Make no mistake: academic misconduct charges can lead to severe sanctions that can cripple or destroy your education and future job and career plans. Far too many students ignore or minimize the possible sanctions for academic misconduct. By underestimating the risk and severity of sanctions, they fail to defend the charges as they could have, resulting in their worst rather than their best outcome.
Your attitude toward your academic misconduct charges will go a long way toward determining your disciplinary outcome. If you take the charges seriously and treat the charges responsibly by retaining our premier Student Defense Team, then the result should be your best possible outcome. If you face academic misconduct charges, retain the Lento Law Firm's skilled and experienced Student Defense Team. Call 888.535.3686 now or contact us here.
Why Is Academic Misconduct Serious?
Consider just a few words about why colleges and universities take academic misconduct seriously before you consider one by one the possible sanctions. Academic misconduct isn't drunkenness, drug abuse, fighting, vandalism, trespassing, computer misuse, or any of the other common behavioral issues that college and university students sometimes face on or about campus. Academic misconduct is instead some form of misbehavior relating directly to the academic program–in a word, cheating. Academic misconduct can include:
- exam cheating, such as unauthorized materials, substitute test-takers, and writing over time;
- assignment cheating, such as unauthorized collaboration, use of model answers and worked problems, and alteration of graded assignments;
- plagiarism—copying the work of others without proper attribution or self-plagiarism, submitting an assignment for credit in more than one course without disclosure or permission; and
- research fraud altering or manufacturing data, misrepresenting data or sources, or fabricating supporting citations.
Schools take academic misconduct seriously because it goes to the heart and integrity of a school's program. The school that ignores student cheating awards degrees to students who, by cheating, did not have to meet the school's standards, cheapens their degrees for students with integrity. Colleges and universities have little more to show employers, alumni, accreditors, and other vital constituencies than their integrity. If schools don't enforce rules against cheating, then they have abandoned their mission. That's why disciplinary officials take cheating seriously.
What Are Common Academic Misconduct Sanctions?
Colleges and universities sanction academic misconduct under honor codes, honor pledges, or student codes of conduct. The University of North Carolina is an example, publishing an Honor Code for faculty members to enforce against students who violate its terms by cheating. Ohio State University is another example, constituting an Academic Integrity Committee to enforce its Code of Student Conduct prohibiting cheating. These and other student conduct codes at colleges and universities across the country typically authorize a wide range of progressive sanctions. Look to your school's honor code or similar code of student conduct to see exactly what sanctions your school authorizes for academic misconduct. Chances are good that they include most or all of the following sanctions.
Non-Disciplinary Caution as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
Generally, the lowest form of sanction is a simple caution to the student not to do the same academic behavior again. Schools do not generally regard a caution as a reportable offense. You may avoid a record of academic misconduct if all your school does is issue you a caution. But you must ensure that the school resolves the entire misconduct complaint with a no-discipline dismissal, lest an unresolved allegation remain as a mark against your good academic record. Penn State University is an example, calling for an integrity warning to alert a student committing a minor and unintentional violation “that a procedural change is necessary to avoid future academic integrity violations and harsher consequences” but with “no impact on the student's academic progress.” A student would generally be wise to accept a non-reportable, non-disciplinary caution as an outcome of academic misconduct charges.
Disciplinary Warning as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction is generally a warning. While a warning may sound like a corrective caution, some colleges and universities expressly require or encourage the faculty member or other disciplinary official imposing the warning to enter the warning on the student's academic record. The University of Arizona is an example, providing that “although [other disciplinary] action is not required to fulfill this sanction, a warning does constitute a violation and is recorded in the Dean of Students Office.” Because a disciplinary warning leaves a record of academic misconduct, a student would generally be unwise to accept a disciplinary warning as an outcome of an academic misconduct charge unless the charge was significantly more serious and the student committed the wrong without extenuating or mitigating circumstances.
Loss of Assignment Credit as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be loss of credit for the research paper, problem set, or other project or assignment the student completed. Rutgers University, for example, authorizes the instructor to impose a loss of assignment credit for lower-level violations where the student clearly violated academic rules but did so due to lack of knowledge or experience. While loss of assignment credit may not necessarily appear on a student's academic record, loss of credit may result in a lowered grade or failing grade. The University of Arizona policy, for instance, provides that the “loss of credit may impact the student's overall grade in the course.” Because loss of credit may affect a grade and leave an academic record, students are generally unwise to accept such a sanction unless they clearly have violated an academic rule without extenuating or mitigating circumstances.
