Section 69 – Founded – Fraud – Unauthorized material from a standardized test posted to an online forum

Authority: This investigation was conducted under section 69 of the Public Service Employment Act, S.C. 2003, c.22, ss. 12 and 13.

Issue: The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether a candidate committed fraud by posting an exam question to an online forum, contrary to the terms and conditions of the exam.

Conclusions: The investigation concluded that the candidate committed fraud, within the meaning of section 69 when they knowingly posted a question from a standardized exam to an online public forum, during the period the exam was being administered, with the intention of seeking assistance from others. Further, the appointment process could have been compromised since the candidate, and any other candidate who saw the question on the forum’s website, could have gained an advantage over others.

Facts: A candidate in the 2015 Post-Secondary Recruitment campaign completed the Unsupervised Internet Test for the Public Service Entrance Exam. This standardized exam was designed to assess candidates’ reasoning and judgement abilities. The exam was administered over a one-week period.

The terms and conditions of the exam prohibited candidates from, among other things, sharing and/or discussing information from the exam with others and from misusing information to selectively advantage or disadvantage themselves or others in a federal public service appointment process. Candidates had to accept these terms and conditions before gaining access to the exam.

The candidate completed the exam at their residence using their personal computer. The candidate admitted to posting the question from the Public Service Entrance Exam during the exam session, with the intention of obtaining the correct answer from others.

The candidate was eliminated from the process.

Corrective action: Following the conclusion of fraud, the Commission ordered that:

for a period of one year, the individual be required to seek and obtain the written approval of the Commission before accepting any position or job within the federal public service, without which the appointment would be revoked

for a period of one year, the individual be required to notify the Commission of any casual or temporary work in the federal public service or from student employment programs, failing which, a copy of the Investigation Report would be sent to the responsible deputy head to advise them of the fraud committed by the individual.

Investigation File No.:17-18-03