When a faculty member believes a student has been academically dishonest, there are two courses of action.
The faculty member could informally accuse a student of academic dishonesty, in which the faculty member and student would meet and discuss the circumstances surrounding the accusation. If the faculty member and student come to an agreement on a resolution, the process is complete.
"The instructor has a lot of options available," David Fried, director of Student Rights and Community Standards, said. "The instructor could dock them a certain amount of the grade, could require them to redo the paper, could also flunk them for that particular assignment, or could flunk them for the course."
If the two cannot come to a conclusion or the student believes the assigned punishment is too harsh, the case would be reviewed by the University Academic Ethics Committee.
The faculty member could also bring a formal charge against the student, in which case the student's department chairperson is notified. If the student admits to the accusation, the faculty member can assign a punishment or refer the matter to the University Academic Ethics Committee. If the student denies the formal accusation, the case would go to the University Academic Ethics Committee for review.
Formal charges are rare, though. No cases have come before the committee this school year.
Mary Kite, University Academic Ethics Committee member, said hearings are only likely to arise when there is a misunderstanding or dispute between the student and faculty member.
To decide on a punishment for a student who has committed academic dishonesty, the committee looks to the faculty member who brought forth the charge, Deborah Balogh, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs, said.
"Often the faculty member makes a recommendation as to the consequences," she said. "The hearing panel considers typical punishments that have been applied in prior, similar cases, and the committee takes into account whether there has been a prior finding of academic dishonesty on record."
Sometimes the committee directs students to use the Multimedia Integrity Teaching Tool, a program that helps students better understand what constitutes academic dishonesty, Jackie Harris, study strategies and writing coordinator in the Learning Center, said.
"MITT is basically used for instruction if there's been a breach of honesty," she said.
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