APPENDIX
G
POLICY FOR APPEAL OF CHARGE OF
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
The procedure outlined below is to be used
when a student contests a faculty member’s allegation of
academic dishonesty. The student may only contest the
allegation of academic dishonesty and not the penalty assessed
by the instructor if the allegation is upheld.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Academic Dishonesty is a form of misconduct and includes the
following: cheating, fabrication, fraud, facilitating academic
dishonesty and plagiarism.
Cheating: any attempt to gain an
unfair advantage over one’s fellow students.
Fabrication: any attempt to present information that is
not true when the author knows the information presented is
false.
Fraud: any attempt to deceive an instructor or
administrative officer of the university.
Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: any attempt to assist
an act of academic dishonesty by another individual.
Plagiarism: any attempt to knowingly or deliberately
pass off other’s work as your own.
ACADEMIC VIOLATIONS GUIDELINES
It is the responsibility of the individual faculty member to
include on the course syllabus a statement on academic
dishonesty that includes the penalty for engaging in this
activity. The complete approved format for course syllabi may
be found at:
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/academicadmin/syllabus.doc
It is also the responsibility of the individual faculty
member to identify instances of academic dishonesty and
recommend penalties to the department chair and/or dean in
keeping with the severity of the violation and the policy listed
on the syllabus.
If it is determined that the violation is minor, the faculty
member may decide that the only necessary action is a conference
with the student and/or verbal chastisement. Should it be
determined that the violation merits a more severe penalty than
verbal chastisement, the faculty member may decide that one of
the following progressive penalties is appropriate:
- Assign the student extra course work.
- Require the assignment or examination
to be repeated.
- Reduce the grade on the assignment or
examination.
- Award a zero grade on the assignment
or examination.
- Reduce course grade by one letter
grade
- Award a failing grade in the course.
If the academic dishonesty occurs prior to
the last withdrawal date of the semester, the faculty member may
require the student to remain enrolled in the course.
Before taking action on a penalty, the faculty member must
notify the department chair and/or dean of the incident and
contact the Associate Provost for Academic Administration for
any record of previous academic dishonesty. The severity of the
penalty may depend on the nature of the infraction, the degree
to which the academic project involved affects the course grade,
and the past record of academic dishonesty of the student.
If the student has a past record of academic dishonesty, the
minimum penalty shall be a failing grade in the academic project
connected with the violation. In addition, the faculty member
may, through appropriate departmental channels, recommend
actions more severe than those listed above such as suspension,
and/or dismissal from the university. Any request of this
nature will be coordinated with the Office of Student Life.
WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF THE PENALTY IMPOSED AT ANY LEVEL
MUST BE FORWARDED TO THE ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR ACADEMIC
ADMINISTRATION
Definitions:
“Meeting” is defined by the presence of all parties to the
appeal either physically in one location or via electronic
means.
“Designated Administrator” refers to the
individual in charge of carrying out the specific step of the
process. Generally this will be an assistant/associate dean,
department chair or director. Terminology varies among the
academic units.
“Appellant” is the individual bringing the
appeal to the College-level Committee or the ASC Sub-committee.
In most cases this will be the student, but it could be a
faculty member if the decision in Steps 2 or 3 was in favor of
the student.
“Statement of Denial” is a written record
of the specific reasons why the student is contesting the charge
of academic dishonesty.
“Statement of Evidence” is a written
statement by the faculty of the actions of the student which
constitute academic dishonesty.
Procedures for Appeal of Charge of
Academic Dishonesty
Step 1:
Upon being notified by an instructor that he/she is being is
being charged with academic dishonesty, a student has two
options. The student may accept the allegation and the penalty
the professor assesses for the infraction or the student may
contest the allegation of academic dishonesty. The student may
not contest the penalty assessed by the professor. If the
student contests the allegation of academic dishonesty, the
student must notify the professor in writing within two weeks of
the initial notification of the charge of the intent to contest
the allegation. Upon receiving notice from the student that the
academic dishonesty charge is being appealed, the instructor
must (within two working days) send a copy of the documentation
supporting the charge of academic dishonesty to the unit chair
and college Dean.
Step 2:
Following receipt of the written communication from the
student, a student, instructor and designated administrator
meeting must be held. The instructor is responsible for setting
up this meeting which must be held within one week of the
receipt of the written notification of appeal unless the
designated administrator is unavailable. The student may bring
a silent observer to this meeting provided the instructor and
designated administrator are notified no less than two working
days prior to the meeting.
At the meeting the student must present to
the designated administrator a written “Statement of Denial”
refuting the charges of academic dishonesty. At the conclusion
of this meeting the designated administrator and faculty member
will conference without the student and then announce to the
student their decision. In addition a letter shall be sent by
the designated administrator to the student and the faculty
member documenting the meeting and confirming the decision that
was made. This letter constitutes the official minutes of the
meeting and shall include a copy of the student’s “Statement of
Denial.” The designated administrator may affirm or dismiss the
charge of academic dishonesty. The designated administrator may
not change the penalty assessed by the professor without the
professor’s acceptance of this change.
If the instructor of the course is a
department chair or the administrator of the academic unit, Step
2 of the process is conducted by a Dean-designated administrator
within the College.
If this meeting does not produce
satisfaction, the student or faculty member has two weeks to
notify, in writing, the Dean of the College of the intent to
proceed to Step 3. This request must be in writing. If the
appeal is initiated by the student it must be accompanied by the
“Statement of Denial” presented to the Designated Administrator
in Step 2. If the appeal is initiated by the faculty member,
it must be accompanied by a “Statement of Evidence” to be
prepared by the faculty member.
