Procedures for Investigation and Adjudication of Suspected Violations
4. Procedures for Investigation and Adjudication of Suspected Violations
4.1. Preliminary Review of Formal Reports
The Academic Integrity Officer shall review the report and supporting documentation for completeness. If the report indicates that the matter has been resolved, the Academic Integrity Officer will, by email, confirm receipt with the faculty member, copying the student. The report and supporting documentation will be placed in the student’s confidential academic integrity file. If the report indicates that the student admits to the charge, but the matter is not resolved, the Academic Integrity Office shall encourage the faculty member to resolve the matter directly with the student. The faculty member may informally consult with the Academic Integrity Officer on an appropriate resolution. If the matter is not resolved and the report does not indicate student admission, the Academic Integrity Officer will refer the matter to the College Grade Appeals Committee, copying the faculty member and the accused student on that communication.
4.2. Procedures in Cases Involving Academic Sanctions.
4.2.1. Student Admits to the Academic Dishonesty and Does Not Contest the Academic Sanction.
If the student does not contest either their guilt or the resolution prior to preliminary review by the AIO, the faculty member will indicate this in the report as described in section 4.1. If, at any point after the preliminary review, the student admits to the violation and accepts the sanction, this will be reflected in the final case disposition letter. The Academic Integrity Officer shall update the applicable Faculty Report Form to reflect that resolution.
4.2.2 Student Admits to the Academic Dishonesty but Contests the Academic Sanction.
In a case where a student admits to the alleged academic dishonesty but contests the particular academic sanction imposed, the student may appeal the academic sanction through the college’s grade appeal process. The student shall be allowed, at a minimum, an opportunity to present a written position with supporting evidence, consistent with the college’s grade appeal procedures. Specifically, these are the same procedures governing all student appeals of final course grades. At the conclusion of deliberations of the relevant grade appeals committee, the decision regarding the final course grade will be communicated to the Academic Integrity Officer for inclusion on the Faculty Report Form.
4.2.3. Student Denies the Academic Dishonesty
In a case where a student denies the academic dishonesty, a fact-finding determination shall be made by the College Grade Appeals Committee. For the purposes of implementing CUNY policy, the College Grade Appeals Committee is the college committee serving the functions of the Academic Integrity Committee, “Committee” hereafter. The Academic Integrity Officer may not serve on the Committee. The Committee shall serve as the fact-finding body only in cases for which the student denies the accusation of academic dishonesty.
The Academic Integrity Officer will provide the Committee with access to the faculty report form and all supporting information collected during the preliminary review (the case file). The Committee shall provide students with a copy of the form submitted by the faculty member (the complaint). The Committee may include supporting information from the case file and/or submitted by the faculty member as appropriate. The Committee shall inform students and faculty of their right to appear before the committee. The Committee shall inform students of their right to present witness statements and to call witnesses to testify before the Committee. The Committee may request testimony or documents from the faculty member, student, or any witnesses to the alleged violation.
Students may respond to the complaint in writing, including supporting documents. Students may, at their request or at the request of the Committee, present their response at a meeting of the Committee. Any supporting documents must be provided to the Chair of the Committee at least one week prior to the student’s appearance. Faculty may, at their request or at the request of the Committee, present information supporting their accusation at a meeting of the Committee
Upon conclusion of the fact-finding process, the Committee shall issue a written decision and send a copy of the decision, and all documents and materials gathered as part of the investigation, to the Academic Integrity Officer. The Academic Integrity Officer shall promptly report the decision to the faculty member and student and file a record of the resolution in the student’s confidential academic integrity file, unless, as explained in section 4.4, the suspected violation was held to be unfounded. Students found to have violated the academic integrity policy can request review of the decision by the Provost (or Provost’s designee, provided the designee is not the Academic Integrity Officer or a member of the College-Wide Grade Appeals Committee). If at the conclusion of this process a change of final grade is needed, the faculty member shall then update the relevant grade(s), as appropriate. In the case of a grade of PEN, the Academic Integrity Officer shall request a change of final grade from the Office of the Registrar.
