Academic misconduct, integrity, dishonesty, and honor code violation. Colleges and universities in Louisiana use different terms for allegations involving a student's academics, but 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 funny responsibility that they realize an attorney advisor's help is needed. If found responsible, the situation can potentially still be rectified, especially if you have the right to appeal. Colleges and universities in Louisiana 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 other schools 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 as soon as possible.
Louisiana 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:
- Acadiana Technical College Lafayette Campus
- Baton Rouge College
- Baton Rouge Community College
- Blue Cliff College Alexandria
- Blue Cliff College Houma
- Blue Cliff College Metairie
- Blue Cliff College Shreveport
- Bossier Parish Community College
- Capital Area Technical College Baton Rouge Campus
- Career Technical College Shreveport
- Centenary College of Louisiana
- Central Louisiana Technical College Alexandria Campus
- Court Reporting Institute of Louisiana
- Delgado Community College
- Delta School of Business and Technology
- Dillard University
- Grambling State University
- Herzing University Kenner
- ITT Technical Institute Baton Rouge
- ITT Technical Institute Saint Rose
- L E Fletcher Technical Community College
- Louisiana College
- Louisiana Delta Community College Monroe Campus
- Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
- Louisiana State University Eunice
- Louisiana State University Alexandria
- Louisiana State University Shreveport
- Louisiana Tech University
- Loyola University New Orleans
- McCann School of Business & Technology Monroe
- McNeese State University
- Medvance Institute Baton Rouge
- Nicholls State University
- Northeast Louisiana Technical College Delta Ouachita Campus
- Northshore Technical Community College
- Northwest Louisiana Technical College
- Northwestern State University of Louisiana
- Nunez Community College
- Our Lady of Holy Cross College
- Our Lady of the Lake College
- Remington College Baton Rouge Campus
- Remington College Lafayette Campus
- Remington College Shreveport Campus
- River Parishes Community College
- Saint Joseph Seminary College
- South Central Louisiana Technical College Young Memorial Campus
- South Louisiana Community College
- Southeastern Louisiana University
- Southern University and A & M College
- Southern University at New Orleans
- Southern University at Shreveport
- Sowela Technical Community College
- Tulane University of Louisiana
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- University of Louisiana Monroe
- University of New Orleans
- University of Phoenix Baton Rouge
- University of Phoenix Lafayette
- University of Phoenix Louisiana Campus
- University of Phoenix Shreveport Bossier
- Virginia College
- Xavier University of Louisiana
If you're a student or the parent of a student at a school in Louisiana, 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 Louisiana 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.
