College students in New Mexico who have been accused of academic misconduct, but who know that they are innocent, often look forward to the misconduct hearing to show their innocence. However, these hearings are notoriously unreliable when it comes to finding out the truth. Appealing an incorrect outcome can be essential for students who want to continue fighting for their rights and protecting their future. Academic appeal advisor Joseph D. Lento can help.
Academic Misconduct Hearings are Unreliable
Colleges in New Mexico recognize that allegations of academic misconduct are serious things, and spend lots of room in their codes of conduct or academic integrity outlining exactly how they are to be investigated and heard. After all, a blemish on your academic record can put your future at stake.
However, colleges also seem to care more about the appearance of bias on their misconduct hearing panels than they are concerned about making sure those panels can reliably come to the right conclusion. Many schools in New Mexico require misconduct hearing panels to draw members from not just the administration and staff, but also from the faculty and the student body, as well. While this might make an accused student feel as if they have friends or peers on the hearing panel who will look out for their rights and interests, it also means that the panel hearing the case is much more likely to fall for poor arguments and unreliable evidence than it would be if there were skilled judges on it.
This is not a theoretical problem. The judges on a hearing panel will have to distinguish fact from fiction and determine who is lying and who is a reputable source of information. These are not easy things to do, even for someone with training and experience. Expecting anyone to be able to do it is calling for numerous poor conclusions that put accused students at serious risk of facing professional difficulties throughout their future.
Appeals are an Integral Part of the Process
Thankfully, most colleges include in the academic misconduct procedure a way to appeal the decision of the initial hearing for students who are convinced that something went wrong. However, these schools also want to make sure that most cases are resolved after the first hearing.
To try satisfying both of these interests, many of New Mexico's colleges require appeals to satisfy sometimes complicated procedural hurdles, like proving that there was bias at the lower hearing, in order to be reheard on appeal. Overcoming these barriers without hurting a worthwhile case's chances of success on appeal can be difficult and require the help of an academic appeal advisor.
Joseph D. Lento: An Academic Appeal Advisor for New Mexico Students
Joseph D. Lento is an attorney and an academic appeal advisor who can guide aggrieved students in New Mexico. Which his help and input, college students can appeal an incorrect decision by a misconduct hearing panel and preserve their future. Contact him online or call his law office at (888) 535-3686.
- Brown Mackie College Albuquerque
- Central New Mexico Community College
- Clovis Community College
- Computer Career Center
- Eastern New Mexico University Main Campus
- Eastern New Mexico University Roswell Campus
- Eastern New Mexico University Ruidoso Campus
- Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture
- ITT Technical Institute Albuquerque
- Luna Community College
- Mesalands Community College
- National American University Albuquerque
- National American University Rio Rancho
- Navajo Technical College
- New Mexico Highlands University
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- New Mexico Junior College
- New Mexico Military Institute
- New Mexico State University Alamogordo
- New Mexico State University Carlsbad
- New Mexico State University Dona Ana
- New Mexico State University Grants
- New Mexico State University Main Campus
- Northern New Mexico College
- San Juan College
- Santa Fe Community College
- Santa Fe University of Art and Design
- Southwest University of Visual Arts Albuquerque
- St John's College
- University of New Mexico Gallup Campus
- University of New Mexico Los Alamos Campus
- University of New Mexico Main Campus
- University of New Mexico Taos Campus
- University of New Mexico Valencia County Campus
- University of Phoenix Albuquerque Campus
- University of the Southwest
- Western New Mexico University
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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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.
