Section 8: Procedures for Resolving Matters of Alleged Academic Dishonesty
Facilitated Discussion. When a faculty member believes that an incident of academic dishonesty occurred, s/he should contact the Office of the Vice President for Instruction. The faculty member will be asked to contact the student to arrange a date and time to discuss the matter. The Office of the Vice President for Instruction will arrange for a Facilitator to be present at the meeting to assist in a fair and focused discussion about what may have occurred. The faculty member who reported the matter, the student(s) believed to have violated the policy, and the Facilitator are the only participants in a Facilitated Discussion. These Discussions may not be recorded.
The faculty member and student may reach an agreement about the matter and, if dishonesty is involved, may determine the appropriate consequence(s). If no resolution is agreed upon, the matter will be forwarded to an Academic Honesty Panel which will determine the outcome of the allegation. A plea of no-contest (i.e., a plea which does not admit guilt but which accepts a particular consequence) is not permitted under this policy.
Academic Honesty Panel. The meeting with the Academic Honesty Panel is a continuation of an educational Discussion about the matter conducted by a Facilitator. The resolution, including consequences when appropriate, is determined by the Panel.
Notice of Meeting with Academic Honesty Panel. If an Academic Honesty Panel is to be scheduled, a written notice including a brief description of the alleged dishonesty, shall be delivered to the student, the faculty member, and the Facilitator assigned by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction. The notice shall state the date, time and place of the meeting.
The notice shall be signed by a person designated by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction. The statement shall be delivered by certified U.S. mail to the student and by campus or regular U.S. mail to the faculty member and the Facilitator. The notice shall be deemed delivered when mailed. The notice shall be deemed given even if the student fails or refuses to sign the return receipt for that notice.
Duty to be present. The student and the faculty member who reported the matter have the right and responsibility to be present and to speak truthfully at the meeting with the Academic Honesty Panel. If, after having been notified of the meeting as required by this policy, either the student or the faculty member fails to attend, the Panel may proceed to determine if a violation occurred and if so, establish a consequence.
Joint Academic Honesty Panel meetings. If more than one student is involved in a single episode, separate Academic Honesty Panel meetings shall be held for each student unless all of the parties involved agree that a joint Academic Honesty Panel meeting is the most appropriate method of resolving the matter.
Persons entitled to be present at the Academic Honesty Panel meeting. The faculty member who reported the matter, the student(s) believed to have violated the policy, the Facilitator, the five-member Academic Honesty Panel, and the representative from the Office of the Vice President recording the meeting are the only participants allowed to make statements and ask questions in an Academic Honesty Panel meeting unless the Facilitator determines that the student and/or faculty member need assistance due to a disability or language barrier.
The student and faculty member may each have an advisor present at the meeting. The advisors may not address the panel or other parties in attendance. In addition, an Academic Honesty Panel meeting will not be scheduled or postponed based on an advisor’s schedule.
Facilitator and Academic Honesty Panel. A Facilitator assigned by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction shall moderate the Academic Honesty Panel meeting. The Office of the Vice President for Instruction is charged to create "Procedures for Academic Honesty Panel Meetings" outlining procedures which ensure fundamental fairness in the process of the meeting. These procedures will be available by request.
During an Academic Honesty Panel meeting, the faculty member who made the accusation has the responsibility of demonstrating to the Academic Honesty Panel that it is more likely than not that the student violated this policy. Following the meeting with the faculty member and the student, the panelists shall meet in private and render a written decision, including the consequences when the student has been found in violation of the policy. Except for that written decision, no record of these deliberations shall be maintained. If a majority of panelists believe that the faculty member has not met this responsibility, the student must be found not to have violated this policy. A consequence may be imposed by the Panel only when the majority of the panelists find the faculty member has met this responsibility.
The Academic Honesty Panel meeting shall be tape recorded by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction. The tape recording and other documents presented during the Academic Honesty Panel meeting shall remain the property of the University
Notice of decision. Within five (5) days following the completion of the Academic Honesty Panel meeting, a copy of the decision shall be delivered by separate letters to the student, the faculty member who reported the accusation, the faculty member under whose supervision the academic work in question was performed, and the Facilitator. The decision of the Academic Honesty panel shall be mailed by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction to the student by certified U.S. mail and to the faculty member(s) and Facilitator by campus or regular mail. That notice shall be deemed delivered when mailed even if the student fails or refuses to sign the return receipt for that notice.
Appeal. The faculty member may not appeal any decision of an Academic Honesty Panel.
A student who has been expelled or suspended from the University or whose degree has been revoked may appeal the decision and consequence to the President of the University. These appeals are a matter of right as provided in Board of Regents Policy.
A student who receives a lesser consequence may petition the Office of the President for a review of the matter. A review by the President in such cases is not a matter of right, but is within the discretion of the President. Board of Regents policy requires a final decision of the President on discretionary appeals prior to any petition to the Board.
A student who is found to have violated this policy may only appeal the finding based on one or more of the following grounds: 1) a reasonable Academic Honesty Panel could not have found that the faculty member met the responsibility to demonstrate a violation occurred based on what appears in the record; 2) the consequences imposed were unreasonably harsh; 3) the student was denied a right under this policy and the denial materially affected the decision; or 4) new or additional evidence has been found since the Academic Honesty Panel meeting.
The appeal or petition for review to the President must be written by and signed by the student and must state the grounds and argument of the appeal. It must be delivered to the Office of the President of the University within five (5) days following the date of delivery to the student of the final decision by the Academic Honesty Panel.
The decision of the President of the University shall be rendered in accordance with Board of Regents policies and mailed to both the student and the faculty member who reported the violation. That decision must be written and include the reason for the decision. Any final decision of the University President may be appealed only in the manner provided by the policies of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
The University of Georgia
Office of the Vice President for Instruction
101 Franklin House
480 E. Broad Street
Athens, GA 30602-1695
honesty@uga.edu
Phone: 706 542-4336
Fax: 706 542-0544 |
