Article 1—Student Rights and Responsibilities

Part 4. Academic Integrity

§ 1-404 Procedures

(a) The college or equivalent academic unit in which the course or examination is conducted shall be the body of adjudication for findings involving penalties pertaining to course grades. (In cases where the course is cross-listed, this refers to the controlling department.) If the penalty is a failing grade for the course, this is also the college to which an appeal of the decision should be made. The college or equivalent academic unit in which the student is enrolled is the body of adjudication for findings involving a penalty of suspension or dismissal. (Whenever reference is made to the “dean” in this or subsequent sections, it shall refer to the dean or the dean’s designee.)

These rules and procedures concerning course-based infractions of academic integrity apply in all colleges except where specified otherwise by the bylaws of a college (for example, in some professional colleges which operate under rules and procedures governing infractions of academic integrity which have been approved by the Senate Committee on Student Discipline).

(b) An instructor who believes a student is guilty of one or more infractions of academic integrity listed in this rule shall notify the student in writing of the basis for the belief and then allow the student eight working days to respond to the allegation.

(1) If the final deadline for reporting grades occurs prior to the time the instructor allows for the student response, the instructor should, with the permission of the student’s college, assign the student a grade of Incomplete, to be changed after the case has been resolved. After such written notification, the student may not drop the course until after the case has been resolved.

(2) If the student is found guilty of an infraction and the penalty is a lowered or failing grade within the course, the student may drop the course before the usual deadline for dropping the course. The student may drop the course after that date only if the infraction occurred before the deadline and the case was resolved after the deadline.

(3) After the usual deadline for dropping a course, a student may not withdraw from the course. In either instance of dropping or withdrawing from the course, a permanent record of the infraction will remain in the student’s file. The student may not switch the course to Credit/No Credit status. If the penalty is a failing grade for the course as a whole, the student may not drop or withdraw from the course.

(c) If, after the student has had an opportunity to respond to the allegation, the instructor concludes that the student is not guilty of an infraction, the instructor shall inform the student in writing of this conclusion within eight working days. The instructor shall also notify any other individuals who were notified of the instructor’s original claim that the infraction had occurred. The student shall be permitted:

(1) to be reinstated in the course and be given whatever grade the student is entitled to without regard to the charge of an infraction of academic integrity;

(2) to drop the course at any time of the semester; or

(3) to change sections in the course, if possible.

(d) If, after the student has had an opportunity to respond to the allegation, the instructor concludes that the student is guilty of an infraction, the instructor shall decide which of the penalties listed in § 1-403(c) is warranted. After a penalty has been determined, the instructor shall notify the student and the DEO in writing of the penalty imposed and the reasons for it within eight working days of receipt of the student's response (or the end of the response period if no response is made). The letter will include notification of the student's right to appeal this decision under subsection (f) to (i) below.

(e) When two or more students have been accused of cooperating in an academic infraction, their cases should be handled separately. Any fact-finding inquiries should establish their independent guilt, and the penalties for each individual should be decided separately. When one or more of the parties to an infraction is not enrolled in the course affected, their cases should be forwarded to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline for appropriate action.

(f) The student may appeal a finding and/or penalty by indicating this desire in writing to the DEO within fifteen days of notification of the right to appeal. If the student does not appeal, the matter shall be closed unless the penalty is suspension or dismissal, in which case (k) below applies. In a case in which the penalty is a failure for the course, the DEO shall notify the dean, and the dean will forward a request to record a failing grade for the course to the Office of Admissions and Records.

(g) The procedures for appeal and the requirement for review of a finding, recommendation, and/or penalty beyond the level of the instructor shall depend upon whether the penalty falls within one of three levels of severity.

(1) Categories 1 to 4 of § 1-403(c) (a penalty of less than a failing grade for the course).
For penalties less than a failing grade for the course, appeals of the finding and/or the penalty shall be heard within the department according to the procedures established by that department. A copy of these procedures shall be available to the student in the department office. In no case shall this departmental appeal result in a harsher penalty than the one originally assessed by the instructor.
If the department consists of nine or fewer full-time faculty members, the appeal will be directed to a similarly constituted committee of the school or college. If the instructor of the course is a member of the committee, that instructor shall be disqualified from the consideration of that appeal.

