Academic integrity is fundamental to the intellectual community at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte. The University's academic community is dedicated to scholarship, teaching, service, inclusion, and the holistic development of the student body, encouraging an atmosphere of trust, respect, honesty, fairness, and mutual responsibility.
Academic integrity ensures that the students at the University fully benefit from their pursuit of knowledge and their overall educational experience.
Violations of academic integrity run counter to the educational mission and goals of UNC-Charlotte and have influence beyond the University community.
What is the Code of Student Academic Integrity at UNC-Charlotte?
The purpose of the Code of Student Academic Integrity at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is to: develop consistent standards for the entire academic community; promote and support an ethical learning environment; help students learn academic responsibility; safeguard the University's academic environment; and to provide clarification regarding student values and how those values relate to student behavior.
What Actions Are Considered “Academic Misconduct” at UNC-Charlotte?
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte recognizes that academic misconduct detracts from the value of a University degree and has influence beyond the UNC-Charlotte community. According to the Code of Student Academic Integrity, the following behaviors are considered “academic misconduct”:
- Cheating: Using materials or trying to use materials (without authorization) to gain an academic advantage, or providing materials or assistance to another individual in an academic exercise that may result in helping another to gain academic advantage
- Fabrication: Giving any form of fabricated information in an academic exercise
- Falsification: Changing (without authorization) any information or data in an academic exercise in any method of communication
- Misuse of academic materials: By taking actions—making academic materials inaccessible, altering or damaging academic materials, or sharing or distributing academic materials—without authorization that may result in gaining an academic advantage or aiding another person to gain an academic advantage
- Multiple submission: Submitting academic work in more than one academic exercise without authorization
- Plagiarism: Failure to properly acknowledge a source, presenting ideas or words of another person or entity as if they are one's own ideas, and using one's own prior work in a different context without proper citation
- Unauthorized collaboration: Collaborating—in an academic exercise—with others in either work or effort without proper authorization
- Research misconduct: plagiarizing, fabricating, or falsifying research proposals, review, or results
What Is the Process for Academic Misconduct at UNC-Charlotte?
The process for academic misconduct at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is organized into different sections, which are outlined below:
Standards of Due Process
Any student at UNC-Charlotte is entitled to a hearing before a hearing panel. Exceptions to this standard include situations where the case is resolved through informal or facilitated resolution. The objective of the hearing into academic misconduct is to ascertain whether the student is responsible for the alleged misconduct. Formal rules of evidence do not apply during the academic misconduct hearing. Any deviation from the established procedures does not necessarily invalidate the proceeding or a decision, unless the deviation results in significant prejudice to the student or faculty member.
Standard of Proof
The information alleging the academic misconduct must establish that the student is, in fact, responsible for the misconduct by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that it must be more likely than not that the student did engage in the alleged academic misconduct. The evidence may include any of the following and more: any relevant academic records such as class assignments and syllabi; exhibits such as social media information, audio/video information, and photographs; and written/oral statements.
Authority and Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction in most cases applies to all academic work both inside and outside of the classroom, online, and in-person. The academic work may be inside or outside the context of an academic course, including the preparation of material that is submitted as a requirement for a degree, University program, or another academic context. Any academic work submitted for publication, or submitted in a grant application, a dissertation, or a thesis, is under the jurisdiction of the research misconduct process. Academic misconduct procedures may, when necessary, be altered to protect the University community, property, or resources.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Students at UNC-Charlotte have the following rights:
- The right to a fundamentally fair process
- Presumed not responsible for an academic misconduct violation until determined otherwise
- Provided notice of any allegation(s) of academic misconduct
- Review of the information that will be presented as long as the information may be provided in a redacted format
- Opportunity to present relevant information on their behalf
- Advice, support, or assistance as outlined in the Code
- To have sanction(s) imposed on the basis of the guidelines set forth in the Code if the student is found to be responsible for the misconduct
- Notification of the final decision and results of the proceeding
- To request reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act
- To challenge the information and allegations presented against them
- Request exclusion of a member of the hearing panel on the basis of bias, conflict of interest, or interest in the case
- To pose questions to any witnesses appearing at the hearing
- Exclusion of prior academic misconduct from the information presented during hearing panel's deliberation
- Appeal any decision of the hearing panel
- Access to a recording of the hearing proceedings
What Are the Sanctions for Academic Misconduct at UNC-Charlotte?
Sanctions for academic misconduct at UNC-Charlotte may include any of the following:
- Written warning to the student that their behavior was unacceptable
- Resubmission of academic exercise with or without a grade penalty
- Reduced academic exercise grade
- Reduced course grade
- Educational sanctions
Skilled Attorney-Advisor For Your UNC-Charlotte Academic Misconduct Allegation
There is a lot at stake when you have been charged with academic misconduct at UNC-Charlotte. The implications reach far beyond the UNC campus community. Hiring an experienced, skilled academic misconduct attorney-advisor is critical for the best possible outcome.
Attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento is experienced and knowledgeable, having secured successful outcomes for hundreds of students charged with academic misconduct over the years. He has helped countless clients attending UNC and also across the United States. To learn more about how Attorney Lento can help your misconduct case, call the Lento Law Firm today at 888.535.3686 or contact us online to discuss your case.