Step 3:
Upon receiving a request from the student or faculty member,
the college Dean or designee will appoint and convene, within
two weeks of receiving the appeal from the student, an ad hoc
committee composed of the persons listed below to hear the
appeal. The student and/or the instructor may present
additional written statements supporting his/her position up to
one week prior to the Committee meeting. Requests for
information by either the student or instructor must be made to
the Committee chair. If the request is a violation of
confidentiality, the Committee chair must deny the request. If
the Committee chair considers a request to be a potential
violation of confidentiality, he/she should contact the
Associate Provost for Academic Administration (APAA) for final
resolution of the request. No material may be presented less
than five working days prior to the meeting of the ad hoc
committee. No new material may be presented at the Committee
meeting.
All materials submitted by the student and instructor must be
given to the individual designated as the Chair of the ad hoc
committee. Committee members, student and instructor must
receive all materials no later than two working days prior to
the meeting.
The minutes of the Student/Instructor/Designated Administrator
meeting will be forwarded to the Chair of the ad hoc committee.
During the Committee meeting, the student and faculty member
will be given full opportunity to present their positions.
The dean's ad hoc committee shall consist of:
a. Dean of the college, or designee, who chairs the
committee. This individual must be different from the
individual who served as the designated administrator in step 2;
b. Two faculty members from the department in which the course
being appealed is offered. If two faculty members from the
department cannot be found, faculty from other academic units in
the college/school may be appointed;
c. Two faculty members from an academic unit outside the
department in which the course being appealed is offered. These
faculty members may come from the same college/school as the
department in which the course is being appealed or they may
come from a different college/school;
d. The ASNAU senator, or designee, that is the representative
of that college/school. If this individual is not available,
the Chair of this Committee may appoint another student to
fulfill this role.
e. The Associate Provost for Academic Administration (or
designee) in an advisory capacity.
Process to be followed by the ad hoc
Committee:
It is required that all parties to the academic dishonesty
appeal be present in person or via electronic means during the
fact finding phase of the meeting. The student and/or
instructor may bring a silent observer to this Committee hearing
provided the chair of the committee is notified no less than
two working days prior to the meeting.
Format for College-level Allegation of
Academic Dishonesty Appeal Hearing:
Introduction of Committee members
Charge to Committee by Chair
Process Statement by Provost Office
Representative – presented orally
Presentation of Information by Student
Presentation of Information by Instructor
Questions from Committee Members
Response to instructor presentation by
student
Response to student presentation by
instructor
Questions from Committee Members
Meeting Ending Statement by Chair
Deliberations and Vote
The fact finding phase of the meeting
should generally last between 30 and 45 minutes.
The chair shall vote only in the event of a
tie. Minutes of the meeting shall be taken by someone other than
the person chairing the meeting and shall be prepared in summary
form. These minutes are kept in the office of the Dean; a copy
is forwarded to the representative from the Provost’s Office.
The student and instructor will be sent copies of the minutes
and may propose corrections to the minutes before they are
released to any party outside of the Committee.
It is recommended that the fact finding
portion of the meeting in which the student and instructor
present their information be taped. No taping of the
Committee’s deliberations is allowed. The tape will be retained
in the Office of the Dean and disposed of according to Arizona
Statutes on Records Retention. The Chair of the ad hoc
Committee will send a letter to the student and instructor
indicating the decision of the committee, and the rationale
behind this decision.
Step 4:
Should either the student or the instructor believe
violations of due process occurred at any step of the appeal,
the matter may be appealed in writing to the Office of the
Provost. The only grounds for appeal to the Provost’s Office
are violations of the due process contained with this policy.
The appeal must contain a description of the processes which
were not followed.
The Provost will forward the appeal to the
Associate Provost for Academic Administration who will send it
to the Chair of the Academic Standards Committee (ASC) who shall
be responsible for calling a meeting of a subcommittee of the
ASC composed of at least six individuals. Both the student and
instructor must be notified in writing of the hearing at this
level and the procedures to be followed.
At a meeting specifically scheduled to
consider only the appeal, the ASC sub-committee will conduct a
review of the appeal process in question. The ASC sub-committee
may invite the appellant and other relevant individuals to the
hearing if it decides the individuals’ presence is required to
provide the information necessary for the sub-committee to make
an informed decision.
Format for ASC
Sub-committee Academic Dishonesty Appeal Hearing
When no outside parties are present
Charge to Committee by Chair of
Sub-committee
Review of the “Statement of Denial”
submitted by the student
Review of College Committee Minutes
Committee Discussion, Deliberations and
Vote
Format for ASC Sub-committee Academic Dishonesty Appeal
Hearing
When One or more Invited Individuals are Present
Charge to Committee by Chair of
Sub-committee
Review of “Statement of Denial” submitted
by the student
Review of College Committee Minutes
Presentation of Information by Student
Presentation of Information by Professor
Questions from Committee Members
Response to Professor presentation by
Student
Response to Student presentation by
Professor
Questions from Committee Members
Committee Discussion, Deliberations and
Vote
The decision reached by the ASC
Sub-committee will be communicated to the Student, the Professor
and the college Dean.
The decision reached by the ASC
Sub-committee shall become a matter of University record in the
Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Administration.
This decision shall be final and end any further campus
involvement. There is no appeal beyond this level.
Approved:
Academic Standards Committee
April 28, 2006
Liz Grobsmith, Provost June 19, 2006
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