Academic Misconduct Process

According to the Student Code of Conduct, faculty members retain original jurisdiction over cases of academic misconduct. Eventually, all cases of academic misconduct must be reported to Student Conduct. You may always contact our office at 815-753-1571 if you have any questions about the academic misconduct process.

• 1

  Gather Information

  Take note of the time and circumstances of the academic misconduct. Get a second opinion, if possible. If not, it's best to go with your first instinct.

• 2

  Contact Student

  Attempt to meet with your student about the incident. You can meet in person or virtually (phone, email, video conference). Make at least two attempts to contact your student, preferably in writing, to arrange a meeting. If they don't respond or fail to show up at the meeting, move on to reporting the incident.

• 3

  Meet with Student

  Share your concerns with your student and provide information you believe supports the allegation of academic misconduct. Give them the opportunity to explain what happened.

  Decide if you believe academic misconduct occurred and what sanction(s) you wish to recommend. If you determine misconduct occurred, ask your student if they accept responsibility for the misconduct and if they accept your recommended sanction(s).

  Please note: If the student brings another person to the meeting, have the student complete a FERPA waiver, available online from the Office of Registration and Records.

• 4

  Report Incident

  Report the incident using the Academic Misconduct Incident Report Form. You'll need to provide supporting documentation. Learn more about documenting academic misconduct.  

  You can also fill out the form before your meeting. You'll need to supply updated information after the meeting.

• 5

  Resolve or Refer to Student Conduct

  If your student accepts responsibility for the misconduct and the sanction you recommend, give them a copy of the completed Academic Misconduct Incident Report Form. Be sure to fill out the appropriate Additional Questions section. Submit copies of all documentation to Student Conduct.

  If the student doesn't agree with the allegation, give them a copy of the completed Academic Misconduct Incident Report Form. Tell them you'll refer the matter to Student Conduct and that a Student Conduct staff member will contact them.

*Faculty members are expected to make a good faith effort to inform the student of and hold a meeting attempting to resolve the alleged academic misconduct incident. It is the responsibility of the student to attend the meeting with the faculty member in order to attempt to resolve the incident. When the faculty member has made at least two (2) attempts to schedule a meeting with the student and either receives no reply, or the student fails to attend the meeting, the faculty member should attach the appropriate documentation supporting the meeting schedule attempt and forward all information to Student Conduct.