Academic misconduct, integrity, dishonesty, and honor code violation. Colleges and universities in Illinois use different terms for allegations involving a student's academics. Regardless of the term used, academic misconduct charges are serious with significant potential consequences. If found responsible, an appeal maybe the last opportunity to resolve the case.
Students and parents may not realize that professional help is needed as early as possible in the disciplinary process. Students and parents are often poorly informed by the school as to how to best address such accusations, and it is only after a finding of responsibility that they realize an attorney advisor's help is needed. If found responsible, the situation can still potentially be rectified, especially if you have the right to appeal. Colleges and universities in Illinois often allow similar grounds for an appeal, but your school's appeal process must be closely followed.
Common appeal grounds include procedural error or defect, for example, did the school follow the necessary steps in the code of conduct process? Was the student properly notified of the charges? Were there other due process issues? These are common issues, which can lead to an unfair outcome.
Disproportionate or excessive sanction, for example, will the sanction be on the student's academic transcripts or disciplinary records thereby affecting graduate school admissions? Can it be asserted that the sanction is excessive in light of the circumstances of the case and the student's goals? Was the student suspended or expelled? Such sanctions are fundamentally severe and may not be appropriate to the case.
New evidence, for example, did the school base its finding on unfair information presented by the professor? Did the school rely on flawed reports such as a plagiarism checker, or reports involving computer coding? Can new information be presented which provides an alternative explanation for the alleged misconduct?
Some schools will decide an appeal based on the written appeal and others will convene a hearing. Appeal deadlines are often short, and immediate action must be taken. An experienced attorney advisor will help you present the strongest possible appeal, and they should be involved from as early as possible in the case.
Illinois colleges and universities where Joseph D. Lento can help as your or your student's academic misconduct advisor during the appeals process, in addition to during investigations and hearings, include, but are not limited to, the following schools:
- American Academy of Art
- American InterContinental University Online
- Argosy University Chicago
- Argosy University Schaumburg
- Augustana College
- Aurora University
- Benedictine University
- Black Hawk College
- Blackburn College
- Bradley University
- Carl Sandburg College
- Chamberlain College of Nursing Illinois
- Chicago State University
- Christian Life College
- City Colleges of Chicago Harold Washington College
- City Colleges of Chicago Harry S Truman College
- City Colleges of Chicago Kennedy King College
- City Colleges of Chicago Malcolm X College
- City Colleges of Chicago Olive Harvey College
- City Colleges of Chicago Richard J Daley College
- City Colleges of Chicago Wilbur Wright College
- College of DuPage
- College of Lake County
- Columbia College Chicago
- Concordia University Chicago
- Danville Area Community College
- DePaul University
- DeVry University Illinois
- Dominican University
- East West University
- Eastern Illinois University
- Elgin Community College
- Elmhurst College
- Eureka College
- Fox College Inc .
- Greenville College
- Harper College
- Harrington College of Design
- Heartland Community College
- Hebrew Theological College
- Highland Community College
- Illinois Central College
- Illinois College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Frontier Community College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Lincoln Trail College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Olney Central College
- Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Wabash Valley College
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Illinois State University
- Illinois Valley Community College
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- International Academy of Design and Technology Chicago
- ITT Technical Institute Mount Prospect
- ITT Technical Institute Oak Brook
- ITT Technical Institute Orland Park
- John A Logan College
- John Wood Community
- Joliet Junior College
- Judson University
- Kankakee Community College
- Kaskaskia College
- Kendall College
- Kishwaukee College
- Knox College
- Lake Forest College
- Lake Land College
- Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Chicago
- Lewis and Clark Community College
- Lewis University
- Lexington College
- Lincoln Christian University
- Lincoln College
- Lincoln Land Community College
- Loyola University Chicago
- MacCormac College
- MacMurray College
- McHenry County College
- McKendree University
- Methodist College of Nursing
- Midstate College
- Millikin University
- Monmouth College
- Moody Bible Institute
- Moraine Valley Community College
- Morrison Institute of Technology
- Morton College
- National Louis University
- North Central College
- North Park University
- Northeastern Illinois University
- Northern Illinois University
- Northwestern College
- Northwestern College Southwestern Campus
- Northwestern University
- Oakton Community College
- Olivet Nazarene University
- Pacific College of Oriental Medicine Chicago
- Parkland College
- Prairie State College
- Quincy University
- Rend Lake College
- Richland Community College
- Robert Morris University Illinois
- Rock Valley College
- Rockford Career College
- Rockford College
- Roosevelt University
- Saint Augustine College
- Saint Xavier University
- Sanford Brown College Collinsville
- Sanford Brown College Hillside
- Sauk Valley Community College
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Shawnee Community College
- Shimer College
- South Suburban College
- Southeastern Illinois College
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- Southwestern Illinois College
- Spoon River College
- Taylor Business Institute
- Telshe Yeshiva Chicago
- The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago
- The Illinois Institute of Art Schaumburg
- Trinity Christian College
- Trinity College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Trinity International University
- Triton College
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Illinois at Springfield
- University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
- University of Phoenix Chicago Campus
- University of St Francis
- VanderCook College of Music
- Vatterott College Quincy
- Waubonsee Community College
- Western Illinois University
- Westwood College Chicago Loop
- Westwood College Dupage
- Westwood College O'Hare Airport
- Westwood College River Oaks
- Wheaton College
If you're a student or the parent of a student at a school in Illinois, you must understand that academic misconduct allegations are serious.
Whatever term your college or university uses – academic misconduct, integrity, dishonesty, an honor code violation – you must respond to the allegations carefully and defend as best as possible, preferably as early as possible in the college disciplinary process.
Whether you did nothing wrong or instead had a lapse of judgement and made a poor decision, the potential consequences both in the short and long-term can be significant and severe. Present academic standing, scholarships, extracurricular activities, internships, graduate and professional school candidacy, and professional employment opportunities can all be diminished or altogether lost if an academic case is not successfully resolved.
If, however, you made the mistake of trying to defend against the charges on your own or with someone not suited to the task, all is not lost – especially if you can appeal the decision, finding of responsibility, and/or sanctions. If this was the case, now is the opportunity to take the necessary action and attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm can help. The Lento Law Firm has unparalleled experience with academic misconduct cases and they have helped thousands of students across the country facing similar issues.
Joseph Lento fights nationwide on behalf of his clients and he never throws in the towel. He is a licensed attorney in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 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 advisor for students and families seeking to appeal academic misconduct cases in Illinois and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected at any stage of the university disciplinary process - Contact National Academic Misconduct Advisor Joseph D. Lento today at 888-535-3686.