(2) Categories 5 and 6 of § 1-403(c) (a penalty of a failing grade for the course or denial of credit for the proficiency exam).
If the penalty to be recommended by the instructor is a failing grade for the course, or if the penalty is a denial of credit for a proficiency exam, appeal of the finding and/or the penalty shall be heard at the college (or equivalent academic unit) level in accordance with (i) below.

(3) Suspension or dismissal from the University.
In a case deemed sufficiently serious to warrant suspension or dismissal from the University, the instructor shall notify the DEO and submit to the officer evidence of the violation of academic integrity. The DEO, after separate discussions with the instructor and the student, shall decide whether to recommend to the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled that the penalty be assessed. In cases of repeated violations, a review for possible suspension or dismissal can also be initiated by the student’s college or the Senate Committee on Student Discipline. All cases recommending suspension or dismissal are automatically appealed within the student’s home unit and include a formal review by the Senate Committee on Student Discipline. See subsection (k) below.

(h)

(1) Note that the seventh penalty (§ 1-403(c)(7)), which is negotiated and agreed to by both instructor and student, is not subject to appeal. For the others, the appeal or review procedures can be summarized as follows: Categories 1 to 4 are appealed through the procedures of the department in which the course or exam is conducted in subsection (g) (1) above; categories 5 and 6 are appealed within the college in which the course or exam is conducted, through the procedures spelled out in subsection (i) below; cases involving suspension and dismissal are heard within the student’s home unit, through the procedures spelled out in subsection (k) below, including final review by the Senate Committee on Student Discipline.

(2) In cases where a penalty on a course, exam, or assignment is accompanied by a recommendation for suspension or dismissal, the appeals are treated separately: the appeal of the penalty on the course, exam, or assignment is reviewed within the college in which the course or exam was offered; the appeal of the recommendation for suspension or dismissal is reviewed by the student’s home unit. These appeals are independent, and each could be upheld or overturned regardless of the other.

(i) If the student notifies the DEO of a desire to appeal a finding and/or penalty, in cases where the penalty is a failing grade for the course or denial of credit for a proficiency exam, the procedure will be as follows:

(1) The DEO shall gather all relevant information from the instructor and student and transmit the information to the dean of the college in which the course was offered.

(2) The dean shall convey the appeal information to the hearing committee formed in accordance with guidelines in § 1-405.

(3) The hearing committee shall deliberate the appeal according to the hearing guidelines outlined in § 1-405.

(4) The hearing committee shall render a recommendation on the appeal to the dean.

(j) All reviews and appeal processes within a college concerning findings and/or penalties should be completed in a timely manner; a final decision should be rendered, if possible, within six working weeks after the filing of the appeal.

(k) In all cases involving possible suspension or dismissal, except those initiated by the Senate Committee on Student Discipline:

(1) The DEO shall discuss the finding separately with the instructor and the student. If the DEO decides that suspension or dismissal is warranted, the DEO shall so recommend to the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled.

(2) The dean of the college shall charge the hearing committee to consider the merits of the recommendation. The hearing committee shall deliberate according to the hearing guidelines in § 1-405. The hearing committee shall inform the dean of its decision. If the hearing committee concurs with the recommendation, the dean shall forward the recommendation to the Senate Committee on Student Discipline. The decision of the college on the facts of the breach of integrity shall be final. The sole question before the Senate Committee on Student Discipline is whether the breach of integrity in question is of such a nature as to warrant suspension or dismissal from the University.

(l) If a course or proficiency exam is offered directly under the auspices of a college or equivalent unit rather than a department, the dean shall perform the procedural role otherwise performed under these rules by the DEO.

(1) If a proficiency exam is not administered under the auspices of a college or department, the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled shall perform the DEO’s role.

(2) If in performing the DEO’s role the dean recommends suspension or dismissal, the dean shall designate an independent person to perform the dean’s role as presiding officer under § 1-405.