4.2.4. Student Does Not Respond to Allegation
If the faculty report indicates a lack of response from the accused student, the Academic Integrity Officer will acknowledge receipt of the report and supporting documentation, copying the accused student. The accused student has 30 calendar days from the date of this attempted contact to respond to the Academic Integrity Officer. If the student does not reply during this time frame, the academic sanction proposed by the faculty member will apply.
4.3. Procedures in Cases Involving Disciplinary Sanctions.
4.3.1 Determining a Recommendation for Disciplinary Sanctions
When a student had admitted to a violation, when a reported accusation proceeds uncontested by the student, or when the College Grade Appeals Committee has determined a violation occurred, the Academic Integrity Officer shall determine if a disciplinary sanction should be recommended. In making this determination, the Academic Integrity Officer may consult with the faculty member who initiated the case, the accused student, other students, student affairs administrators, and academic affairs administrators as needed. When determining whether a disciplinary sanction is recommended, the Academic Integrity Officer shall also consult the student’s confidential academic integrity file, if one exists, to determine whether the student has been found to have previously committed a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, the nature of the infraction, and the sanction imposed or action taken. Prior violations include both violations at the student’s current college and violations that occurred at any other CUNY college. In making the determination on prior violations, the Academic Integrity Officer shall determine whether the student previously attended any other CUNY college and, if so, shall request and be given access to the academic integrity file, if any, at such other CUNY college.
The Academic Integrity Officer should recommend disciplinary sanctions only if (i) there is a substantial violation; or (ii) the student has previously violated the Policy; or (iii) academic sanctions may not be imposed because the student has timely withdrawn from the applicable course. Examples of substantial violations include but are not limited to: forging a grade form or a transcript; stealing an examination from a professor or a university office; having a substitute take an examination or taking an examination for someone else; having someone else write a paper for the student or writing a paper for another student; generating entire assignments or exam responses using AI language models or code generators without authorization; sabotaging another student’s work through actions that prevent or impede the other student from successfully completing an assignment; and violations committed by a graduate or professional student or a student who will seek professional licensure. In making this determination, the Academic Integrity Officer should consider any mitigating circumstances, if present in the record or discovered by the College Grade Appeals Committee through their fact-finding.
If the Academic Integrity Officer determines that disciplinary sanctions should be sought, the Academic Integrity Officer shall refer the case to the Dean of Students who shall determine whether the case can be resolved through mediation.
4.3.2 Adjudicating a Recommendation for Disciplinary Sanctions
If the college decides to seek a disciplinary sanction, the case shall be processed under Article XV of the CUNY Bylaws. If the case is not resolved through mediation under Article XV, it shall be heard by the college’s Faculty Student Disciplinary Committee.
If a determination is made to seek a disciplinary sanction before the process for determining an academic sanction is complete, the college shall proceed first with the disciplinary proceeding and await its outcome before addressing the academic sanction. The student’s grade shall be held in abeyance using the PEN grade established for this purpose, pending the Committee’s action. The PEN grade must be resolved to a letter grade by the end of the semester following the semester in which the PEN grade is given. If the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee finds that the alleged violation occurred, then the faculty member may reflect that finding in the student’s grade. The student may appeal the finding in accordance with Article XV procedures and/or may appeal the grade imposed by the faculty member in accordance with section 4.2.2. If the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee finds that the alleged violation did not occur, then no sanction of any kind may be imposed.
Where a matter proceeds to the Faculty Student Disciplinary Committee, the Committee shall issue a written decision and send a copy of the decision to the Academic Integrity Officer. The Academic Integrity Officer shall promptly report the decision to the faculty member and student and file a record of the resolution in the student’s confidential academic integrity file, unless, as explained below, the suspected violation was held to be unfounded.
4.4. Required Action in Cases of No Violation
If either the College Grade Appeals Committee or the Faculty Student Disciplinary Committee finds that no violation occurred, or if during the preliminary review the Academic Integrity Officer concludes there is insufficient evidence to proceed, the Academic Integrity Officer shall remove all material relating to that incident from the student’s confidential academic integrity file and destroy the material.