Resolving Academic Misconduct

The University of Texas at Austin provides faculty and instructional staff two options to resolve potential academic misconduct:

• Option 1: Refer the alleged violation to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students, or
• Option 2: Submit a signed faculty disposition to Student Conduct for finalization.

These options are detailed in Section 11-505 in the Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities, Subchapter 11-500 . Both options use the Academic Misconduct Referral and Faculty Disposition Form.

Process Requirements

• Referral
  • Faculty can refer a matter directly to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity for any alleged academic misconduct and/or in cases where a student does not agree to an outcome through the faculty disposition process.
• Faculty Disposition
  • Faculty can directly approach student(s) to discuss suspected academic misconduct. This process requires that a faculty member provide the student notice of the misconduct, supporting documentation, an opportunity to respond to the allegation, an overview of student rights, and a mutually agreed upon outcome using this form. The faculty disposition is then forwarded to Student Conduct to finalize the outcome.
• Timeline
  • Submit faculty dispositions and referrals in a timely manner, no more than 30 days after becoming aware of – or when should reasonably have become aware of – the alleged violation. If the investigation or inquiry is likely to take more than 30 days, please contact Student Conduct and Academic Integrity for guidance.
• 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 conduct process must be permitted to complete all assignments and attend classes until the matter is resolved.
  • A student should be assigned an Incomplete (“X”) grade until the conduct process is completed and both the student and instructor have received the outcome document from Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.
• 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, alert Student Conduct and Academic Integrity immediately.
• 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 Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.

Reporting Prohibited Conduct

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

Please submit all supporting documentation, including but not limited to:

• Academic Misconduct Referral and Faculty Disposition Form
• 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