Academic Honesty and Integrity
What to Do When You Suspect Academic Misconduct
Overview
Colorado State University has a policy for faculty to follow when they suspect academic misconduct. Consistency in following this policy upholds the professional obligations of all faculty and instructors, instills confidence in the grading process, and creates an atmosphere of trust between students and their teachers.
These are the basics for instructors who suspect academic misconduct. Included are excerpts of University policies published in the CSU General Catalog and the CSU Faculty Manual.
Your First Step: Make Arrangements to Meet With Your Student
CSU Policy: If a faculty member has evidence that a student has engaged in an act of academic misconduct, the faculty member will notify the student of the concern and make an appointment to discuss the allegations with the student. The student will be given the opportunity to give his or her position on the matter.
For help preparing for this kind of appointment, please see our guide:
Your Next Step: Make a Decision on How To Proceed
Once you have spoken and given them a chance to explain or resolve your concern, you must decide about what to do next. If your conversation with the student has left you satisfied that academic misconduct did not occur, then you and the student can move forward in the course without any further action and with the benefit of having had a developmental conversation about your expectations for integrity in the course.
However, if you still suspect academic misconduct may have occurred, (that is, that in your mind, the issue has not been completely resolved) then you should follow the university’s conduct process for handling academic misconduct incidents.
- Communicate your decision to the student (email is fine), letting them know that you will follow the university’s process and submit an academic misconduct incident report with the Student Resolution Center.
- Decide upon and communicate your grading penalty to the student.
- Submit the Academic Misconduct Incident Report.
At that point, your official responsibilities according to the CSU Faculty Manual are complete. The only thing left to do is to record the grading penalty and wait for the official outcome letter from the Student Resolution Center that signals the end of the conduct process. Any questions related to the conduct process, the disciplinary hearing, the progress of a specific case should be directed to the Student Resolution Center.
Contact
Joseph Brown
Director, Academic Integrity