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Faculty Resources

Responding To Disruptive or Threatening Behavior in the Classroom
Responding To Disruptive or Threatening Behavior in the Classroom
Faculty Disposition

This page provides information to assist faculty members in addressing various concerns such as academic misconduct. The established procedures for responding to suspected incidents of academic misconduct (or behavioral misconduct) are also included along with guidelines for navigating the student conduct process.

Navigate the Student Conduct Process

Use the radio buttons below to navigate through different student conduct processes.

academic misconduct only or academic and general misconduct

  • Faculty Member suspects student of academic misconduct.
  • Student Conduct and Academic Integrity receives referral of alleged violation
    (academic and general misconduct).
Faculty member meets with or refers student

  • Faculty member meets with student.
  • Faculty member refers student to the Office of the Dean of Students.
Student accepts responsibility or disputes allegations

  • Student accepts responsibility and signs Faculty Disposition.
  • Student disputes allegations and Faculty Member submits a Faculty Referral.
Faculty Disposition is forwarded
  • Faculty Disposition is forwarded to The Office of the Dean of Students where it is reviewed and determined if additional sanctions are warranted, and if so, assess an additional sanction(s).
Student may submit an appeal
  • Within 10 days of accepting a Faculty Disposition, student may submit an appeal to the appellate officer (for sanctions only), who may uphold or modify the sanctions and/or findings.
Office of the Dean of Students will send the student a summons
  • The Office of the Dean of Students will send the student a summons that lists the alleged violation(s) and then will meet with the student.
Student is presented with an Administrative Disposition
  • The Office of the Dean of Students may determine that evidence supports a finding of violation and proposes an appropriate sanction(s). Student is presented with an Administrative Disposition. and must make a resolution decision within five (5) days.
Student accepts the Administrative Disposition or student may request a hearing or student accepts findings and sanction(s)



  • Student accepts the Administrative Disposition while retaining the right to appeal the sanction(s). In some cases, the student may appeal both the findings and the sanctions to the appellate officer.
  • Student may request a hearing with the Student Conduct Board or Hearing Officer.
  • Student accepts findings and sanction(s). The Administrative Disposition is final.
Student may submit an appeal
  • Within 10 days of accepting or not accepting the Administrative Disposition, student may submit an appeal to the appellate , who may uphold or modify the sanctions and/or findings.
Hearing Officer(s) either dismisses the case or finds student in violation
  • Hearing Officer(s) either dismisses the case or finds student in violation of the Institutional Rules and imposes appropriate sanction(s).
Student may appeal the decision
  • Within ten (10) days student may appeal the decision to the appellate officer, based on one or more of the three grounds for appeal, who may uphold or modify the findings and/or sanction(s) of the hearing officer(s) decision.
Student accepts findings and sanction(s)
  • Student accepts findings and sanction(s). The Administrative Disposition is final.
  • End of the Process - Our office will maintain a disciplinary record for seven years.

Addressing Academic Misconduct in Your Syllabus

We recommend that you include a statement in your syllabus emphasizing that academic misconduct will not be tolerated. The university also encourages you to notify students suspected of violating the policies to initiate the academic misconduct referral or faculty disposition process.

A suggested general statement for the syllabus is:

Policy on Academic Integrity

All students are expected to uphold academic integrity and abide by the core values of the university – learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Academic integrity expectations are outlined in Section 11-401 of the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities. Since academic integrity promotes the growth, development, and success of all students and the university, policies on academic integrity will be strictly enforced.

If a student is found in violation of the Institutional Rules related to academic integrity in this course, they may receive a reduced grade on an assignment or exam or a maximum of failure of the course. For additional information about the conduct process, including student rights, please visit the Student Conduct and Academic Integrity website at: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/conduct.

Ways Students Commit Academic Misconduct

According to the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities, academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, collusion, unauthorized aid or assistance, and failure to comply with instructions. Some of the ways that students engage in academic misconduct are shown below. This list was compiled with the assistance of students interested in helping faculty members confront such behavior more effectively.

