Division of Student Affairs
University of Texas at Austin
Faculty ResourcesAcademic Integrity and Classroom ExpectationsCollege Liaisons for Academic IntegrityResolving Academic Misconduct

Resolving Academic Misconduct

To resolve potential academic misconduct, faculty and instructional staff at The University of Texas at Austin must refer the alleged violation to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity (SCAI) in the Office of the Dean of Students through the online Academic Misconduct Report Form.

This policy is detailed in Section 11-505 in the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities, Subchapter 11-500.

For more information, review this FAQ document.

Timeline

  • Submit your referral no more than 30 days after you become aware of or should have reasonably become aware of the alleged violation. If your inquiry is likely to take more than 30 days, please email studentconduct@austin.utexas.edu.

Student Rights

  • Students must be informed of due process rights for any alleged violation of University policy. Share Student Rights and Responsibilities when notifying student(s) of suspected academic misconduct.
  • Students engaged in the academic misconduct process must be permitted to complete all assignments and attend classes until the matter is resolved.
  • Students should be assigned an Incomplete ("X") grade until the conduct process is complete and both the student and instructor have received the outc me document from Student Conduct.

Supporting Your Allegation with Documentation

  • The University uses the preponderance of the evidence standard to determine if a student has violated University policy. This standard of information requires supporting documentation that demonstrates it is more likely than not that the violation occurred. All supporting documentation must be shared with the student and SCAI.
  • Please submit all supporting documentation, including but 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 authorization
    • Any correspondence between you and the student
    • Any witness statements and names
  • Please upload documents as PDFs when possible. Other formats (e.g., Word, Excel, images, videos) are also acceptable.
  • Referrals that lack the necessary documentation may be dismissed without further investigation.

Reporting Prohibited Conduct

Visit Report an Incident to report both academic and behavioral misconduct.

In the Academic Misconduct Report Form, you may indicate whether you would like a conduct administrator to contact you to discuss the referral further. A conduct administrator may also contact you if they have any questions about the evidence or allegation. If a timely response to the student conduct administrator (i.e., within one week of the outreach being sent) is not received, the referral may be dismissed without further investigation when the referral lacks sufficient detail or evidence for student conduct to proceed.

If you have any questions or need to contact SCAI, please email studentconduct@austin.utexas.edu or call 512-471-2841.

Q-Drops

  • Students may not Q-drop a course once a faculty member or Student Conduct notifies them of suspected academic misconduct, during the conduct process, and/or if the student has been found responsible for a violation of academic misconduct. If notified of a Q-drop by a student involved in the conduct process, notify Student Conduct immediately.