Different schools do have different penalties for academic misconduct. That being said, certain kinds of academic misconduct if a student's found responsible is, say, more likely to result in a certain consequence that's, say, more universally accepted by various colleges and universities. There are, of course, differences in terms of how a given case would be addressed at a given school.
The higher a student is in their education, the higher the level of accountability there will be for the student. The potential consequences not only vary by school, but will also vary by the level that the student is at. A senior will be held to a higher level of accountability than a freshmen. A graduate student or a PhD student would be held to a higher level of accountability than an undergraduate student, for example. The same would be true of a professional students, law, medicine, for example. Conduct that is more of a mistake in nature, such as plagiarism without intent or unintentional plagiarism. At some schools, unintentional plagiarism is actually not academic misconduct. At many schools, it is. It will depend on the given school. Misconduct that is, say, planned, for example, paying somebody to write a paper or buying an exam or whatever the case may be, paying somebody to take an exam, that kind of conduct is especially egregious as it's looked upon by the schools.
Very much is at stake in an academic misconduct case, regardless of the circumstances. You have to make sure that you're protecting your interests. An experienced attorney advisor can help you do so and should be involved from as early as possible in the process.
