Students: What to Know if Accused of Academic Integrity Violations
Academic integrity cases are adjudicated based solely on evidence with a focus on learning from mistakes and improving as students and scholars.
Steps:
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Notification/Request for Meeting
When a student is accused of violating academic integrity policies, the first step is the student will receive a notification from the Office of the Dean of Students requesting the student meet with a representative from the office, most commonly the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs. The notification comes via the student’s Baruch email address. Failure to schedule a meeting will result in a hold being placed on the student’s account.
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Meet to Discuss the Incident
Students have the ability to meet and discuss their case via phone, zoom or in-person. During this meeting, students will be given the opportunity to provide a detailed account, share any explanations, provide evidence and/or discuss anything they want to be is considered.
TIPS for a productive meeting:
- Students are able to bring an advisor with them to the meeting. However, because the student’s academic record will be discussed a FERPA waiver form must be completed prior to the meeting. An advisor can not speak for the student, or tell a student what to say.
- The meeting is meant to be a conversation and a chance to understand what truly happened. As such, coming in prepared to answer questions and provide information will help to make it a productive meeting.
- Ask questions! If there is something you don’t understand, ask questions to get more information.
- If you have evidence you want to be considered, be sure to pick a meeting format that works best for you in sharing that evidence. Sharing documents or screen shots can be done via email, zoom or in person. Anything that can not be shared digitally should be provided in an in-person meeting.
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A Decision is Made
Once the evidence has been discussed, the student will be found either ‘Responsible’ or ‘Not Responsible’ for violating policies. This decision is based on a preponderance of evidence, meaning 50.1% of the evidence must point in a particular direction. To be found “Responsible” means that there was a sufficient amount of evidence to show that the student violated policies.
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If found Responsible
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When a student is found Responsible in an academic integrity case, they can receive two sanctions: Academic sanction, which is set by the instructor and/or a Disciplinary sanction, which is set by the representative from the Office of the Dean of Students.
The student will receive an email from the Office of the Dean of Students notifying them of the decision and any disciplinary sanction that has been assigned. The Office of the Dean of Students will notify the instructor of the decision so that any academic sanctions can be assigned. The Office of the Dean of Students will not tell a faculty member how to grade. Faculty are encouraged to follow their syllabus in determining sanctions.
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If found Not Responsible
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Students who are found Not Responsible will maintain the grade they earned in the class. Students will receive a letter from the Office of the Dean of Students stating they were found Not Responsible to keep for their records.
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Appeal
All students have the right to appeal the decision or the assigned sanctions. You can find more information on the appeal process under the Process section.
Sanctions
In an academic integrity case, students who are found responsible for violating policy receive two sanctions; a disciplinary sanction assigned by the Office of the Dean of Students and an academic sanction assigned by the instructor (if applicable).
Disciplinary Sanctions can range from admonition, warning, probation, suspension and expulsion. The sanction is assigned based on the severity of the policy violation and student’s history of violating polices.
Admonition: This is similar to a verbal warning. A student can be admonished for their actions. An admonition is not shared outside of the Office of the Dean of Students.
Warning: A warning is meant to be an opportunity to learn from mistakes. As such a warning is not shared outside of the Office of the Dean of Students, and has no impact on administrative processes like registration, financial aid, or graduation. Warnings can be used as a point of reference in determining sanctions in any future cases where the student is found responsible for violating policies.
Probation: Students are placed on disciplinary probation for a designated period of time, minimally for one semester. While on disciplinary probation, students may not participate in various Baruch programs and events such as studying abroad, running for USG, serving as a tutor in SACC, etc. Probations do not appear on your transcript, but they are shared on Dean’s Certification forms which are most commonly used when transferring between colleges/universities and job searches.
Suspension: When a student is suspended, it means that they are unable to attend classes at any CUNY school for a set period of time, minimally one semester. Suspensions are noted on the transcript for four years, at which point a student can request to have it removed.
Expulsion: Students who are expelled are removed from Baruch and all CUNY schools with no option of returning. Expulsion is noted on transcripts and can not be removed.
Academic Sanctions are assigned by the instructor and most commonly range between deduction of points, failure on the exam/assignment, failure in the class or any other sanction stated by the professor in the syllabus. Faculty are encouraged to follow their syllabus when assigning sanctions.
If a student withdraws from a course before the academic sanction has been applied, upon the request of the faculty member, the Office of the Dean of Students will work with the Registrar’s Office to have the sanction applied. For example, if a student is found responsible for cheating in a course, but drops the course on their own to receive a ‘W’ grade. The instructor can request that the academic sanction of an ‘F’ grade be issued, so that the ‘F’ grade is shown on the transcript, not the ‘W’.