UCF student arrested after grade is changed

A University of Central Florida student who was failing an engineering class is accused of sneaking into a building, illegally logging into the university’s grading system and changing his grade to a B.

Sami Ammar, 22, faces a felony charge of accessing a computer electronic device with knowledge that such action is unauthorized. He turned himself in at the Orange County Jail onWednesday andwas released on bond two hours later.

“We really have nothing to say,” Ammar’s father said when reached by phone Wednesday evening. “It’s an allegation.”

Ammar’s Electronics I professor, Chung Young Chan, became suspicious when he received a confirmation email fromthe program he uses to log students’ grades at 11:30 p.m. May 4, UCF police said.

Chan had already approved his grades — and got a confirmation email— earlier that day. There was no reason for him to get another email about it when he did, police said.

Chan checked the grading roster and noticed Ammar, towhomhe gave an F, thenhadaB. Theprofessor got an error message when he tried to change the grade back. Chan sent an email to the registrar’s office and the engineering department’s undergraduate coordinator.

An information technology employee at the university later traced the IP address for the computer from which the grade was changed to the Mathematical Sciences Building, police said.

Just after midnightMay 5, an employee called UCF police and said twomenhe did not recognize were walking around the Mathematical Sciences Building. Police did not find the menin the building but did get surveillance camera footage of them walking around inside.

An officer later identified one ofthemasAmmar, police said. Based on the email, IP address and surveillance video, police arrested Ammar.

Officers also identified the other man in the video but have not been able to speak with him.