In Wyoming, colleges and universities rigorously enforce their codes of academic misconduct. Unfortunately for students, these codes are vaguely defined, putting many innocent students into serious trouble.
If you have been accused of violating your school's code of integrity and committing an act of academic misconduct, you need a lawyer acting as your advisor to help defend you against these serious charges that have significant consequences.
Academic Misconduct in Wyoming
Each and every school in Wyoming has its own definitions of academic misconduct, as well as its own unique rules for investigating and enforcing its rules. These regulations are typically found in your student handbook, while tend to be hosted on your school's webpage.
Types of Academic Misconduct
Despite these widely varying rules about misconduct, there are many similarities between one school and another. Most of them set out broad categories for the types of academic misconduct that can be committed on their campus, including:
- Cheating. Using unauthorized notes or help during a test, or having someone else sit for the exam in your place, is a commonly used example of academic misconduct in Wyoming.
- Plagiarizing. You can also commit academic misconduct by claiming someone else's ideas and work as your own. This includes in the format of an experiment or set of data as well as a graded paper.
- Complicity. You can also be violating your school's code of academic conduct if you knew of someone else's wrongdoing, but failed to report it, or if you helped them commit the foul.
- Altering records. Academic conduct codes also tend to prohibit the alteration or the falsification of official records.
- Stealing material. You can also violate your school's code of academic conduct by stealing academic materials, like upcoming exams or their answer keys.
Unfortunately, these rules are often ill-defined in your student handbook. This is not a mistake. Wary of students who might try getting around a well-defined prohibition, colleges in Wyoming deliberately make these rules vague so they can use them to prosecute activity that they might not have foreseen, but which still might give a student an unfair advantage over others. However, this also means that innocent students can get surprised by an allegation of academic misconduct.
Consequences of Misconduct
If you are found to have violated your school's code of academic conduct, the penalties can range from minor to very severe. On the one hand, egregious violations can lead to expulsion. Minor violations, though, can still be severe: warnings create blemishes on your academic record that can prove an obstacle as you enter the working world.
Academic Misconduct Advisor Joseph D. Lento
If you have been accused of academic misconduct in Wyoming, you need a lawyer to act as your advisor throughout the process. Only then can you rest assured that you are doing all you can to protect your rights and your future.
Joseph D. Lento is a student discipline defense attorney who can help. Contact him online or by phone at 888-535-3686 to appoint him as your advisor if you have been accused of academic misconduct in Wyoming.
Wyoming colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help as your or your student's academic misconduct advisor during investigations, hearings, and appeals include, but are not limited to, the following schools:
- Casper College
- Central Wyoming College
- College America Cheyenne
- Eastern Wyoming College
- Laramie County Community College
- Northwest College
- Sheridan College
- University of Phoenix Cheyenne Campus
- University of Wyoming
- Western Wyoming Community College
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 Wyoming 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 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 Wyoming 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.
