Preamble
1. Academic
Misconduct
a. Allegations of academic misconduct may consist of two basic types:
(1) Academic misconduct by a student who is enrolled in a particular course and who commits an act of misconduct related to that course.
(2) Academic misconduct by a student that is not related to a particular course in which the student is enrolled.
b. When a student in a course commits an act of academic misconduct related to that particular course, the faculty member who is teaching the course has the authority to initiate academic misconduct proceedings against the student.
c. When a student commits an act of academic misconduct that is not related to a course in which the student is enrolled, the University Dean of Students or their designate [henceforth referred to as the Dean of Students] has the authority to initiate academic misconduct proceedings against the student after consulting with the appropriate Academic Officer of the School or Unit [henceforth referred to as the Academic Officer] in which the student is enrolled.
2. Simultaneous
Acts of Academic and Personal Misconduct
a. When a student commits an act of academic misconduct related
to a course in which the student is enrolled
and also commits a separate but simultaneous act of academic misconduct
unrelated to that course or an act of personal misconduct, separate
academic misconduct and disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by the
faculty member involved and the Dean of Students as outlined in these
procedures. After consulting with one
another, Tthe faculty member and Dean of Students have the
discretion, however, to handle the matter jointly or to decide that the matter
should be handled by only one of them
the officers.
b. When a student commits an act of academic misconduct related
to a course in which the student is enrolled and the act may also be a simultaneous act of academic misconduct
unrelated to that course or an act of personal misconduct, the faculty
member conducting the course has the authority to initiate academic misconduct
proceedings against the student after consulting with the Dean of Students. In
such cases, the Dean of Students also has discretion to initiate separate
disciplinary proceedings. After
consulting with one another, Tthe faculty member and the Dean of
Students have the discretion to handle the matter jointly or to decide that the
matter should be handled by only one of them
the officers.
1. Action by a Faculty Member.
a. A faculty member who has information indicating that a
student enrolled in a course being conducted by the faculty member has
committed an act of academic misconduct related to that course should, within 7
calendar days, [excluding
University recognized holidays and breaks],
of receiving that information, hold a meeting with the student concerning the
matter. During that meeting the faculty
member must:
(1) advise the student of the alleged act of misconduct and the information upon which the allegation is based,
(2) provide an opportunity for the student to respond to the allegation.
b. Following the meeting, if the faculty member concludes that the student did, as alleged, commit the act of misconduct the faculty member is authorized to impose an academic sanction related to the particular course involved. The penalty for a serious act of academic misconduct should ordinarily involve the recording of a failing grade for the course. However, sanctions for academic misconduct may include, but are not limited to, any one or a combination of the following:
(1) No formal penalty is assessed, but the student is given a written reprimand by the instructor outlining the offense and the results of the informal discussion with the student.
(2) The student may be given a lower grade than the student would otherwise have received for any assignment, course work, examination, or paper involved in the act of misconduct, including an “F”.
(3) The student may be required to repeat or resubmit any assignment, course work, examination, or paper involved in the act of misconduct.
(4) The student may be required to complete some additional assignment, course work, examination, or paper as a substitute for any assignment, course work, examination, or paper involved in the act of misconduct.
(5) The student may be required to withdraw from the course with an appropriate grade of “W” or “F”, at the faculty member’s discretion.
(6) The student may be given a lower grade
than the student would otherwise have received for the course, including a
failing grade.
c. Whenever any academic sanction is imposed, the faculty
member must, within 7 calendar days,
[excluding University recognized
holidays and breaks], report
the matter and the sanction imposed in writing to the appropriate Academic Officer (also referred to as the academic officer) in the School,
Unit, or Division in which the course is being offered, the appropriate aAcademic oOfficer
in the School, Unit, or Division in which the student is enrolled, the Dean of
Student’s Office, and the student. This
reporting step is important and is meant to provide an avenue for due process
to the student. The student will be
notified by an e-mail to their university account along with a written report
to their permanent address on record with the University. All written reports must include:
(1) a statement concerning the nature of the offense.
(2) the terms of the sanction being imposed.
(3) a statement that the student may submit a written appeal to
the appropriate administrative
Academic oOfficer of the
School, Unit, or Division in which the offense occurred within 7 calendar days, [excluding University recognized holidays and breaks], after receiving the faculty member's
written report.
