There’s nothing quite as tough as medical school. After all, if you’re going to practice medicine, you need to know virtually all there is to know about the human body and what can go wrong with it. Absorbing all that information is no easy task.
The rigorousness of a program and the expectations of excellence drive some students to cut corners where they can. If you’ve been caught committing some sort of academic misconduct, you wouldn’t be the first. Of course, it’s also true that students sometimes wind up the victims of simple misunderstandings. Even a deliberate false allegation can happen. Whatever the situation, a “responsible” (guilty) finding almost certainly means dismissal.
The LLF National Law Firm is here to help, whether you’re entirely innocent, entirely guilty, or somewhere in between. We’re on your side and dedicated to protecting your rights. Our Student Defense Team has worked with hundreds of students just like you. We know how ASU COM operates, and we can show you how to use the school’s processes and procedures to your best advantage.
Dismissal means the end of your career in medicine. Don’t risk it. Contact the LLF National Law Firm today. Call 888-535-3686 to find out what we can do for you, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of our online forms.
Defining Academic Misconduct
By now, you should have a pretty good grasp of what counts as “academic misconduct.” Certainly, your undergraduate institution had clear rules and regulations. But you probably started learning the rules as far back as elementary school. In simple terms, anything that gives you an unfair advantage in earning your degree qualifies as an offense. That includes,
- Cheating: The word “cheating” gets used generically to refer to all types of misconduct. More specifically, though, it means the use of any unauthorized resources to complete your coursework—from sneaking notes into an exam to asking another person to take an exam for you.
- Plagiarism: This means any attempt to pass another person’s work off as your own.
- Misrepresentation: A general catchall term, “misrepresentation” covers pretty much any other kind of cheating you might try, from hacking the school’s mainframe to change your grades to lying on your application form to get into All Saints.
- Facilitation: Finally, helping others to commit academic misconduct is as serious an offense as committing academic misconduct yourself. Even telling another student what to expect on an upcoming exam is treated as a serious violation.
One thing has changed since you were an undergraduate: the severity of sanctions for academic misconduct. Most colleges and universities punish first offenses with in-class sanctions. At worst, you might fail a course if you’re caught cheating. You might just end up with a lower grade on the assignment, though.
Medical schools, like ASU COM, have no tolerance for academic misconduct. You can understand why. Bluffing your way to a degree literally puts lives in danger. The minimum penalty for such offenses is usually suspension. It’s far more likely, though, that the college will simply dismiss you.
Never try to handle your defense on your own. There’s simply too much at stake. In fact, even trusting your case to a local attorney can minimize your chances of success. You need a law firm on your side with experience representing students. You need the LLF National Law Firm.
The Basics of Your Defense
Schools have a bad habit of simply accepting what instructors say. If someone at ASU COM has accused you of cheating or plagiarism, it can be tough to get administrators to give you a fair shake. Here’s what you should expect from any disciplinary process, and you shouldn’t settle for anything less.
- First, you are “not responsible” until proven “responsible” (innocent until proven guilty). Don’t let school officials assume you are guilty simply because an instructor says so. Force them to follow their own system of due process.
- Your instructor must provide you with notice of the charges you’re facing. You’re entitled to know exactly what it is you’ve been accused of doing, and you’re entitled to provide a response.
- The college must conduct some type of investigation, even if it simply involves collecting examples of your work. As part of any investigation, you are entitled to offer your own evidence and to explain your side of the situation. Note, too, that you have the right to review any evidence investigators uncover.
- You also have the right to defend yourself at a formal hearing. Often, such hearings take place before the school’s student promotions committee, but your case may also be taken up by the Honor Council. In any case, a hearing affords you the opportunity to offer physical evidence and witness testimony in defense of your innocence. You may also raise questions about any evidence being used against you.
- The standard of responsibility at ASU COM is “preponderance of the evidence.” What this means is that you are responsible for an offense if it seems “more likely than not” that you committed that offense.
- Finally, you also have the right to appeal a “responsible” outcome. However, appeals must be based on violations of your due process rights. That usually means a procedural error, a new piece of evidence, or a disproportionate sanction.
You may feel a good bit of loyalty to your medical school. It’s not just where you take courses; it’s your home. If you’ve been accused of academic misconduct, though, ASU COM is not on your side. It will conduct a thorough investigation, it will put you through a difficult hearing, and if you’re found responsible, it will assign the most severe sanction possible.
Make sure you have someone in your corner. The LLF National Law Firm’s only allegiance is to you. We’ll use every resource at our disposal to protect your future.
Trust the LLF National Law Firm
The LLF National Law Firm knows what’s at stake in a way other firms just don’t. The attorneys who make up our Student Defense Team have dedicated their lives to ensuring schools treat students fairly, and they care about your future. No one else has the knowledge of campus justice they do. No one else can show you how to use the system to your advantage.
If you’re being forced to fight for your educational future, don’t try to handle the situation yourself, and don’t trust your case to a local attorney. Find out more about what the LLF National Law Firm can do by calling 888-535-3686, or take time right now to fill out our online questionnaire.