Legal action is being taken against the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by an ex-student who claims she was unfairly treated whilst studying at the school. Padmapriya Ashokkumar started her doctoral program in computer science in 2002. However, as a result of her university advisor copying her work, she made a formal complaint. Ashokkumar claimed that Scott Henninger, a computer science professor at the time, plagiarized her work.
A university committee agreed that Henninger plagiarized some of Ashokkumar’s work and officials tried to get her to settle outside of court. She declined the motion and Henninger retaliated by filing his own claim that she had in fact plagiarized some of his work, a claim that was later dismissed.
Ashokkumar claims that when she returned to her university program she felt like she was being alienated because of her action against Henninger and eventually stopped enrolling on classes. Ashokkumar also claims that university officials tried to make her change her thesis, which would have wasted the last five years of work. She is now seeking an unspecified amount of money for loss of wages as a result of not having finished the program and gaining her doctoral.
“I feel the life that I have isn’t exactly how I would envision it to be.” Ashokkumar said. “None of this is my fault.”
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