Notice

An accusation of an academic integrity or academic misconduct violation can be initiated by a faculty member or the Office of the Associate Provost. Faculty members are encouraged to consult with the Office of the Associate Provost in dealing with academic integrity violations and academic misconduct cases. Accusation of an academic integrity or academic misconduct violation must take place within seven school days after the individual making the accusation has discovered sufficient evidence to make the accusation. Accusations involving multiple students may be bundled into one accusation. The individual making the accusation (normally a faculty member) will follow this course of action:

1. Notify the student of the intent to file an accusation.
2. Check with the Office of the Associate Provost to see if prior academic integrity violations or academic misconduct violations exist for the student where the student admitted to the violation or it was adjudicated as the responsibility of the student. If warranted, sanction may be more severe for repeat offenses.
3. Obtain a Reporting Form for Academic Integrity Violation or Academic Misconduct Violation, available at www.ut.edu/provost.
4. Meet with the student to conclude whether the accusation is justified. In this meeting every effort should be made to preserve the basic teacher/student relationship and to make the meeting a teachable opportunity. The student should be given the opportunity to respond to the allegation. The faculty member must meet with the student in the presence of an academic witness, for example, the academic department chairperson, the college’s associate dean or the director of the degree program. This is to confirm that no undue pressure was exerted on the student and that proper procedures were followed. When necessary, such meetings may be conducted by electronic mail, and the academic witness must be copied on or provided copies of all emails.
5. If, as a result of the meeting, the accusation is deemed not to be justified, then the process is terminated and no further action is required of the faculty member. The reporting form should be destroyed.
6. If the accusation is justified, explain the process to the student and indicate the sanction(s) being proposed. If this is a third violation by the student, the faculty member may not sanction the student but instead must forward the reporting form to the Office of the Associate Provost for adjudication.
7. Obtain the student’s signature on the reporting form and the student’s check mark indicating his/her decision to accept the sanction or to request adjudication by the Office of the Associate Provost.
8. Under either alternative, the faculty member should retain one copy with the reporting form, provide the student with a copy, and forward the original to the Office of the Associate Provost. Supporting evidence must be forwarded with the reporting form and a complete copy of the supporting evidence also must be retained by the faculty member.
9. If a student requests adjudication by the Office of the Associate Provost (or eventually by the Academic Integrity Hearing Committee), the student must be permitted to continue in the course as normal until all adjudication is completed.
10. If a student is nonresponsive, or refuses to meet with the faculty member, or refuses to sign the reporting form, then the faculty member should forward the reporting form to the Office of the Associate Provost indicating the situation. The faculty member may proceed with the sanction as if the student accepted the sanction.

Once an official violation accusation has been made, the student may not withdraw from the class or from the University until the accusation is resolved. The Office of the Associate Provost must notify the Registrar and/or the appropriate degree program director that the student cannot drop the class or withdraw from the University.

If the student is found not responsible, the student will be given a letter acknowledging that the student was not responsible for the alleged violation and the student may choose to withdraw from the course or from the University. If the published withdraw date has passed, the action of the Committee shall supersede the published drop date so the student will still have the opportunity to withdraw without any penalties.  If the student is found responsible for the academic integrity violation by the instructor or upon appeal found responsible by the Office of the Associate Provost or Academic Integrity Hearing Committee, the sanction will be imposed and the student may not withdraw from the course.