Remedial Education as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be remedial education. Virginia Tech University provides an example, requiring students to “complete the Academic Integrity Education Program” for academic misconduct reaching a certain level. Penn State University provides for a similar sanction in the form of the student having to redo the assignment or retake the assessment. Remedial education ensures that the student does not gain from academic misconduct and instructs the student in the right academic conduct. The issue with remedial education generally isn't the time that it takes, although remedial education in some forms can be an undue burden on a student whose time constraints contributed to the misconduct allegations in the first place. The bigger issue with remedial education can be if it leaves a long-term mark on the student's academic record, interfering with future programs, graduate school admission, jobs, licenses, and careers. Consult our attorneys before accepting any such discipline, leaving a permanent or long-term mark on your academic record.
Formal Reprimand as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be a formal reprimand. Ohio State University's general guidelines for sanctions, for instance, provide for a “written letter of reprimand resulting from a student's misconduct.” While a reprimand may seem like a low-level sanction, one that may not directly interfere with a student's studies and academic progress, a written reprimand generally goes into a student's academic file and record. It may thus be a permanent mark that the student must disclose on future applications for graduate school, jobs, licenses, and other opportunities. It may also cause a loss of honors, awards, grants, scholarships, and other privileges. A student would generally be unwise to accept a written reprimand unless first having retained our Student Defense Team to evaluate the charge, evidence, and defenses, and to determine whether you might have alternative special relief from formal discipline.
Failing Grade as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be a failing grade and loss of course credit for the course in which the academic misconduct occurred. Virginia Tech University's academic dishonesty sanctions are an example, expressly authorizing a failing grade in the course. The issues with a failing grade can include not only the impact on your cumulative grade point average, potentially putting you below the minimum cumulative GPA for satisfactory academic progress. The issues can also include that your transcript or student academic file may reflect that the failing grade was due to a finding of academic misconduct. You may overcome the failing grade but still face long-term consequences to your education, job, license, and career because of the misconduct finding. Do not accept a resolution involving such discipline without obtaining our review and advice.
Probation as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be academic probation. Rutgers University is an example, imposing academic probation whenever the university finds a second-level academic dishonesty violation. Rutgers and other schools may impose probation along with any of the above forms of discipline. Rutgers imposes probation for the duration of the term or, if the violation was late in the term, for the next term. The problem with probation is not that it necessarily interrupts the student's academic progress. On the contrary, probation generally does not do so. Yet probation may disqualify the student from honors, awards, grants, scholarships, activities, recommendation letters, references, and other rights and privileges. A second offense while on probation may aggravate that next offense and accelerate the next penalty. And even if the probation soon abates, it could remain on your academic record. You may also have to disclose and explain it to future programs, schools, employers, and licensing officials. Once again, do not accept a resolution involving such discipline without our review and advice.
Suspension as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be school suspension. Ohio State University provides an example, stating in its general guidelines for sanctions that suspension “terminates the student's enrollment at the university for a specified period of time.” Like many other colleges and universities, Ohio State authorizes its disciplinary officials to impose conditions before the student may resume enrollment after the suspension: “Satisfactory completion of specified stipulations may be required for re-enrollment at the end of the suspension period.” Suspension is a very serious sanction, as it delays graduation and leaves a permanent gap in the student's academic record that the student must explain. Suspension is generally a permanent mark on a student's academic record, one that the student must disclose when asked about discipline. The conditions a school imposes may also make it difficult or even impossible for the student to re-enroll. Do not accept a school suspension without consulting our attorneys for evaluation and advice. Let our attorneys help you fight suspension.
Dismissal as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be school dismissal or expulsion. All of the above universities mentioned as examples, including the University of Arizona, University of North Carolina, Rutgers University, Ohio State University, Penn State University, and Virginia Tech University, authorize expulsion for the most serious infractions, as would other colleges and universities across the country. Expulsion is a permanent mark on a student's academic record. Expulsion ends the student's ability to continue studies and complete the degree. Expulsion would also generally end the student's related school privileges, potentially including loss of health insurance, health clinic access, dormitory or other housing, gym, pool, or other recreational facility access, and school transportation. Expulsion would also generally prohibit transfer in good standing to another school, potentially leaving the student with only a slim chance of starting over at another school. Expulsion is a very severe sanction. Let our attorneys help you evaluate and fight misconduct charges threatening your expulsion.
Degree Revocation as an Academic Misconduct Sanction
The next higher progressive sanction can be the revocation of a degree the college or university has already awarded. Indiana University provides an example, providing for revocation of a degree before the university made a final determination of academic misconduct. Students engaging in serious academic misconduct may mistakenly believe that if they can just get away with the misconduct long enough to graduate, their wrongs won't come back to haunt them. But to the contrary, colleges and universities do revoke degrees when finding that the graduate earned the degree through academic misconduct. The more common examples include falsified graduate thesis research and serious exam cheating. Revocation of a previously awarded degree can be a personal and professional disaster, causing job loss, loss of professional licenses and vocational certifications, and loss of a career. If you face academic misconduct charges threatening revocation of your degree, you need the help of our skilled and experienced attorneys.
