How Instructors Implement UK's New Academic Offenses Policy

You are the instructor of a course, and you have evidence that a student committed an academic offense in your course.

1. Ascertain whether you have jurisdiction over the offense.

   • If you are a staff employee such as a teaching assistant or a director of laboratories, and the chair of your department has not explicitly delegated to you the authority to handle academic offenses in the course, turn the evidence over to the faculty employee who is responsible for signing the grade reports. If there is no such faculty employee, turn the evidence over to the chair.

   • If the student is enrolled in a program that is governed by an honor code (usually, professional programs in health colleges and Law), turn the evidence over to that college's dean so that the honor code's procedures may be followed.

2. Invite the student to meet with you and the chair of the department that offers the course so that the student can explain his or her side of the story in the presence of a neutral party. The invitation may be issued in person (make sure there is a witness) or by regular (not certified) mail to all addresses listed in Campus Management for that student. You may additionally issue the invitation by email. You may set a deadline by which the student must respond. (Allow at least seven working days.) You may wish to warn the student not to drop or withdraw from the course because, if you find that he or she has committed an academic offense, he or she will be reinstated.

   (You are free to talk to the student about the case prior to the meeting with the chair if the student initiates the conversation. If the student admits to committing an offense, you might want to ask the student whether he or she still wants to meet with the chair, but the meeting need not take place if the student so declines.)

3. If, after hearing the student's case, you believe that the student's action was so slight or inconsequential as not to merit even a zero on the assignment, you may treat the action simply as an error or a failure to master the material, not as an academic offense. (For example, you may feel that a student who cited 15 references but neglected to cite a 16th should not be prosecuted for plagiarism, even though the omission fits within the definition of plagiarism.) You may reduce the student's score on the assignment to whatever extent you feel is appropriate for the error.

4. If, on the other hand, after hearing the student's case, you believe that the evidence shows that the student cheated or committed plagiarism, ask the chair to find out from the registrar whether the student has previously been found to have committed an academic offense.

   • If there is a prior offense, and the penalty for that offense was major (E in the course or more severe), send a letter describing the case to the responsible dean, who proceeds as described here. (If you need to submit the student's grade for the course before the dean has decided on a penalty, submit an E, and, so that the student doesn't learn it from Campus Management, inform the student that you have found that he or she has committed an offense, and you are in the process of determining the penalty in consultation with the dean. This letter is a courtesy only, so you can simply send an email.)

   • Otherwise, if you believe that the offense is egregious enough to warrant an XE or a more severe penalty, and the chair agrees, send a letter describing the case and recommending a penalty to the responsible dean, who proceeds as described here. (If you need to submit the student's grade for the course before the dean has decided on a penalty, submit an E, and, so that the student doesn't learn it from Campus Management, inform the student that you have found that he or she has committed an offense, and you are in the process of determining the penalty in consultation with the dean. This letter is a courtesy only, so you can simply send an email.)

   • Otherwise, if there is a prior offense, and the penalty for that offense was minor (less than E in the course), the penalty for the offense must be E in the course.

   • Otherwise, there is no prior offense, so the penalty for the offense must be at least zero on the assignment. You may impose additional penalties such as additional academic work or reducing the letter grade by one or more levels, up to and including an E in the course. The penalty is entirely within your discretion. You may, of course, solicit others' opinions about what would be an appropriate penalty, given the circumstances. (If you do, be sure not to reveal the student's identity.) Your department may have guidelines about what constitutes an appropriate penalty for a given offense, but such guidelines are advisory only.

5. If the student has dropped or withdrawn from the course, ask your chair to ask the registrar to reinstate the student. A student loses the right to drop or withdraw from a class for any reason if he or she commits an academic offense. (However, if a student appeals a finding of an offense and is found not guilty, he or she is permitted to drop or withdraw, even if the drop/withdraw deadline has past.)

6. If you did not submit the case to the dean, inform the student of the finding of an offense and the penalty. Explain that the student has lost the right to drop or withdraw from the class for any reason. Explain that he or she has ten days to approach the ombud if he or she wishes to dispute the finding or the penalty (if it is above the minimum). You should either hand the letter to the student (make sure there is a witness) or send the letter by regular (not certified) mail to all addresses listed in Campus Management for that student. You may additionally send the letter to the student by email. Ask the chair to send a copy of your letter to the ombud.

   (If the penalty is a minor one, you may save yourself some effort by writing your notification letter in such a way that it can double as a letter of warning. (Here is a sample letter of warning.) Simply add to the sample letter two statements: that the student has ten days to approach the ombud to dispute the finding of an offense or the penalty, and that the student has lost the right to drop or withdraw from the class.)

7. Wait to hear from the ombud whether the student is appealing the finding or penalty. If the student is appealing, you should wait until after the appeal is resolved before taking any further action.

8. If the finding of an offense is not appealed or is upheld, and the penalty for the offense is a minor penalty (less than E in the course), you must write a letter of warning to the student. (Here is a sample letter of warning.) Copy the registrar on your letter.