(4) a statement that the matter is being reported to the Dean of Students who has the authority to impose an additional sanction(s) if the Dean of Students believes that such a sanction is justified because of the nature of the student's misconduct or because of any prior acts of misconduct that the student may have committed. These additional sanctions may include:
(a) disciplinary probation for a specified period of time.
(b) suspension from the university for a specified period of time.
(c) expulsion from the University.
(5) a statement that the Dean of Students will notify the student
within 7 calendar days, [excluding University recognized
holidays and breaks], of
receipt of the faculty member's report if
of the Dean’s decision regarding any
additional sanctions or if the Dean is still considering the propriety of
imposing any additional sanctions.
d. In the event that the matter cannot be resolved before final grades are due in the Office of the Registrar, an incomplete may be given in the course.
e. The faculty member must allow the student to continue attending and participating in the course; to complete all assignments, and to have their grade in the course recorded normally until the case has been resolved. If the case is resolved in favor of the student, this information will be necessary to assign the student an earned grade for the course.
2. Action by the Office of the Registrar.
If the penalty includes a failing grade for the course, the Registrar will be notified that the grade was given because of academic misconduct. The Registrar will record the grade of "F" on the student's permanent academic transcript without any notation concerning the reason for the grade. The Registrar must, however, follow procedures to ensure that the grade of "F" will not thereafter be removed from the transcript in accordance with other academic policies or procedures such as the “FX” or grade replacement policy. An “F” given because of academic misconduct must be calculated in a determination of the student's grade point average, but the grade will not prevent the student from repeating the same course for credit.
3. Action by the
Dean of Students
a. A student may not be placed on disciplinary probation,
suspended or expelled from the University, a School, or a Unit within the
University because of an act of academic misconduct unless the Dean of Students
concludes, in consultation with the appropriate
administrative Academic oOfficer
of the School, Unit or Division in which the student is enrolled, that such a
sanction is justified by the nature of the act or because the student has
committed previous acts of misconduct.
b. The Dean of Students is required to review a faculty member's report concerning a student's act of academic misconduct to determine if the nature of the act of academic misconduct should include probation, suspension, or expulsion.
c. The Dean of Students is required to determine if the student has a record of any previous acts of academic or personal misconduct and to decide whether probation, suspension, or expulsion should be imposed on the student because of any previous acts of misconduct. In this regard, the Dean of Students is required to maintain a confidential record of all sanctions imposed by, or reported to the Dean of Students in order to determine if a particular student is developing a record of repeated acts of misconduct.
d. The Dean of Students shall, within 7 calendar days, [excluding university recognized holidays and breaks], following receipt of the faculty
member's report, notify the student of the decision not to impose additional
sanctions or set a date for a conference.
The student should be notified by e-mail to the student’s university
account along with a letter sent to the student’s address on record with the University of the purpose and date of
the conference.
e. The notice shall inform the student that:
(1) the Dean of Students is considering the propriety of imposing an additional sanction upon the student.
(2) the additional sanction may consist of probation, suspension, or expulsion from the University.
(3) the student is required to appear in the Office of the Dean of Students at the specified date and time for a conference to discuss the propriety of the additional sanction.
(4) the student may, at their own expense, have an adviser or other counsel present during the conference; that an adviser or counsel is limited to the role of advising the student; and that an adviser or counsel may not make any statements during the conference.
(5) the informal conference will be limited to a consideration of the seriousness of the academic misconduct involved, the validity of any record of the student's previous acts of misconduct as maintained by the Dean of Students, and the propriety of any additional sanction to be imposed.
(6) the Dean of Students has no authority to reconsider the validity or propriety of the decision of the faculty member concerning the act of academic misconduct.
(7) the Dean of Students will impose any of the authorized additional sanctions if the student fails to appear for the informal conference and the Dean reasonably concludes that the failure to appear is without good cause.
(8) the student has the right to appeal a decision of the Dean of Students to impose an additional sanction.
f. When the student appears for the conference, the Dean of
Students shall inform the student concerning the purposes of the conference and
the student's record of previous acts of misconduct, if any. The student shall
be given an opportunity to discuss the nature of the act of academic
misconduct, the accuracy of the record of the student's previous acts of
misconduct, and the propriety of any additional sanction that the Dean of Students proposes to impose on the
student. In discussing the student's record of previous acts of misconduct, the
student may not discuss the propriety of the decisions concerning such
misconduct. After the conference, the Dean of Students has the authority to
decide that an additional sanction should be imposed.
g. Upon conclusion of the conference, the Dean of Students must
inform the appropriate administrative
Academic oOfficer of the
academic unit(s) involved of the Dean of Students dispensation of the case.
h. If a sanction of suspension or expulsion from the University is imposed, the Dean of Students is required to notify the Office of the Registrar to indicate the suspension or expulsion on all copies of the student's academic transcript. In cases of suspension, the Registrar will remove the notation from the transcript when the term of the suspension has ended.
