In accordance with University policy, all allegations of academic misconduct should be reported immediately upon discovery. The Dean’s Office should receive a completed academic misconduct submission no later than three weeks from the date the alleged misconduct occurred. Delays in submitting the completed packet to the Dean’s Office can result in automatic dismissal of the case. Be aware of the following:
- Retain email communications between instructor and students at least until the end of the semester, if not longer.
- Do not confront the student about your suspicions, do not accuse them of academic misconduct or state to them that you believe they cheated or plagiarized. If the student asks about the assignment, use the following language; “There is a question about your paper/assignment. I have forwarded it to the Dean’s Office, and they will contact you via email.”
- Always allow seven (7) days for an appeal after a ruling before updating any grades, unless otherwise instructed by the Dean’s Office.
Completed packets should be submitted electronically using the Academic Misconduct Reporting Form.
Notes on Using the Reporting Form
- “Involved parties” are generally the student(s) involved. GTAs, lab or test monitors, or other faculty might also be listed as witnesses. In general, students listed as witnesses will not be called for statements because of privacy issues. If anyone besides the instructor of record for the course is submitting the case, then the instructor of record must be listed under the “involved parties.”
- Where the form asks you to “Please outline the specific academic integrity concern…,” please be as detailed and specific as possible. Help the monitor understand exactly what the problem is and how you discovered that problem. Explain materials you will be uploading to the “Supporting Documentation” section of the form. If you are attaching a video, provide timestamps. If the student has broken a class rule (like cellphone usage, for example), explain when/where students were informed and reminded of the rule.
- Where the form asks you to “Provide details about the specific assessment/assignment…,” please include all instructions given to the student. Please also list the exact name of the assessment/assignment. If your case involves the submission of a potentially false doctor’s note, please specify the date(s) of the absence(s) from your class.
- In “Supporting Documentation,” attach the following (as applicable to your case):
- Course syllabus
- Assignment in question (problematic sections highlighted)
- Assignment sheet, prompt, or instructions given to the student
- Plagiarized material (matching material highlighted)
- From a website: Print out the material, include the web address (URL), and highlight the relevant material pertaining to the assignment. Label each printed website source (Source 1, Source 2, etc.) on the assignment and on the plagiarized source itself.
- From another student’s paper: Provide copies of both students’ papers and highlight plagiarized material in both papers.
- Turnitin report for all students involved
- Other evidence: photos, screenshots, videos, scrap paper, emails, etc.
- Please only submit the pertinent parts of any videos and make sure you’ve specified timestamps in the “Please outline the specific academic integrity concern…” section of the form.
- If evidence is a video and cannot be added to the form, then it must be uploaded to UA Box and asdeansoffice@ua.edu must be added as a viewer. Adding the video is much preferred to sharing via Box.
If you have any questions, please contact asdeansoffice@ua.edu or 205-348-7007.
You may also contact Jessica Kidd, A&S Academic Integrity Coordinator at kidd005@ua.edu.