While all of the colleges in Utah prohibit instances of academic misconduct like altering a transcript, cheating on an exam, or plagiarizing a paper, the hearing procedure that they use to enforce these acts is notoriously prone to error. As a result, students accused of academic misconduct often have to use their right to appeal the case in order to reach a hearing that is fair and reliable.
The appeals process in Utah, however, is not easy. With the help and guidance of Joseph D. Lento, an academic appeal advisor and lawyer, it can be much easier.
Why Appeals are So Important: The Problem of Unreliable Hearing Panels
Every college in Utah handles the academic misconduct hearing differently. However, most of them have provisions in their code of academic integrity that stack the hearing panel with members from all walks of life on campus – staff, administration, faculty, and even from the student body. While this is done in an attempt to make it seem as if the student's voice is being heard and judged by their peers, the reality is that it almost guarantees that the hearing panel will be utterly inexperienced at the very difficult job of separating fact from fiction.
Without training or experience in weighing and evaluating evidence in order to determine what really happened, hearing panels are very prone to making wrong decisions. Easily swayed by emotional appeals rather than strong arguments that are grounded in facts, and often unable to distinguish between unreliable and reliable evidence, hearing panels are frequently unable to authoritatively come to a reasonable conclusion.
Appealing the outcome in your case if you are found to have violated your school's code of conduct can be critical if you want to preserve your professional future from the serious blemish that a violation would put on your academic record.
Your Right to Appeal Can Be Limited
Colleges in Utah usually provide a way for aggrieved students to appeal the outcome of their case. However, those that do often put procedural hurdles in the way, in an attempt to keep as many possible cases finalized after only a single hearing.
One of the most popular procedural barriers to appealing an academic misconduct case is to require a showing that the initial hearing was biased or somehow infringed on your due process rights. Whatever the hurdles are, satisfying them without damaging the strength of your case can be a difficult thing to do. The help of academic appeal advisor Joseph D. Lento can be essential.
Joseph D. Lento: An Academic Appeal Advisor Who Serves Utah
If you are a college student in Utah who has been accused of academic misconduct and lost at the misconduct hearing, it can feel unfair if you know that you were innocent and the hearing panel got it wrong. Appealing the outcome of the hearing can be your best option if you want to make sure that your side of the story is heard.
Joseph D. Lento can help. Contact him online or call his law office at (888) 535-3686.
- AmeriTech College Draper
- Argosy University Salt Lake City
- Brigham Young University Provo
- Broadview Entertainment Arts University
- Broadview University Layton
- Broadview University Orem
- Broadview University West Jordan
- DeVry University Utah
- Dixie State College of Utah
- Eagle Gate College Layton
- Eagle Gate College Murray
- Eagle Gate College Salt Lake City
- Fortis College Salt Lake City
- Independence University
- ITT Technical Institute Murray
- Latter day Saints Business College
- Neumont University
- Provo College American Fork
- Provo College Provo
- Salt Lake Community College
- Snow College
- Southern Utah University
- Stevens Henager College of Business Provo
- Stevens Henager College Logan
- Stevens Henager College Murray
- Stevens Henager College Ogden
- The Art Institute of Salt Lake City
- University of Phoenix Utah Campus
- University of Utah
- Utah State University
- Utah State University College of Eastern Utah
- Utah Valley University
- Weber State University
- Westminster College
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 Utah 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 Utah 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.
