Academic Integrity Review Procedures
When Academic Dishonesty is Suspected
When a faculty member suspects that a student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy, they will inform the student of the allegation and present the student with supporting evidence. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions to clarify the nature of the violation and any sanctions that may be involved. An Academic Integrity from will be completed by the faculty for review with the student. The student has five business days to sign and return the form to indicate whether or not s/he accepts the sanction assigned by the faculty. A student’s failure to sign and return the Academic Integrity form by the specified date will be interpreted as consenting to the charge and sanction. A record of this form will be kept in the Provost’s Office.
All Academic Integrity forms received by the Provost will be reviewed to assess the level of violation and to determine whether the student has any previous violations of the Academic Integrity policy. If the Provost, or designee, determines that the violation does not rise to a Student Conduct level and no prior violation has occurred, the faculty imposes the sanction as agreed upon by the student. If the Provost’s Office determines that the violation constitutes a violation of the Student Code of Conduct or there are previous violations, the Provost will refer the case to the Academic Integrity Board for a hearing. The Provost’s Office will notify the faculty and student of the referral to the Board via email. In such cases, the sanction that the student agreed to will be enforced, but the Board may impose further sanctions as appropriate.
If the student and faculty do not agree on the violation and proposed sanction, the student will indicate that s/he wishes to contest the charge on the Academic Integrity form and return it to the faculty member. This form and its supporting evidence will be submitted to the Academic Integrity Board for consideration at a hearing.
If the Board finds that the student did not commit the violation, no sanction will be carried out, the faculty will grade the assignment, no record of the allegation will be maintained, and the matter will be closed.
While the allegation is pending, the student should continue the course and submit future assignments or examinations, which the faculty will grade.
Academic Integrity Board Hearings
Students have the option to attend the Academic Integrity Board hearing in-person or by phone. Students may bring someone with them for support throughout the hearing, but that individual may not engage in the discussion regarding the allegation. The university will approve a translator for the hearing when requested by the student.
The Academic Integrity Board schedules hearings a minimum of once per month to address issues. Allegations must be received a minimum of 7 calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting, otherwise they are held over to the next scheduled meeting. This gives students sufficient time to compose a response, or to arrange to attend in person or by phone. The University will consider student requests for expedited reviews between regularly scheduled meetings on a case by case basis. Once the student’s hearing has been added to the agenda for an upcoming board meeting, the student and faculty member who brought forth the allegation will be notified of the time, date, and location of the hearing via email and will be advised that they may attend the meeting in person, by phone, or submit a written argument.
A simple majority of Board members is required to make a determination as to whether the student committed the act of academic dishonesty in question.
If the Board finds that the student did not violate the Academic Integrity Policy, the Board Chair will notify the student, faculty and Provost’s Office of the decision, indicating that no sanction is to be taken against the student. If the Board finds that the student did commit an act in violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, the Board will also make a determination as to the appropriate sanction to be levied. In most cases, the Board will uphold the sanction recommended by the faculty but does have the power to levy a different sanction based on the severity of the violation.
In cases where students have had previous violations of the Policy and are found to have committed a repeat offense, the sanction suggested by the faculty will be enacted in addition to whatever further sanction(s) the Board determines to be appropriate.
Students will be notified in writing of the Academic Integrity Board’s decision. If the student is found to be in violation of the policy, the decision of the Board will be submitted to the Provost’s Office who will keep all records of Academic Integrity Policy violations. The faculty imposes the academic sanction determined by the Board. If disciplinary sanctions are imposed, the appropriate offices will be notified to carry out the sanction.
Sanctions
In making an allegation of academic dishonesty, the faculty member is asked to determine an appropriate academic sanction against the student. In most cases, academic sanctions may range from a warning to the opportunity to redo an assignment, or issuance of a reduction in a grade for an assignment or examination, 0.0 for an assignment or examination, or a 0.0 for the course grade. Faculty are encouraged, where appropriate, to issue an assigned learning plan for students to better their understanding of academic integrity and how to avoid academic dishonesty. This could include referral to tutoring or other educational support resources such as the Writing Help Center or the Math Help Center and/or referral to sites like plagiarism.org to study the subject in more detail.
Academic sanctions levied by the Board are noted in the student’s record. If a student receives a 0.0 for the course as a result of a sanction imposed by either a faculty or the Academic Integrity Board and repeats the course successfully, the 0.0 for the first attempt is removed from the cumulative GPA with the words “prior attempt” and the grade for the second attempt is calculated into the cumulative GPA with the words “repeated.”
In cases where the violation was appropriately severe, the violation happened outside the scope of a regular course (e.g. the student has completed a course but is later found to have cheated on an assignment in that course or shared/sold materials from that course), or the student has been found to commit multiple violations of the Academic Dishonesty Policy, the Board my impose further disciplinary sanctions that may include, but are not limited to placing the student on academic probation, academic suspension for one or more quarters, or dismissal from the University. False statements made by a student in the course of the hearing may result in additional sanctions.
Students' Right to Appeal Board Decisions
Students may appeal the Academic Integrity Board’s decision within ten calendar days to the Provost. Appeals must be submitted in writing and will be reviewed based on:
- New information that was not available at the time of the hearing that is potentially sufficient to alter the decision.
- Documentation of a procedural error that may have prohibited the hearing from being conducted in a fair manner.
- The imposition of a sanction not appropriate for the violation.
- A lack of facts to establish that a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy occurred.
The decision of the Provost is final. The Provost will notify the student and the Chair of the Academic Integrity Board of the appeal decision. Should the Provost determine that sanctions other than those imposed by the Academic Integrity Board are to be imposed, the Provost will notify the student, the faculty, the Chair of the Academic Integrity Board and include the change in the file maintained in the Provost’s Office.