Academic integrity is at the core of all thriving learning environments. This is why colleges and universities are so adamant about enforcing rules that preserve academic integrity. If students fail to comply with these rules, the consequences can be harsh, affecting not only your educational future but your professional future as well.
This is why it's important for students accused of academic misconduct to seek the help of an attorney advisor. An experienced legal professional can help you clear your name, and avoid getting you a record for employers and outside institutions to see.
What is Academic Misconduct?
In Virginia colleges and universities, there are multiple guidelines to maintain academic integrity. These regulations are imposed to keep students accountable and transparent when it comes to creating their own scholastic works and respect the works of others. Any actions that violate these rules is considered academic misconduct.
Academic Misconduct Violations
Here are some of the most common forms and examples of academic misconduct.
Cheating: exhibiting deceit, fraud, or dishonesty in an academic assignment.
- Having a stand-in take an exam for you, or standing in for someone else
- Copying from others during an exam
- Sharing answers from a take-home exam unless specifically authorized by an instructor
- Allowing another person to write a paper for you
- Using unauthorized materials, written notes, prepared answers, or concealed information to complete an exam or project
Plagiarism: the use of intellectual material in an academic work created by another person without acknowledging its source.
- Passing off the ideas, words, or concepts of another person as your own
- Using the work of another in your work without crediting them, this is known as citing the source. Citing must be done correctly, and credit must be given for every direct quote, any paraphrased ideas, summaries, or information that isn't considered common knowledge.
Fabrication/Falsification: inventing or altering information in an academic exercise.
- Creating or altering citations for a paper
- Making up people, events, or interactions to complete an assignment
Complicity: intentionally aiding or attempting to aid another student to perform academically dishonest acts.
- Letting another student use your ID to access a restricted lab or library
Consequences
Most administrators perceive academic misconduct as one of the most reprehensible violations that can be committed in school settings. This is why they impose rules with harsh consequences for academic misconduct. These consequences are so harsh that they tend to extend beyond sanctioning, and into a student's professional life. Some job prospects with access to a student's academic record will question the integrity of a person who's acquired this violation. Government jobs, law professions, and careers in academic are a few examples of prospects that may use this violation to deny people of employment.
Virginia Academic Misconduct Advisor
A finding of responsibility for academic misconduct can jeopardize the academic and professional goals you or your college student have set. If you value the investment you've made into your education and your professional future, contacting a skilled student defense attorney is a must. Attorney Joseph D. Lento has helped students who've acquired serious academic misconduct charges recover from these allegations, and he can do the same for you. Contact him today for more information.
Virginia colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help as your or your student's academic misconduct advisor during investigations, hearings, and appeals include, but are not limited to, the following schools:
- Advanced Technology Institute
- Argosy University Washington D.C.
- Averett University
- Averett University Non Traditional Programs
- Aviation Institute of Maintenance Chesapeake
- Aviation Institute of Maintenance Manassas
- Bethel College
- Blue Ridge Community College
- Bluefield College
- Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
- Bridgewater College
- Bryant & Stratton College Hampton
- Bryant and Stratton College Richmond
- Bryant and Stratton College Virginia Beach
- Central Virginia Community College
- Centura College Chesapeake
- Centura College Newport News
- Centura College Norfolk
- Centura College Richmond Main
- Centura College Richmond Westend
- Centura College Virginia Beach
- Chamberlain College of Nursing
- Christopher Newport University
- College of William and Mary
- Dabney S Lancaster Community College
- Danville Community College
- DeVry University Virginia
- Eastern Mennonite University
- Eastern Shore Community College
- ECPI University
- Emory and Henry College
- Everest College Arlington
- Everest College Chesapeake
- Everest College McLean
- Everest College Newport News
- Ferrum College
- Fortis College Norfolk
- Fortis College Richmond
- George Mason University
- Germanna Community College
- Hampden Sydney College
- Hampton University
- Hollins University
- ITT Technical Institute Chantilly
- ITT Technical Institute Norfolk
- ITT Technical Institute Richmond
- ITT Technical Institute Salem
- ITT Technical Institute Springfield
- J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
- James Madison University
- Jefferson College of Health Sciences
- John Tyler Community College
- Liberty University
- Longwood University
- Lord Fairfax Community College
- Lynchburg College
- Mary Baldwin College
- Marymount University
- Miller Motte Technical College Lynchburg
- Mountain Empire Community College
- National College Salem
- New River Community College
- Norfolk State University
- Northern Virginia Community College
- Old Dominion University
- Patrick Henry Community College
- Paul D Camp Community College
- Piedmont Virginia Community College
- Potomac College Herndon
- Radford University
- Randolph College
- Randolph Macon College
- Rappahannock Community College
- Regent University
- Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary
- Roanoke College
- Saint Pauls College
- Sanford Brown College Tysons Corner
- Shenandoah University
- Skyline College Roanoke
- South University Richmond
- South University Virginia Beach
- Southeast Culinary & Hospitality College
- Southern Virginia University
- Southside Virginia Community College
- Southwest Virginia Community College
- Stratford University
- Sweet Briar College
- The Art Institute of Virginia Beach
- The Art Institute of Washington
- The Art Institute of Washington Northern Virginia
- The University of Virginia's College at Wise
- Thomas Nelson Community College
- Tidewater Community College
- University of Management and Technology (The)
- University of Mary Washington
- University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus
- University of Phoenix Richmond Campus
- University of Richmond
- University of Virginia Main Campus
- Virginia College
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Virginia Highlands Community College
- Virginia Intermont College
- Virginia Military Institute
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Virginia State University
- Virginia Union University
- Virginia University of Lynchburg
- Virginia Wesleyan College
- Virginia Western Community College
- Washington and Lee University
- Westwood College Annandale
- Westwood College Arlington Ballston
- Wytheville Community College
It is an unfortunate reality that academic misconduct charges can upend an accused student's life if not properly addressed, and Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm have unparalleled experience passionately fighting for the future of his clients at colleges and universities in Virginia 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 for students facing disciplinary cases in Virginia and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National Academic Misconduct Advisor Joseph D. Lento today at 888-535-3686.
