FAQs

Collect all the evidence available. Then it is usually best to meet with the student or students involved. You may want another faculty member or staff member to be present at the meeting. 

You may take action ranging anywhere from no sanction to failure of the course. Then you need to report the violation and sanction to the Office of Academic Integrity.

You may report the violation and note that you are referring the case to the Honor Council for a hearing to determine sanctions to recommend to the Provost.

Yes. If you determine that the student committed an Honor Code violation, the matter must be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity.

It is usually best to allow the student to continue coming to class  and completing assignments until the entire Honor Code process is complete in case anything about the determination of guilt or sanction should change along the way. If the student is disruptive, however, then you may contact Student Conduct Administration for additional help and advice.

If you planned to give the student an "F" for the course for the violation, when you file your report, request that the student be reinstated to the course to receive the "F".

1. Have clear instructions in your syllabus about assignments, including what kind of collaboration, if any, is allowed.
2. Have clear instructions in the syllabus about the use of Quizlet and other online resources.
3. Tailor your assignments and assessments so that students are unable to benefit from using those from prior semesters.
4. Make it hard or impossible for students to cheat - Do not allow smart watches, phones, etc. to be out during quizzes and assessments - even for time keeping.
5. Discuss why ethics are important in your discipline.
6. Encourage students to ask questions of you rather than taking short cuts or seeking help that may not be authorized.

Any dishonorable conduct in connection with an academic matter. There is a list of specific behaviors that qualify in the Honor Code (Section III.C.) but this list is not all inclusive. 

The Honor Code has been amended to require you to obtain the written permission of the professor for the course for which you are wanting to use those materials. See III.C.(16) If in doubt, check with your professor.

You cannot do this without getting the professor's permission first.

Not unless your professor allows help or collaboration. Be sure you know for each course and each assignment how much you can work with or discuss it with other people.

If your professor does not allow collaboration - refuse! Never, ever, email your work to another student or give it to another student on a flash drive, even with good intentions. You are expected to guard your own work, and this makes you vulnerable to that student's misuse of your work.

Not necessarily. If you do that, your professor may request that you be reinstated to the course in order to receive the "F".

You must refer the case for a hearing before the Honor Council within 21 days of receiving the email from the Office of Academic Integrity. Just let the m know that you are only contesting the sanction.

Yes, it can. You are responsible for what you submit for credit. Take extra precautions to make sure this does not happen.

There will be at least 3 student and 3 faculty members of the Honor Council present. The professor will also be present, and will be called upon first to state the reasons that a violation was reported. The professor will present all the evidence, and the Council and the accused student may ask questions. Then the student has a similar opportunity to present evidence and state reasons indicating that he/she did not commit a violation or that the sanction is too harsh. When all evidence has been presented and all questions have been answered, the accused student and professor are dismissed, and the Council determines:
1. Did a violation occur, and 
2. If so, what sanction should be recommended to the Provost?

No. Only you are allowed into the hearing along with any witness who has first-hand knowledge about what happened. Character witnesses are not allowed. If you have a witness who cannot attend, then you may present a statement from that witness, but the signature of the witness on the document must have been notarized.

No. It is much more informal and does not follow protocol of legal proceedings. The hearing provides a student with Institutional Due Process according to the rules found in the Honor Code, and an opportunity to be heard by a trained impartial body of faculty and students, rather than one faculty member.

Yes. All evidence and the recording of the hearing are submitted to the Provost.

You may appeal the decision of "Guilt" to the Provost within 5 days via the online appeal form. You must state the reasons you feel that the decision was arbitrary and capricious. If the Provost does not change the decision of "Guilt" in response to your appeal, you may appeal the Provost's decision to the President.

You may appeal the sanctions issued by the Provost, within 5 days of receiving your letter from the Provost, to the President via the appropriate online appeal form. 

Honor Code violations stay on record with the Office of Academic integrity (OAI). Except in rare circumstances with some suspensions and expulsions, the transcript will not show that an Honor Code violation was committed. However, the sanction result - in the form of a grade penalty or time away from the University - would show.

Possibly. You may petition the Honor Council during your last semester at Baylor prior to graduation to have the violation expunged. To do this, you will need to email Academic_Integrity@baylor.edu to request the appropriate form. Once you complete that form and submit it, the OAI will set a meeting for you with a faculty panel from the Honor Council, and the members of that panel will determine whether the violation should be expunged or not. For more information on this process, see Section V.D. of the Honor Code.

Go talk with the professor personally. Do not get angry. The professor has some basis for his/her suspicions. Talk with the professor and try to explain what happened.

1. If you want to contest the charge, you need to contact the Office of Academic integrity as soon as possible.  
You must let the OAI know within 21 days that you want a hearing, or you will have waited too long. 
3. If you are accepting the decision and sanction of the professor, you don't have to do anything.
 

Go to the reporting page Honor Code Reporting Process where you will find a link to the Online Reporting Form and report the violation. 

No. But if you are a student, we will make every attempt to keep your identity confidential through the process if you want it to be.

Yes.