Some students may commit academic misconduct by:

  • Engaging in unauthorized collaboration with another student on an assignment for credit;
  • Submitting plagiarized materials obtained from the Internet and / or other sources for credit;
  • Obtaining copies of a test in advance, e.g., during an earlier exam period offered by the faculty member;
  • Passing information from an earlier class to a later class;
  • Having a substitute take a test and providing falsified or other identification for the substitute;
  • Fabricating data for lab assignments;
  • Changing a graded paper and requesting that it be regraded;
  • Failing to turn in a test and later suggesting the faculty member has lost it;
  • Submitting computer programs written by another person;
  • Recording two answers, one on the test form and one on the answer sheet;
  • Marking an answer sheet to enable another student to see the answer;
  • Encircling two adjacent answers and claiming to have provided the correct answer;
  • Using a programmable calculator to store test information;
  • Using unauthorized web resources (e.g. Chegg) during an online examination;
  • Having notes out when instructed not to;
  • Having a phone out during a test when not authorized to.

The Rights of the Student

A student who is accused of academic misconduct (or a behavioral misconduct violation) is entitled to due process. That includes the right to know what documentation and/or information supports the allegation and the right to a hearing.

If the conduct matter is resolved administratively with a faculty member or Student Conduct and Academic Integrity staff member in the Office of the Dean of Students (Faculty Disposition or Administrative Disposition), a hearing is not required. However, the student may appeal the sanction by submitting a written appeal based on one or more of the three grounds for appeal, to the appellate officer within five (5) days of the case resolution.

If the conduct matter is resolved through a hearing, the student may appeal the hearing officer's decision based on one or more of the three grounds for appeal, regarding the findings and sanction by giving written notice to the appellate officer within five (5) days after being notified of the hearing officer's decision.

All information concerning conduct matters, including alleged academic misconduct violations and dispositions, is strictly confidential and therefore should be treated accordingly.

Note: The official University policies concerning the conduct process are outlined in Chapter 11 of the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities, which may be found in Appendix C of the General Information Catalog.

Procedures for Reporting an Academic Misconduct Violation

Please go to our Report an Incident page to report all incidents (both academic and behavioral misconduct).

When referring an incident please include all supporting documentation which should include and is not limited to:

  • Course syllabus
  • Student's paper, test, lab report, homework assignment, project (along with source material)
  • Screen shots of documents that were uploaded to a website without your authorization
  • Any correspondence between you and the student
  • Any witness statements and names

Frequently Asked Questions

   What if my Teaching Assistant observed or identified a suspected incident of academic misconduct?

Teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and proctors also play an important role in addressing academic dishonesty, and are often the first individuals to identify or observe suspected violations. With that in mind, you should emphasize to them the importance of promptly notifying you of any such incidents and providing you with the supporting evidence, including detailed accounts of their observations. Only faculty members are authorized to resolve this type of violation with a student, through a Faculty Disposition (pdf) or a referral to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity. See the Student Conduct Process flow chart (pdf) for more information.

   What if I need to submit a grade and the student's conduct matter is still pending?

If the conduct matter remains unresolved at the end of a semester (or summer session), you must assign an Incomplete ("X") grade to the student.

   What if more than one student is involved in an academic misconduct matter?

You should submit an incident report and list all the EIDs of the students involved or you can submit a separate Faculty Referral / Faculty Disposition Form (pdf) for each individual student.

   Is there an appeal process?

Yes. With either an administrative resolution or a university hearing, the student may appeal to the appellate officer, based on one or more of the three grounds for appeal. If the disciplinary matter is resolved through a university hearing, the student or Dean of Students may appeal the findings and/or the sanction within five (5) days after being notified of the hearing officer's decision. See the Student Conduct Process flow chart (pdf) for more information.

   Why are the outlined steps of the conduct process necessary?

You may wonder why attention to the outlined procedures is necessary, particularly when it is obvious (or at least appears to be obvious) that a student has cheated.

The steps of the conduct process are necessary because they enact due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. An allegation of academic misconduct is an assertion that a person has violated a university rule, whether or not that assertion is true is a fact to be established, not assumed.

The disciplinary procedures established at The University of Texas at Austin have been designed to protect the interests of students, faculty members, administrators, and the institution.

Our goal is to collaborate with the faculty to provide due process for all students and create a fair and ethical learning environment at the university.