Process Checklist for Suspected Academic Misconduct

Step 1

Review Policy 6.33. Please review the Academic Misconduct Policy and comply with it throughout the process. (Several of the steps below refer to specific defined terms outlined in Policy 6.33.)

Step 2

Notify the student within 5 Days of becoming aware of the suspected misconduct. Use the "Notice of Suspected Academic Misconduct" template on the Academic Misconduct website to send an email to the student via their email of record or a confidential Canvas message. Using the template is highly recommended. If you do not use the template, make sure to include all required information, per Policy 6.33 IV.C.2.a.i-vii.

• ⁠ Attach the Notice of Violation letter to the email or Canvas message.
• ⁠ Please copy the Academic Integrity Specialist and any other faculty that may be involved in the violation.

Step 3

Hold an Initial Meeting with the student. Once the student responds, schedule a time for them to meet with you to discuss the suspected misconduct. You or the student may request to have an academic administrator also attend the Initial Meeting.

• ⁠ Keep personal notes from your meeting and collect any associated materials submitted by the student.
• ⁠ If the student chooses not to attend the meeting, that is their right. You may move on to the next step in the process and render a decision with the information you have available.
• ⁠ During your meeting, share your thoughts, evidence, and reasons for believing the student engaged in academic misconduct. Similarly, listen to the student and allow them to respond to the allegations.
• ⁠ If relying on technology or software that detects Falsification or Plagiarism to produce evidence, explain how the technology or software detects activity that may constitute Academic Misconduct (e.g., similarity scores).
• ⁠ The student is allowed an opportunity to present an explanation or provide additional contextual information or exculpatory evidence. Faculty should strive to be objective, impartial, respectful, and not accusatory during the Initial Meeting. Faculty may seek to verify information the student presents during the Initial Meeting before rendering a decision.
• ⁠ The faculty is responsible for the burden of proof to support the suspicion of Academic Misconduct and may not shift that responsibility to the student by asking them to complete a similar task or activity during the Initial Meeting to prove their innocence.
• ⁠ After the Initial Meeting, the faculty shall determine whether a Preponderance of Evidence demonstrates conduct that constitutes a violation of this Policy. The preponderance of evidence requires you to conclude it is more likely than not that the student violated the policy.

Step 4

Make a decision and assign an outcome within 5 Days of the Initial Meeting. Spend some time thinking about the available evidence and the information gathered from the student; evaluate the strength and persuasiveness of the evidence. If the preponderance of evidence suggests Academic Misconduct occurred, a Sanction may be imposed. If you'd like to discuss potential outcomes that are commensurate with the violation, feel free to contact the Academic Integrity Specialist.

Step 5

Send a Written Determination Notification Letter within 5 Days of the Initial Meeting. Regardless of the decision, use the Written Determination Notification Letter template to inform the student of the outcome. Attach the completed Written Determination Notification Letter to an email sent to the student's email of record. Within the email, acknowledge the meeting (or lack of a meeting) and advise them that you have made a decision which is attached to the email, as are instructions should they decide to request a review of the decision by the Academic Integrity Specialist. Using the template is highly recommended; if the template is not used, include all required information in Policy 6.33 IV.C.3.a.i-ix.

• ⁠ Attach the Decision Letter to the email.
• ⁠ Copy everyone that was on the Notice email, including the Academic Integrity Specialist.

Step 6

Submit information for the student's file. Email any additional information to the Academic Integrity Specialist for the student's file (i.e., notes, submissions from student, etc.). In addition to the Written Determination, please send any supplemental materials you collected or relied upon so those files can be added to the conduct records database maintained by the Academic Integrity Specialist.