C. Right to Appeal
A student has the right to appeal any of the following decisions concerning an alleged act of academic misconduct:
1. The faculty member's decision that the student committed the act of misconduct.
2. The faculty member's decision to impose a particular academic sanction.
3. The decision of the aAcademic oOfficer in the School, Unit, or Division in which the
offense occurred.
4. The
decision of the Dean of Students to impose an additional sanction.
D. Appeals to the Academic Officer of a School,
Unit, or Division
1. If the student desires, he/she must initiate an appeal
concerning a faculty member's decision by submitting a written request to the aAcademic oOfficer of the School, Unit, or Division within which the
alleged offense occurred, within 7 calendar days, [excluding
University recognized holidays and breaks],
after receiving a written report from the faculty member concerning the
decision.
2. Within 7 calendar days,
[excluding University recognized
holidays and breaks],
after receiving such a written appeal, the aAcademic
oOfficer should have a
conference with the student and the faculty member in an effort to resolve the
matter.
3. If the matter is not resolved at this conference, the
student may, within 4 calendar days of the meeting, [excluding University recognized holidays and breaks] deliver a
written request to the aAcademic
oOfficer asking for a meeting
with an Appeal Board.
E. Composition of the Appeal Board
1. When an Appeal Board is to be convened,
the aAcademic oOfficer of the School, Unit, or
Division will, as much as possible, in consultation with the faculty and student
governments of their School, Unit, or Division select three faculty members,
but not a member of the department or section in which the offense occurred,
and two students, but not a student in the department or section in which the
offense occurred to serve on the Board.
For this Board, a faculty member is a full time tenure or non-tenure
track individual who has a 10 or a
12 month FTE.
2. If the School, Unit, or Division should
not have enough faculty members or students to fully constitute a Board, they
may utilize members from other Schools, Units, or Divisions, but the presiding
officer, if possible, should be a faculty member from the School, Unit, or
Division in which the appeal is being made.
3. The aAcademic oOfficer
appoints a faculty member to serve as the presiding officer and to convene an
Appeal Board.
4. No hearing may be
held unless a majority of the members (two faculty
and one student) of the Appeal Board
are present. If upon notification of their selection any member of the Appeal
Board, faculty or student, is unable to be present or should request to be
excused from serving for any good cause, the member should be replaced with a like member, either faculty or student.
F. Appeal Board Presiding Officer
The presiding officer, in consultation with the other members of the appeal board, is responsible for selecting a date and time for the appeal to be heard, conducting the appeal board meeting, maintaining the necessary order, making all rulings that are necessary for the fair, orderly, and expeditious consideration of the appeal, and making every reasonable effort to provide the student with due process.
Within 7 calendar
days of receiving the appeal [excluding
recognized University holidays or breaks],
the presiding officer shall consult with other members of the appeal bBoard and inform the student via both a letter to the
student’s permanent address on record and the student’s IUPUI e-mail account:
1. of the date, time, and place the appeal will be heard, and that the faculty member will be present. If the appeal involves an academic sanction by the Dean of Students, the letter should state that the Dean of Students will be present at the meeting.
2. that the appeal will be held as a closed meeting, unless the student notifies the presiding officer within 3 calendar days of receiving notification of the appeal board meeting that he or she desires the appeal to be open to the public. If the student requests an open hearing, the presiding officer is authorized to make a final decision concerning the place where the appeal meeting is to be held and the number of observers to be accommodated.
Seven days prior
to the hearing date, the presiding officer shall inform the student via both a letter to the student’s permanent address
on record and the student’s IUPUI e-mail account:
1. of any witnesses who may
appear at the meeting of the appeal board, and/or whose statements may be
offered as evidence, and a summary of the information upon which the allegation
is based.
2. that they are expected
to be present at the appeal; that they may provide witnesses at the appeal;
that statements or evidence that the student may present must be provided to
the presiding officer and the faculty member no later than 4 calendar days
before the appeal board meeting, excluding recognized University holidays and
breaks; and that the student may be precluded from presenting witnesses or
evidence at the appeal if the information has not been provided prior to the
meeting.
