Colorado students who have been accused of plagiarism, cheating, or manipulating official school documents can face the serious repercussions of an academic misconduct violation. While most accused students in Colorado think that they can prove their innocence at the hearing, the reality is that many of these hearings are either tilted against them or run by people who are unfamiliar with the process of determining guilt or innocence.
The ability to appeal an adverse outcome is essential. Academic appeal advisor Joseph D. Lento can help aggrieved students continue to invoke their rights, even after a bad decision by the hearing panel.
The Unreliability of Academic Misconduct Hearings
Many colleges in Colorado make a point of having a diverse hearing panel to determine whether alleged academic violations happened or not. These panels are often composed of a mixture of faculty members, administrators, and sometimes even other college students. While the diversity on the panel is admirable, though, these board members are often terribly underprepared for determining guilt or innocence in even an academic misconduct case. Many of them can be easily persuaded with emotional appeals rather than facts, while others bring the baggage of their prior decisions into the hearing with them, prejudicing their vote in your case.
The Importance of Appealing a Violation
Because of these problems with the academic misconduct hearing process in Colorado, hiring an appeal advisor to invoke your rights to an appeal and craft the appropriate documents can be essential if the initial hearing finds that you committed academic misconduct. The appeals process, after all, is designed to provide aggrieved and convicted students with a way to overcome a biased or prejudiced hearing body.
However, there are often procedural rules set up to prevent just any academic misconduct case from being reheard – students who want to make use of their right to appeal often have to show, complete with supporting evidence, that their initial hearing was unfair and deserves to be dealt with, again. Showing that the hearing was unfair in a particular way that provides a ground for appeal can be tricky in some cases. Attorney Lento understands how to make these evidentiary showings and jump through these hoops to ensure your case is reheard at a higher level.
Additionally, the appeal document can make or break your chances of success at the next level. A poorly worded appeal can fail to mention important information that will prove to be essential at the subsequent hearing, dooming your ability to make your case. With the help of academic appeals advisor and attorney Joseph D. Lento, though, you can rest assured that the appeal will fully protect your rights and will allow you to state your case in its entirety to a more neutral hearing panel.
Joseph D. Lento: Colorado's Academic Appeals Advisor
Joseph D. Lento is a student discipline defense lawyer who can serve as an academic appeals advisor to students in Colorado. Contact him online or call his law office at (888) 535-3686 if you have been found in violation of your school's code of conduct and want to appeal your case.
- Adams State College
- Aims Community College
- American Sentinel University
- Arapahoe Community College
- Argosy University Denver
- Bel Rea Institute of Animal Technology
- Boulder College of Massage Therapy
- College America Colorado Springs
- College America Denver
- College America Fort Collins
- Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology
- Colorado Christian University
- Colorado College
- Colorado Heights University
- Colorado Mesa University
- Colorado Mountain College
- Colorado Northwestern Community College
- Colorado School of Healing Arts
- Colorado School of Mines
- Colorado State University Fort Collins
- Colorado State University Pueblo
- Colorado Technical University Colorado Springs
- Colorado Technical University Greenwood Village
- Colorado Technical University Online
- Community College of Aurora
- Community College of Denver
- Denver School of Nursing
- DeVry University Colorado
- Ecotech Institute
- Everest College Aurora
- Everest College Colorado Springs
- Everest College Thornton
- Fort Lewis College
- Front Range Community College
- Institute of Business and Medical Careers
- ITT Technical Institute Aurora
- ITT Technical Institute Westminster
- Johnson & Wales University Denver
- Jones International University
- Lamar Community College
- Metropolitan State College of Denver
- Morgan Community College
- Naropa University
- National American University Centennial
- National American University Colorado Springs
- National American University Colorado Springs South
- National American University Denver
- Nazarene Bible College
- Northeastern Junior College
- Otero Junior College
- Pikes Peak Community College
- Platt College Aurora
- Prince Institute Rocky Mountains
- Pueblo Community College
- Red Rocks Community College
- Redstone College
- Regis University
- Remington College Colorado Springs Campus
- Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design
- The Art Institute of Colorado
- Trinidad State Junior College
- United States Air Force Academy (exempt from Title IX and the Clery Act)
- University of Colorado Boulder
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs
- University of Denver
- University of Northern Colorado
- University of Phoenix Colorado Campus
- University of Phoenix Southern Colorado Campus
- Western State Colorado University
- Westwood College Denver North
- Westwood College Denver South
Regrettably, an academic misconduct finding of responsibility can derail an accused student's academic and professional goals and some students and parents do not recognize this concern until it may be too late. If a student is found responsible for academic misconduct charges, in addition to the short-term consequences such academic and disciplinary sanctions, there will be long-term consequences. Internships, graduate school opportunities, and employment opportunities can all be adversely impacted by a finding of responsibility.
For these reasons and more, it is critical to properly address such concerns as early as possible in the disciplinary process. There are times, however, that it necessary to appeal an adverse outcome, and Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm have unparalleled experience passionately fighting for the futures of his clients at universities and colleges in California and throughout the nation. He does not settle for the easiest outcome, and instead prioritizes his clients' needs and well-being. Joseph Lento is a licensed attorney in New Jersey and New York, is admitted as an attorney pro hac vice in state and federal court if needed when representing clients nationwide, and serves as an academic misconduct advisor to students facing disciplinary cases in Colorado and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected at all stages of the academic misconduct disciplinary process, including the appeal stage - Contact National Academic Misconduct Advisor Joseph D. Lento today at 888-535-3686.