How Serious Are Academic Misconduct Sanctions?
You have two things to keep in mind when considering how serious academic misconduct sanctions can be. Your first concern is that any academic misconduct finding, even so little as a reprimand, can have long-term impacts. When you apply for a professional license, vocational certification, security clearance, job, or other important right, opportunity, or privilege, you must generally complete some form of application that is reasonably likely to require you to disclose school misconduct and discipline. You may also attend interviews in which you face the same question. Your academic misconduct may have been minor. But even a minor blemish may disqualify you from desirable opportunities, especially when other candidates don't have the same blemishes to explain.
Your second concern with academic misconduct findings generally has to do with their collateral, rather than their direct, consequences. Students facing academic misconduct charges generally think of the potential consequences for their current schooling. They naturally ask, will I be able to complete my studies and degree? Even discipline as serious as a school suspension may not prevent or even significantly delay their graduation. But finishing school is often not the bigger concern. The bigger concern is instead the long-term consequences. You may finish your undergraduate degree, despite academic misconduct, but lose your graduate admission. You may finish your degree but lose your ability to obtain a professional license or vocational certification. You may finish your degree but lose a job and career for which you've long been studying and working.
Why Employers Take Academic Misconduct Seriously
Employers, licensing officials, and others holding the keys to your future interests take academic misconduct seriously because it is a wrong of moral turpitude. Academic misconduct generally involves some form of dishonesty, implying bad or corrupt character. The direct harm from academic misconduct may be small. Maybe no one gets hurt or loses property or other significant interests. But when an employer hires a dishonest employee, or a licensing official grants a license to a professional unqualified because of poor character, people can get hurt or lose property or other significant interests. School stakes may be relatively low, while job and career stakes may be high. But that's the point of school: to ensure that the graduate qualifies as a safe, competent, honest employee or professional of good character. Protect your reputation for good character. Retain us to help you evaluate, defend, and defeat academic misconduct charges.
Best Possible Outcome to Academic Misconduct Charges
Your best possible outcome to academic misconduct charges isn't any of the above forms of sanction. Your best possible outcome is, instead, a dismissal of all charges. Keep in mind that academic misconduct charges are simply allegations. They do not necessarily mean that you have done anything wrong. The instructor, student, or other person who alleges your wrong may be mistaken or may hope that you are able to come forward with an explanation for conduct that looks or is suspicious. And you may have substantial exonerating evidence. Even if you committed the alleged academic misconduct, you may have substantial mitigating evidence. Let our attorneys help you identify, marshal, and present that evidence so that you avoid any sanction or receive the least sanction that your school can accept is in the school's and your interests.
Avoiding Academic Misconduct Sanctions
You do have clear steps you can take to minimize the potential sanctions. Your first and best step is to retain our attorneys to help you learn the details of what your school alleges, acquire and evaluate the school's evidence supporting their allegations, and contact, communicate, and negotiate with school officials for early voluntary dismissal of the charges. School disciplinary officials often recognize that their primary mission is educational, not correctional, and certainly not punitive. Our attorneys may be able to show school officials that you and they gain nothing through punitive sanctions, when remedial education or other actions, short of discipline, will better serve everyone's interest, consistent with the school's educational mission. If the charging officials do not relent, then we may be able to help you invoke your school's formal hearing procedures at which to present your evidence in exoneration or mitigation of the charges.
Alternative Special Relief from School Sanctions
Even if you have already suffered school sanctions for academic misconduct, our attorneys may be able to help you reverse and avoid those sanctions. You may have academic administrative appeals available to you that we can help you perfect. An appeal generally requires substantial skill in research, drafting, and argumentation. Our attorneys have those appeal skills. If you have already exhausted all available appeals, we may be able to reach your school's general counsel or other oversight officials to show that the school faces regulatory or liability risks by proceeding with the sanction, or, for other reasons, should forgo the sanctions in favor of your reinstatement in good standing. For instance, your school's failure to accommodate your educational disability or other violation of your state, federal, and constitutional rights may warrant such relief. We may also find that we can help you maintain a civil court action for relief.
Premier Academic Misconduct Defense Available
You can see from the above how serious academic misconduct sanctions can be. The Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team has helped hundreds of college and university students nationwide defend and defeat academic misconduct charges, avoiding the above sanctions. We are available for your defense of academic misconduct charges no matter your school or program, and no matter the allegations you face. Don't face serious academic misconduct sanctions alone, without the skilled and experienced representation you need for your best outcome. Call 888.535.3686 now or reach out to us online.
