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Information for Faculty

Faculty members can gain information on the academic misconduct process and access resources for the process by:

Academic Misconduct Forms

Notification Form

Resolution Form

CCA Reporting Form (This form is used only by C.C.A.s to submit documents and information to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards at the completion of the academic misconduct process)

Academic Misconduct Process

Jurisdiction for Academic Misconduct

The original jurisdiction of any case involving academic misconduct is with the instructor in whose course the alleged misconduct occurred and, in the absence of the instructor, with the Department Chair of the course, or the Dean, or designee. Supervisors or authorized staff involved in the testing or evaluation process, including testing center personnel and testing proctors, may also initiate complaints of academic misconduct. If an instructor believes that a student has committed an act of academic misconduct, outlined in the Student Code of Conduct, the instructor should refer to the procedural steps below to address the alleged violation.

College Conduct Administrators

An instructor who suspects a student of academic misconduct or who receives a complaint alleging misconduct should consult the College Conduct Administrator (C.C.A.) to learn whether there is any record of prior academic misconduct and consider this when assigning sanctions. C.C.A.s are also a fantastic resource if you need assistance or have questions about the academic misconduct process. See below to find the contact information for your College Conduct Administrator.

Key Things to Know About the Academic Misconduct Process

  1. All timelines for the academic misconduct process are business days and exclude weekends, holidays, term breaks, and anytime when the university is not in session.
  2. The instructor must refrain from any action (including giving a grade) until the process has concluded. If it is the end of the semester and grades must be submitted, the instructor should submit an 'I' and update the registrar with the actual grade once the process is completed.
  3. When signing Notification or Resolution Forms, both instructors and students must physically sign the form.

Requesting Information for Investigations

1. In coordination with IT, if a faculty member wishes to request access to data collected by Honorlock as part of an investigation into alleged academic misconduct, they will need to do so through the C.C.A. The College Conduct Administrator will work with the faculty and the Office of Information Security to request the necessary Honorlock information for the investigation. Once the request has been made by the C.C.A, the Office of Information Security will work directly with the faculty member as needed to share the appropriate information. 

2. In addition to requesting Honorlock information, if a faculty member wishes to request other information that would need support from IT (such as CANVAS logs or messages), they will need to request that information by emailing abuse@uc.edu. When requesting this information faculty should include that the information is being requested as part of the academic misconduct process and a very brief description of how the information being requested will help in that investigation process. 

Alleged Use of Unauthorized Online Material

Academic Misconduct Process

In the age of digital coursework, utilization of unauthorized online material may lead to an investigation of alleged Academic Misconduct. The Academic Misconduct process is outlined in the Student Code of Conduct, which can be accessed at this link: https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/conduct/student-code-of-conduct.html. If you have questions regarding this process, please contact your College Conduct Administrator (CCA) for support and guidance.

Some of the most common sites utilized by students that may contain unauthorized material (but can also be excellent study tools) include, but are not limited to, Chegg.com and CourseHero.com. These types of sites have specific rules and policies regarding information posted on their sites and how to have it removed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) or other applicable policies. Included below is some additional information regarding how to request material be removed as well as how to request additional information about posted material (if applicable). If you have further questions about these processes or need support navigating another website’s process, please reach out to your CCA.

It is the recommendation of the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards that faculty provide expectations for the use/misuse of online resources to their syllabi.

Request for Removal of Material ONLY

Chegg: Faculty are able to request that information be removed from Chegg’s website without assistance if the content was uploaded with a potential violation of the DMCA. To submit this request visit Chegg’s website and complete their online form. That form can be found at this link: https://www.chegg.com/copyright/takedown-request

CourseHero: Similar to Chegg, faculty are able to request information be removed from CourseHero’s website without assistance if the content was uploaded with a potential violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). To submit this request visit CourseHero’s website and complete their online form. That form can be found at this link: https://www.coursehero.com/takedown-notice/#/

Request for Information for Academic Misconduct Investigation AND Removal of Material

Chegg: If you are requesting additional information about who posted the material to Chegg’s website, who accessed it, or any other additional information to use during the Academic Misconduct Process, you will need to submit a request for data on Chegg’s website. This must come from a Dean’s office and have an accompanying letter on official letterhead. If you are requesting this information you will need to submit that information to your CCA. When you are submitting information to your CCA for them to send the request on your behalf be sure to include:

  1. Links to ALL material you are seeking to have removed
  2. What information you are wanting to gather from Chegg

Your CCA will submit the request via Chegg’s investigation link, which can be found here: https://www.chegg.com/honorcode/investigation-request. Chegg will send the information directly to the CCA, who will provide it to the faculty member for consideration in the Academic Misconduct process.

