Addressing Academic Misconduct
Why Report?
Through the conduct process, the Office of Student Conduct can ensure the student receives due process and impartiality in decision-making, which is particularly important for their continued engagement or return to a classroom or learning environment. Additionally, during the conduct process, students are educated about the code of conduct and the importance of academic, personal, and social integrity and responsibility.
Research supports that immediately and fairly addressing all instances of dishonesty in your course reduces the likelihood of future behaviors in your classroom (Boehm, Justice, and Weeks, 2009, as cited in Tatum and Schwartz, 2017).
The Office of Student Conduct is the only office authorized to maintain our students’ disciplinary records. What might seem like a student’s first violation could be a pattern of academic behavior. Without a referral, no records are maintained to be considered if similar behavior occurs in the future in any college or course.
If you are unsure whether your suspicions constitute academic misconduct or need advice on proceeding, the Office of Student Conduct is available to discuss the allegation. You may reach them by calling 515-294-1020 or emailing knowthecode@iastate.edu.
Process for addressing suspicions of academic misconduct
If you suspect academic misconduct has occurred in your course, follow the recommendations to address and resolve the allegation:
- Contact the student to indicate concerns with the coursework; this can be done via email or another appropriate student learning platform.
- Provide the student an opportunity to respond and indicate whether they admit or deny responsibility. When engaging with students about suspected misconduct, it may be helpful to share what relevant information supports your suspicion. This allows students to respond before a report is filed with the Office of Student Conduct. In these situations, students may experience fear or panic or be embarrassed or overwhelmed, which could affect how they respond and the information they share.
- Review the sample email – notify the student of suspicion template (PDF) for how you might approach a conversation with a student about suspicions of academic misconduct.
- Where students request to meet, instructors can facilitate this as plausible (in-person or virtual), involving the relevant and appropriate instructors for the referral (e.g., teaching assistant for the course and/or supervising faculty.)
- In cases involving multiple students, it is recommended that meetings be completed individually and not as a group.
- If the student denies responsibility, do not assign a grade for the assignment or course until the Office of Student Conduct has shared the student’s disciplinary conclusions. Note: If the OSC referral occurs near grade submission time, please mark the grade as N for grade processing.
- If the student admits responsibility, you may assign a grade according to your discretion and what you may have outlined in your syllabus.
- Refer the case and information to the Office of Student Conduct via the Academic Misconduct Incident Report Form, including related materials such as exams, coursework, reports, websites, external resources, syllabi, a summary of the interaction with the student(s), and other relevant information, as requested.
In cases involving denial of responsibility, when the Office of Student Conduct determines an outcome, the student and you, as the instructor, will be notified of the disciplinary process conclusions.
For suspicions of Research Misconduct, faculty members are encouraged to consult Iowa State’s Research Integrity Office to determine whether the procedures in the Research Misconduct policy apply to a particular situation.
