Questions related to the University of Lynchburg’s Honor & Student Conduct Codes and Regulations should be directed to the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices (434.544.8765).
Reporting Academic Misconduct
A faculty member who believes that a student may have committed an academic integrity violation has four mutually-exclusive options for addressing the alleged misconduct, as detailed in the section “Action by the Faculty Member” of the Academic Integrity portion of the Honor Code. Before deciding which single resolution option to implement, a faculty member is encouraged to meet with the student to explain the academic integrity concern and to listen to the student’s response and perspective. Also, a faculty member is encouraged to contact the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices (125 Hundley Hall; 434.544.8765) to consult about addressing alleged violations of the Honor Code.
Three of the options available to faculty for addressing suspected academic misconduct affect only the student’s grade:
- Grant no credit for the examination or assignment in question (100% of the course grade is based on all other work)
- Assign a score of zero for the examination or assignment in question
- Recommend to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (or designee) that the student be assigned a final course grade of “F.”
- When this recommendation is upheld by the Associate Vice President (or designee), the student is dismissed from the course for the remainder of the academic term. The associate provost (or designee) notifies both the student and the faculty member whether the recommendation is upheld.
In accordance with the Honor Code, when implementing one of these grade-related options, the faculty member is strongly encouraged to notify the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices that an academic integrity violation occurred and that the faculty member has resolved the incident through use of the Academic Integrity Violation – Resolution Report. Such notification is necessary to identify recurring problems and to maintain accurate academic integrity records; however, no new action to address the violation will be taken by the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices.
The fourth option available to faculty for addressing suspected academic misconduct is to refer the matter to the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices for review through student conduct procedures detailed in the Honor and Student Conduct Codes and Regulations. (See the section “Action by the Faculty Member” of the Academic Integrity portion of the Honor Code for additional information.) To make such a referral, a faculty member completes the form, Faculty Referral of a Possible Academic Integrity Violation. If relevant to the incident, the following documents should be submitted with the completed referral form:
- A copy of the problematic work
- Any supporting documents (e.g., cheat sheet, the original source article from which an essay was plagiarized, originality report from Turnitin.com, etc.)
- A copy of the syllabus section(s) relevant to the case (e.g., reference to the Honor Code, explanation that group work is prohibited on the assignment, instruction not to use outside sources for the assignment, etc.)
- Emails exchanged with the student regarding the assignment, and/or any other documents needed for a third party to have a full understanding of the reported incident
Student Appeal of Action by a Faculty Member
A student found responsible for committing an academic integrity violation has the option of submitting one written appeal request. Appeal requests pertaining to academic misconduct are typically resolved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs (or designee). For more information, see the section “Appeal of Action by the Faculty Member” of the Academic Integrity portion of the Honor Code.
Participating in a Judicial Board Hearing
A faculty member may be asked to contribute to a judicial board hearing as a witness, character
reference, or disciplinary process advisor. For any hearing, an individual may serve in only one capacity. Faculty members are encouraged to contact the Office of Community Expectations and Restorative Practices (125 Hundley Hall; 434.544.8765) if additional information is needed about the Honor and Student Conduct Codes and Regulations.