CourseHero: CourseHero does not currently have a process to gain additional information regarding who posted or accessed materials to their website. They will only remove information if it violates the DMCA (or if personal information was shared) using the process outlined above.

Notification of Misconduct

The instructor has 10 business days after discovering the misconduct to formally notify the student of the allegation. Formal notification entails completing a Notification Form and sending it to the student via email or in person.

Under the Student Code of Conduct (S.C.O.C.), students are allowed to continue in the course without prejudice until the academic misconduct process has concluded. The academic misconduct process concludes after students have exhausted their appeal and/or the time to appeal the outcome has lapsed.

The instructor must send the Notification Form to the student within the 10 day period. If the instructor does not, the allegation will be dismissed.

Notification Form

  • When completing the Notification Form, the instructor should fill in all sections as indicated.
  • The instructor should describe the alleged violation(s) as much as possible, so the student is clearly aware of the allegation.
  • The instructor may choose any of the sanctions on the Notification Form or describe additional sanctions or instructions in the 'Other' section.
  • Incidents may be resolved informally via educational conferences.
  • Please see the guide for educational conferences on the faculty Canopy Community site. Contact your C.C.A. if you do not have access to this site.
  • Upon receiving a Notification Form, the student has two options:
    1. Option 1: Accept responsibility for the misconduct and the proposed sanction; OR
    2. Option 2: Respond to the instructor to challenge the finding of misconduct and/or to discuss if the sanction(s) are commensurate to the violation.
  • If the student chooses Option 1, they must send the Notification Form back to the instructor within 5 days. The instructor will then forward this to their C.C.A., and the student must complete the agreed upon sanctions.
  • If the student chooses Option 2, the student must meet with the instructor within 5 business days of the instructor's receipt of the Notification Form.
  • Based on the instructor's discussion with the student, the instructor has three options:
    • Dismiss the allegation(s) completely, which resolves the case, and send an updated Notification Form to the C.C.A. with the dismissed allegations;
    • Send a Resolution Form to the student with adjusted allegations and sanctions based on conversation; OR
    • Send a Resolution Form to the student with the same allegations and sanctions if discussion with the student did not change anything.
  • The instructor must take action (aka send Resolution Form to C.C.A. and student) within 5 business days after the meeting with the student or the allegations will be considered dismissed.
  • If the student fails to respond to the Notification Form within 5 days, the instructor should send the student a Resolution Form, cc-ing the C.C.A.

Resolution Form

  • A Resolution Form is sent to a student for three reasons:
    • The student did not respond to the Notification Form within 5 days;
    • The instructor met with the student and adjusted their sanctions document this on the Resolution Form; OR
    • The instructor met with a student and did not adjust their sanctions - put proposed sanctions on the Resolution Form.
  • The Resolution Form is very similar to the Notification Form. It will prompt the instructor to fill out much of the same information. However, it is necessary because it provides the student with an option to move onto a College Hearing Panel.
  • The student has 3 options to respond to a Resolution Form:
    • Option 1: Accept responsibility for the misconduct and the sanction(s);
    • Option 2: Accept responsibility, but dispute the sanction(s) and request a College Hearing Panel review; OR
    • Option 3: Deny responsibility and request a College Hearing Panel review.
  • If the student selects Option 1, forward the Resolution Form to the C.C.A. The student must complete the agreed upon sanctions
  • If the student selects Option 2 or 3, forward the Resolution Form to the C.C.A. and cc the student. The C.C.A. will convene a College Hearing Panel to review the student's challenge.
  • If the student fails to respond to the Resolution Form within a 5 day period, forward the Resolution Form to the C.C.A. The sanctions and findings will be final.

College Hearing Panel (C.H.P.)

  • If a C.H.P. is convened, Faculty or staff alleging misconduct must participate in the hearing in-person or via video conference. 
  • The student has the right to attend and dispute any allegation of misconduct or sanctions.
    • If the student chooses not to attend the hearing, a written statement will be reviewed and evaluated based on the information available.
  • The C.H.P. shall consist of:
    • The hearing chair, who will be the C.C.A. or designee and only vote in the event of a tie
    • One representative selected by the college faculty
    • One representative selected either by the college tribunal of Student Government for undergraduates, or by the graduate college tribunal of Graduate Student Governance Association for graduate students.
  • The student and instructor can challenge any member of the C.H.P. for conflict of interest via an email to the C.C.A.
  • At this point in the process, the C.H.P. will make a determination of responsibility and sanctions when appropriate.
  • Within three (3) days, the hearing chair of the C.H.P. will notify the student of the C.H.P.’s decision and appeal procedures.