Carnegie Mellon University
Division of Student Affairs  ›  Office of Community Standards & Integrity  ›  Community Standards Records

Community Standards Records

The Office of Community Standards & Integrity (OCSI) is responsible for maintaining the centralized records of all student conduct and academic integrity cases consistent with the university policy on Community Standards Records Reporting and Retention.

A student’s disciplinary record consists of the official notification from investigating parties, any supporting documentation, and any subsequent correspondence. Disciplinary records are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and are not released to parents, employers, or graduate schools without the written consent of the student. Records are reported for three years after the student graduates or withdraws from the university. They may become part of a background check if the student provides the necessary permission to access the records.

Students who fail a course as a result of a disciplinary violation or who otherwise receive point deductions that impact their final grade will see that grade appear on their transcript. However, the reason why that grade was assigned will not appear. So while it will not explicitly state that a student failed a class due to an academic integrity issue, a failing grade that is an outlier on a transcript with otherwise solid grades will warrant further explanation.
Employers and graduate schools often perform background checks that require candidates to authorize the release of full academic records from all institutions previously attended. A full academic record includes a student’s transcript and their community standards records. 

In order for OCSI to release information about a student’s disciplinary record to a prospective employer or graduate school, the student must authorize the release of that information in writing. OCSI is notified of the authorization and once it is received, OCSI contacts the student to confirm that the authorization has been received.

Student Affairs provides the employer or graduate school with a letter that notes the number of violation(s), the specific policy that has been breached with each violation, and the semester(s) in which the violation(s) occurred.

Students are considered to be in good standing if there is no disciplinary record or if they have fulfilled the terms of any sanctions from a policy violation. Students are not considered to be in good standing if there are any outstanding penalties.

If you have any questions or need more information about a background check, please contact ocsi@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-2140.