Resources for Instructors

Frequently Asked Questions (by LSA Instructors)

1. Does LSA have an Honor Code for students, or something similar?

The College of LSA does not have an Honor Code to which its students pledge, but this does not mean we are any less committed to honesty and academic integrity than institutions with Honor Codes. The College does have a statement of LSA Community Standards of Academic Integrity and expects all of its members to uphold these Standards.

2. What should I do if I think I have an incident of academic misconduct?

Contact the Office of the Assistant Dean (Student Academic Affairs; 1213 Angell Hall, 764-7297, lsajudicial@umich.edu). Your questions and options can be discussed, and the Office will assist you in making your decision about whether to report a complaint of academic misconduct or not.

3. Do I have to notify or speak to the student before reporting a complaint of academic misconduct?

No, it isn’t necessary, but the choice is yours.When you report a complaint to the Office of the Assistant Dean, the student is notified and is asked to call the Office to schedule an appointment. Whether you have contacted the student about the complaint before the appointment in the Assistant Dean’s Office is entirely up to you. Please feel free also, however, to get in touch with the Office of the Assistant Dean with any questions or concerns about your options or your contacts with the student.

4. Can the student contact me?

Yes, the student who has had a formal complaint of academic misconduct reported to the Office of the Assistant Dean against him or her may contact you, but you are in no way obligated to discuss the case or any aspect of it with the student. You may simply let the student know that the matter has been forwarded to the Office of the Assistant Dean.

5. Can I just fail the student and not go to the Office of the Assistant Dean?

No, not without the student’s acceptance of responsibility for the incident and the grade sanction to be imposed.

6. Can I simply resolve the case myself?

The general expectation in LSA is that complaints of academic misconduct will be reported to the Office of the Assistant Dean and resolved at that level. This can assure that due process is followed, that the process is educational, that fair and similar sanctions can be assigned in similar incidents, and that the records of violators are maintained accurately and in confidence. It is the case, however, especially when the violation is not egregious, that the individual instructor may resolve an incident. Three conditions, however, always apply and must be attended to:

1. You must fully apprise your student of the allegation and show the student any evidence, if requested, that you have

2. The student must accept responsibility for the incident

3. The student must accept the grade and/or remedial work you assign.

You also should document the student’s acceptance of responsibility and of your sanction(s) and verify that the conditions listed above have been met. Finally, you should report your handling of the incident to the Office of the Assistant Dean (lsajudicial@umich.edu).

7. If I resolve an incident myself, why do I have to report it?

It is important when you resolve an incident of academic misconduct yourself to report your handling of the case to the Office of the Assistant Dean (1213 Angell Hall; 764-7297; lsajudicial@umich.edu ) so that the Office can track repeat offenses. A student responsible for a second offense will be called in to the Assistant Dean’s Office, but otherwise no additional action will be taken.

8. What do I need to do to file a complaint of academic misconduct?

You may submit your complaint either by email to lsajudicial@umich.edu; or by campus or U.S. mail to Assistant Dean RaShonda Flint, 1213 Angell Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003; or by delivery to the first floor of Angell Hall, #1213, inside the Newnan LSA Academic Advising Center. In submitting a case to the Office of the Assistant Dean , please include:

• description of the nature of the incident

• student name and UMID

• course name and number

• class syllabus

• assignment/exam instructions

• student exam/quiz/paper (electronic copies are fine; if originals are needed they will be requested)

• any other supporting documentation (e.g., work of other students on the same assignment that demonstrates how unusual the student’s work is, work of the same student that would illustrate a change in pattern/style and demonstrates how unusual the work is).

Please be aware that all information provided to the Office of the Assistant Dean is considered evidence and may be shared with the accused student(s).

9. How much evidence do I need to file a complaint?

How much evidence you will need is determined largely by the type of complaint you are reporting and your goals in reporting it to the Office of the Assistant Dean. While the Assistant Dean holds to a high standard in the adjudication of each academic misconduct case, the Office is not a court of law in which the burden of proof is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The burden of supporting the complaint is “more likely than not.” The Assistant Dean’s goal in each case always is that the process be educational regardless of the outcome of the complaint. You should know, too, that additional evidence sometimes is discovered during the investigation by the Office of the Assistant Dean. If you have questions about the amount of evidence you have or the burden of proof, please call the Office at 764-7297.

10. Do I participate in the adjudication of the case with the Assistant Dean?

No. Once you file a complaint of academic misconduct with the Office of the Assistant Dean, the case is adjudicated by the Assistant Dean or designee. You may be contacted for clarification about the complaint or consulted about the position the student has taken, but very little of your time will be required when this occurs. A representative of the LSA Student Government Honor Council regularly sits in on the meeting between the Assistant Dean or designee and the student. In exceptional and rare cases, an appeal of the decision by the Assistant Dean or designee will be heard by the LSA Academic Judiciary Committee, and if that should occur, you then might participate.

11. Can I direct the student simply to drop my course?

No. A student charged with academic misconduct may not change registration in the course (e.g. drop the course, change grading options) in which a charge is pending or in which a finding of academic misconduct has been made.

12. Can I find out from the Office of Assistant Dean if the student has been found responsible in any other academic misconduct incident?

No. Federal regulations do not allow the Office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education and Executive Director of the Newnan LSA Academic Advising Center to share that kind of information about a student, but the Office does maintain such records on LSA students.

13. If it is time to submit course grades at the end of a term, what should I do?

If a final grade must be reported for the course while the case is pending before the Assistant Dean, you should report the course grade as NR (no report), and not as I (incomplete). NR is a temporary, neutral grade that may be used in special circumstances where you are not yet able to report a final grade. You will be notified, as soon as possible, of the resolution of the case, and you then should submit the appropriate grade on a Supplemental Grade Report (SGR) form available from your department office.

14. Will I be informed of the outcome of the complaint?

YES. The Assistant Dean or designee has the authority to determine, based upon all the information available, whether a violation of academic integrity has occurred. The student then will be informed by letter, with an email copy to you, of the decision and sanction(s), if any, to be imposed.

15. If a student is responsible for academic misconduct, should that student automatically be assigned a failing grade for the course?

The course grade is your decision. When a student is found responsible for academic misconduct by the Assistant Dean, most instructors will fail the student for that assignment. Sometimes the assignment is large enough that failing it leads to failure in the course. Some instructors, however, will fail the student in the course because that is their policy. It is strongly recommended that instructors state on the course syllabus their expectations of academic integrity and any policy involving course failure for academic misconduct. The Assistant Dean can tell you of different grading decisions made by other faculty members.

Resources

• Library resources on Academic Integrity 

• Citation and Plagiarism (Sweetland Center for Writing)

  • Teaching Citation and Documentation Norms

  • Beyond Plagiarism

• Academic Integrity in the Classroom (CRLT: Center for Research on Learning and Teaching) 

  • Promoting Academic Integrity in the Classroom

  • Note that CRLT instructional consultants can help instructors to preserve their pedagogical goals while minimizing the likelihood of cheating and plagiarism.

• Integrity Quiz