Honor Council. Normally, most violations result in an XF in the course denoting “failure due to academic dishonesty,” but the hearing can also result in suspension or expulsion from the university, according to the student conduct website.
Students who have committed academic dishonesty may also report themselves in writing to the student conduct office “to demonstrate their renewed commitment to academic integrity,” according to the Student Honor Council’s website.
Bassette did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
