Allegations of academic misconduct are serious matters. If a student is found responsible, he or she is facing repercussions that could not only jeopardize their academic career but their professional future in the long run.
Being found responsible for breaching academic integrity, and violating school policy can result in students losing their scholarship, being kicked out of their program, lead to a suspension, and even expulsion from an institution. When it comes to post-graduate employment opportunities, many jobs, like government careers, for example, ask potential employees about integrity. Students who wish to take the bar will be questioned about their academic record. And of course, students in pursuit of careers in academia will be required to fess up about their engagement in academic misconduct.
With all that is at stake, you can not afford to skip out on retaining legal counsel. An attorney can help you avoid all the repercussions that come with a guilty determination. It's also important that you can an understanding of this violation, the wide span of actions that constitute this violation, and the crucial role of an attorney in your case.
What is Academic Misconduct?
A student has committed academic misconduct when he or she has failed to comply with ethical academic regulations imposed by a school. Most of the colleges and universities in Newark, New Jersey, if not all of them, have implemented rules that forbid academic misconduct in all of its varieties. Since academic integrity is generally a big deal in educational settings, students who are found guilty of this violation find themselves in big trouble with the school. To most school authorities, this violation warrants harsh penalties. Depending on the circumstances, students have been booted from their program, suspended, and even expelled from their school.
Academic Misconduct Violations
A broad range of actions could potentially constitute as academic misconduct. In many cases, accused students have admitted that they had no clue they were acting unethically. This notion reigns especially true when the accusations involve conduct that isn't well-known or commonly seen. Here is a list of common examples and circumstances that constitute as academic misconduct:
- Copying or attempting to copy from other students on an assignment or during an exam
- Obtaining a copy of an exam or assignment prior to it being distributed and/or approved by a professor
- Stealing another person's assignment, notes, book, software, paper etc.
- Submitting the same assignment for more than one class without the approval of all the professors involved
- Selling, posting, or distributing, handouts, notes, or any other information created by a professor without his or her permission
- Paraphrasing another student's metaphor, literary device, or phraseology without a citation or acknowledgment
- Forging a professor's signature on a letter of recommendation or any other document
- Using unauthorized materials, prepared answers, hidden information, or written notes during an exam
Newark Student Defense Attorney
If you have been accused of academic misconduct, you need the help of a knowledgeable student defense attorney. Attorney Joseph D. Lento has extensive experience helping other students who have been in your position prevail in a hearing. In circumstances when students have been found guilty, he negotiated agreements that have made starting anew at another school possible. He can do the same for you. Contact him today for help.
North / Central Jersey colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help during academic misconduct investigations, hearings, and appeals include, but are not limited to, the following schools:
- Bloomfield College
- Caldwell College
- Centenary College
- College of Saint Elizabeth
- Drew University
- Fairleigh Dickinson University College at Florham
- Fairleigh Dickinson University Metropolitan Campus
- Felician College
- Georgian Court University
- Kean University
- Monmouth University
- Montclair State University
- New Jersey City University
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Princeton University
- Ramapo College of New Jersey
- Rider University
- Rutgers University New Brunswick
- Rutgers University Newark
- Saint Peter's College
- Seton Hall University
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- The College of New Jersey
- Thomas Edison State University
- William Paterson University of New Jersey
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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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.