3. that they may be
accompanied by an advisor or, at the student’s own expense, an attorney, but
that the advisor or attorney will not be allowed to address any other
participants involved in the appeal process.
4. that they will have an
opportunity to testify before the appeal board; to respond to the testimony and
information provided concerning the alleged misconduct; and that a decision not
to testify will not be considered as an admission of guilt.
5. that a failure to appear
before the appeal board shall be sufficient to justify the dismissal of the
appeal if the bBoard
determines that the failure to attend was without good cause.
Within 7 calendar days of receiving the appeal [excluding recognized University holidays or breaks], the presiding officer shall consult with other members of the appeal board and inform the faculty member and, if appropriate, the Dean of Students via e-mail:
1. of the date, time, and
place the appeal will be heard and that they will are required to attend the
hearing or the accusation of academic misconduct will be nullified.
2. that they must prepare a
list of any witnesses that they may present at the hearing and/or whose
statements may be offered as evidence at the hearing; that the list must be
submitted to the presiding officer and the student involved by no later than 4
calendar days before the hearing, excluding recognized University holidays and
breaks; and that the faculty member may be precluded from presenting witnesses
or evidence at the appeal if the information has not been provided prior to the
meeting.
During the appeal board meeting the presiding officer shall also:
1. make
an official recorded transcript of the appeal meeting.
2. provide the student an
opportunity to make a concluding statement in support of the appeal.
3. provide the faculty
member with an opportunity to respond to student’s final statement concerning
the appeal.
G. Role of the Appeal Board
The Appeal Board should listen to all aspects of the case to determine if the
evidence and statements provided during the appeal meeting support the
allegation that the student committed the alleged violation. It is ultimately the responsibility of the
University (faculty member) to provide sufficient information and/or documentation
to support their case. The Appeal Board may conclude that the evidence and statements provided by the
University:
1. support the
allegation that the student committed the act of academic misconduct, and
support the decision of the faulty member and the sanction(s) imposed.
2. support the allegation
that the student did commit the act of academic misconduct, but that the
sanction or sanctions should be reduced. Under these circumstances, the Board may recommend that the Dean, Director, or Academic
Officer of the School, Unit, or Division impose a lesser sanction than that
imposed by the faculty member.
3. do not support the
allegation that the student committed the act of academic misconduct, and
direct the Dean, Director, or
Academic Officer of the School, Unit, or
Division to set aside the sanction or sanctions imposed. If the decision of the faculty member concerning the
student's alleged act of misconduct is reversed by the Board, the decision of
the Dean of Students to impose any additional sanctions is automatically
reversed.
H. Report of Appeal Board
Within 10 calendar days [excluding recognized University holidays or breaks] after the hearing, the presiding officer must prepare a written decision which includes an explanation of the board's action and the findings of fact upon which the action is based. The decision must be sent via both regular mail and e-mail to:
1. the student;
2. the faculty member;
3. the aAcademic oOfficer of the School, Unit,
or Division in which the offense occurred;
4. the aAcademic oOfficer of the School, Unit,
or Division in which the student is enrolled;
5. the
University Dean of Students.
Unless a documentable
procedural error has occurred, all decisions and/or recommendations made by the
board are considered to be final and the appeals process is terminated with the
filing of their report.
I. Final appeal to the Dean of the
Faculties
If a documentable
procedural error occurred during the Appeal Board process, the student may,
within 3 days of the posting of the Board’s decision, make a final appeal to
the Dean of the Faculties. The Dean of
the Faculties may choose to remand the case back to the School, Unit, or
Division for a review of the process.
Any decision reached by the Dean of the Faculties or, if it should
occur, following a re-review of the process, will be considered as final and
end the appeals process. It is ultimately the responsibility of the
student to provide sufficient information and/or documentation to support their
case.
J. Appeal of a decision by the Dean of
Students or their designate
An appeal involving a decision by the Dean of
Students or their designate may be made to the Dean of Faculties. The appeal process would follow that outlined
for appealing sanctions imposed by a faculty member, and The Dean of Faculties
would utilize a Campus Appeal Board comprised of faculty and students obtained
from a pool of individuals nominated by the faculty and student
governments. In this case, a decision by
the Appeal Board would be considered to be absolute and final. The appeal process would be terminated.