Academic Misconduct

Faculty Guidelines for Dealing with Acts of Academic Misconduct

If a faculty member suspects that a student is guilty of a breach of the standards and chooses to pursue disciplinary action through University channels, the faculty member should:

• Hold a conference with the student to attempt to address the problem.
• If the student is determined to be guilty of the charge, the faculty member should issue the sanction. The sanction may include failure of a particular assignment or exam, failure of a particular class, or other appropriate disciplinary action.
• If a sanction is imposed on the student, then the faculty member is expected to: Report in writing to the department chair the details of the incident, results of the student/ faculty member conference, and the sanction issued. A copy of this report should be provided to the appropriate college dean and to the Assistant Vice President/Dean of Students. (The Assistant Vice President/Dean of Students is responsible for maintaining and safeguarding all University discipline records and ensuring confidentiality. A central record of all acts of academic dishonesty and plagiarism ensures that a student will be held accountable for subsequent violations.)
• If the Assistant Vice President/Dean of Students has on file for particular student(s) previous violations of the code, this information is to be sent to the faculty member and department chair.
• If the faculty member and department chair determine that the severity of the academic dishonesty or the fact or nature of previous violations by the same student(s) warrants further disciplinary action, a request for further action should be made in writing to the Assistant Vice President/Dean of Students. The Assistant Vice President/Dean of Students will review the submitted material and hold an investigative hearing with the student(s) involved. At this time, the Assistant Vice President/Dean of Students will determine if further disciplinary action is warranted.
• The Assistant Vice President/Dean of Students will report in writing any additional disciplinary actions taken to the college dean, the department chair, the Provost, the faculty member making the charges, and the student(s) being charged.
• Nothing in this policy shall prevent or prohibit the student(s) charged from making an appeal of the disciplinary action administered.