Academic Review Board

The Academic Review Board has jurisdiction in the following cases:

• Appeals of a course instructor’s course-level decision and action.
• Cases in which a student has committed more than one violation of the University Policy on Academic Integrity that has been reported to the Office of Community Standards and Integrity.
• Cases in which a course instructor/student’s department head or designee requests additional action beyond course failure.

Composition of the Academic Review Board

Each case presented to the Academic Review Board is heard by two student board members and three faculty board members. The board for any case must include at least one member from the college(s) represented by the parties. When possible, the board for any case must include at least one student member at the same degree level as the student who is appearing before the board. In addition, a trained moderator presides over the hearing.

The faculty board members will be appointed by the Office of Community Standards and Integrity in consultation with Faculty Senate. The student board members will be appointed by the Office of Community Standards and Integrity in consultation with Undergraduate Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly following a selection process coordinated by the Office of Community Standards and Integrity. All appointees must complete initial and ongoing training in order to be eligible to serve as board members. Once trained, board members may complete up to three years of service, and board members may be reappointed.

Members participating in a given hearing will be selected from a list of eligible individuals based upon availability and disinterestedness in the case or parties following review by the student who is appearing before the Academic Review Board. The involved course instructor(s), department head or designee, and board members will also have the opportunity to note any potential conflicts of interest. The following circumstances would preclude participation as a board member in a given hearing:

• Individuals with prior substantial knowledge of or interest in the student(s) involved or the case(s) under review
• Individuals who may appropriately be a witness in the case(s)

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Conduct of the Academic Review Board

The university attempts to ensure fair, timely and orderly procedures in all academic disciplinary actions. To provide for this, the university has adopted the following procedural protections. The following is a list of procedures that govern the Academic Review Board process:

Hearing Preparation and Scheduling

1. In advance of the hearing, the members of the Academic Review Board will be provided a pre-read packet, which may include, among other relevant items: the initial academic integrity violation report(s); any supporting documentation related to the violation(s); any departmental recommendations for outcomes (if applicable); and a written introduction from the student to the board.
2. The student may submit a written introduction and up to three written letters of support by a date specified by the process advisor. Additional information that is relevant to the review including email correspondence and assignment documentation may be submitted by the student. This documentation will be included in the pre-read packet at the discretion of the process advisor.
3. It is the responsibility of the Office of Community Standards and Integrity to ensure that times set for hearings are reasonable and that necessary accommodations have been offered to both the student and course instructor(s) whenever appropriate. In turn, both the student and course instructors(s) will be expected to demonstrate good-faith efforts in their participation with this process, particularly in relation to the scheduling of the hearing. If a case involves exigent circumstances that prevent the student or course instructor(s) from participating in a scheduled hearing, the hearing will be rescheduled.
4. Every effort will be made to avoid conflicts with a student’s class schedule when identifying a hearing date and time. When circumstances warrant, classroom attendance, except for scheduled examinations, will not be a reasonable excuse for delaying a hearing.

Hearing Process and Procedures

1. Information provided during an Academic Review Board hearing must be kept confidential by all parties. The student is provided a full copy of all materials provided to the hearing board for the purpose of preparing for or use during the hearing, consistent with the privacy rights of those involved. These materials are to be kept confidential and may be shared only with permission from the process advisor. These documents may not be duplicated nor utilized for any other purpose. All materials provided to the student must be returned to the process advisor at the conclusion of the hearing.
2. In order to maintain a fair and equitable process, no new materials will be accepted on the day of the hearing, with the exception of (i) oral testimony and (ii) such other evidence as may be necessary to rebut new oral testimony. Evidence offered as rebuttal will be accepted only at the discretion of the moderator.
3. Prior to the hearing, the student, course instructor(s), department head or designee who are participating in the review will be asked if they believe that the potential hearing board members are biased for or against them. If a perceived bias is reasonable, replacements will be chosen for the board and the hearing will be rescheduled.
4. The student has the right to have one person of their choosing present at the hearing. The student is required to notify the process advisor of their support person of choice at a date specified by the process advisor which will be at least three days in advance. If legal counsel will serve in this capacity, the hearing group may determine that it wishes to secure legal advice in connection with the hearing. Legal counsel or any other support person, if present, will not be permitted to participate in the proceedings but may advise the student and/or be present at a hearing. In the event that one party to a case is accompanied by legal counsel without advance notice, a hearing may be postponed until all parties to the case have had an opportunity to have counsel present. Registered support persons are not permitted to participate as witnesses in the same proceedings.
5. Witnesses may be registered for each Academic Review Board hearing by the student, course instructor(s), and department head. Witnesses should be able to provide direct information related to the case(s) under review by the Academic Review Board, such as direct observation of the incident(s) in question and/or direct interaction with any of the parties before, during or after the incident in question. All parties are required to notify the process advisor of their registered witnesses at a date specified by the process advisor which will be at least three days in advance of the Academic Review Board hearing.
6. In scheduling a hearing, consideration should be given to allow that witnesses significant to the case being heard are available to the hearing group. If a witness is not available to be called by the hearing group in person or via telecommunication, they may submit a written statement to the process advisor to be reviewed if the board requests information from the witness. Except in documented extenuating circumstances, students are expected to make a good-faith effort to provide information to the Academic Review Board when called as a witness.
7. It is within the discretion of the board to determine whether they wish to hear from suggested witnesses. Witnesses will be questioned one at a time by the hearing group and subsequently dismissed. They should be present in the room only when providing information to the board.
8. All proceedings, except the deliberation of the board members, will be recorded. Recordings will be kept in accordance with student conduct records retention practices.
9. During the actual hearing, the student has the right to be present during presentation of evidence.
10. Students and course instructors who are participating in a hearing will be limited to ten minutes for their introduction and five minutes to provide a summary following the presentation of evidence.
11. The majority of the proceeding will consist of questioning from the board members for all parties as well as registered witnesses. Students and course instructors will also have the opportunity to present questions for the board’s consideration.
12. Following each summary, the board will enter closed deliberations.
13. In cases that involve appeals of course-level action, no information about the student's prior violations of the University Policy on Academic Integrity will be shared with the Academic Review Board. If the student has prior violations on record and the course-level action is upheld on appeal, the student may be recalled before the board to discuss the prior violations and outcomes prior to the Academic Review Board making a recommendation for appropriate outcomes for the present case.

Hearing Outcome Determination and Notifications

1. A representative of the Office of Community Standards and Integrity will be responsible for notifying the vice provost for education or designee in writing of the recommendation of the hearing group.
2. The vice provost for education or designee makes the decision in the case, informed by the recommendation of the Academic Review Board.  The vice provost for education or designee may accept, reject or modify the recommendation, or may remand the matter to a new Academic Review Board for review.
3. After reviewing the recommendations and rendering a decision, the vice provost for education or designee will notify the student in writing of their decision.
4. The Office of Community Standards and Integrity will send a copy of the final decision letter to the following individuals:
   • Course instructor(s)
   • Head of the student's home department
   • Associate dean of the student's home college
   • Academic advisor for the student
   • Head of department in which the course(s) is housed (if different from the student's department)
   • Associate dean of the college in which the course(s) is housed (if different from the student's college)
5. Parents of a student will not be notified of any academic disciplinary action, except as permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
6. Academic disciplinary actions will be recorded in the student's disciplinary record in the Office of Community Standards and Integrity in accordance with student conduct records retention practices. When academic disciplinary actions affect eligibility for enrollment, designation on other university records will be made. Academic disciplinary records will not be released as a part of the official transcript of the academic record of a student.

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