If you look closely at your academic integrity code, you'll likely find that your school prohibits plagiarism, cheating, and unauthorized collaboration.
You might have expected these. They're the most common academic misconduct violations.
Scrolling further through that code of conduct might lead you to lesser-known infractions. For example, your school could include sabotage in its list of punishable behaviors.
Sabotage sounds intense. It can be. Dramatically destroying a peer's capstone project moments before it's due is one example of sabotage. Tampering with delicate lab work to obfuscate results is another.
However, there are far sneakier examples of sabotage. Some are so subtle that students can be allegedly responsible for sabotage without knowing it.
Examples of Collegiate Sabotage
Academic sabotage involves getting in the way of another person's progress. Generally, for a school to find a student responsible for sabotage and recommend sanctions, there will need to be some indication that the sabotage was deliberate.
Some examples of student academic sabotage include:
- Destroying the work of another student
- Destroying, defacing, or stealing university property (e.g., library materials or classroom resources)
- Changing data about another student's performance
- Tampering with another student's assignments before submission
- Deleting or removing information from common spaces (e.g., online databases) so that other students can't access it
- Failing to contribute to a group effort adequately enough
- Holding back pertinent information from others
- Telling other people confidential information about a peer's project
- Changing a specific setup that another student has created (e.g., messing with an in-progress experiment)
- Installing spyware or viruses on another student's computer
As you can see, sabotage can involve very intentional actions, ones with relatively clear motives and plans.
You can also get involved with sabotage by accidentally bumping into a lab table, deleting something you think is no longer necessary, or simply being unaware that another student has set up an experiment right next to your workstation.
In a high-pressure, high-stakes, even directly competitive college environment, you can assume that emotions are running high. Whether you performed an action that interfered with another student's progress or not, receiving a suspension for sabotage can happen more quickly than you think. Just an accusation can come with a high cost.
Even if your actions were an accident (or the allegation itself the result of a misunderstanding), future employers and admissions boards will take one look at ‘sabotage' on your disciplinary record and decide not to offer you life-changing opportunities.
You can't let that happen.
Here's How an Attorney Can Help
When you're scrambling to figure out the best way to respond to a sabotage allegation, you need an experienced defense advisor to help you make the most strategic decisions possible.
Attorney Joseph D. Lento has spent years supporting students as they navigate misconduct allegations, sanctions, and more. He and his expert team can help you pull together a strong defense and negotiate with your school so you can pursue a favorable outcome for yourself and your future. Call 888-535-3686 or contact us online for more information!
Comments
There are no comments for this post. Be the first and Add your Comment below.
Leave a Comment