Reporting Academic Dishonesty

In partnership with Academic Affairs, the Dean of Students Office promotes academic integrity through a fair, educational and developmental student conduct process. Per Academic Senate Resolution and CSU Systemwide Student Conduct Procedures - all cases of alleged or suspected academic dishonesty are to be referred to the Dean of Students Office.

If you are unsure about the concern or situation with the student(s), or would like to first meet & consult with a member of the Student Conduct & Ethical Development Team prior to submitting a formal referral for academic dishonesty, start by Requesting a Consultation. 

Please keep in mind that many students may attempt to persuade you to not notify the Dean of Students Office of their dishonest behavior. Some reasons students often use with faculty to try to influence your decision or discourage a referral may be: 

• Loss of Financial Aid, Scholarships, or Grants:
  • This RARELY happens:
    • The only times students may lose financial support are when a case results in Suspension or Expulsion. In these cases, the student's pattern of behavior and has likely violated not only CSUSM's Academic Integrity Policy before, but also have likely violated safety-related policies during their time at CSUSM.   
• They are already on Disciplinary Probation and will be Suspended or Expelled:
  • Consult with us - there may be limited information we are able to clarify with faculty based on what the student has told you.
  • Students often confuse their Housing Conduct standing with their University Conduct standing if they reside(d) in the UVA, The QUAD, or North Commons. A student-resident may be on "Housing Contract Probation" for violating University Student Housing Policies, but has no prior University Conduct.
  • We treat each case differently based upon a variety of factors:
    • The student's willingness to be honest, reflective and remorseful of the violations. This includes articulating the reasoning behind their decisions, and identify underlying concerns needing attention and change in order to make better, more informed decisions in the future.
    • The student's University conduct history, current disciplinary standing, and class standing. 
    • The severity of the incident and violations (prior or current), and the likelihood of future/ongoing violations. 
• Other Personal Struggles:
  • Contrary to the stigma that exists about Student Conduct, we employ a CARE-centered approach to our developmental conversations with students. We are here to help guide them at a potentially difficult time in their life. Most students are surprised and appreciative at how supportive, caring and effective their interactions are with our team. 
  • We often refer students to necessary CSUSM and off-campus resources and support to address the stressors that led to the dishonest behavior. Personal struggles are most often the underlying reason for the student's behavior and decisions.

1) Contact and meet with the student to discuss the allegations: 

• Take notes of the meeting. Did the student admit to the dishonest behavior?
• Document the conversation on the Reporting Academic Dishonesty Form.
• Determine and/or propose a grade and/or make-up assignment for the student; this may vary depending on the severity of the dishonesty. As the Professor, you have full jurisdiction for the grade on the assignment, exam, and/or course. Feel free to further discuss grades with your Department Chair for consistency.
  • Please do not wait to assign a grade based on the outcome of the Student Conduct case. The mandated timelines for processing an investigation, case, and potentially a formal Hearing are likely to extend beyond the necessary deadline for grade submissions.
• Inform the student that per the CSU, and CSUSM's Academic Integrity Policy, you are required to refer the case (suspected or determined) to the Dean of Students Office for investigation and processing.
• If a face to face meeting is not possible, contact the student to schedule a time to meet via phone, Zoom, MS Teams, and/or e-mail to hear the student’s perspective on the allegations and concerns. 
• If more than one student is involved in the case, we recommend that you meet with each student separately.
  • You may include multiple students (up to 99) in a singe Academic Dishonesty Referral. Use the "login" feature on the form for ease of access to search and select the applicable students' Student ID, full name, etc. 
• Please ask another faculty or your Department Chair to attend or be present at the meeting based on your preference.
  • If another faculty attends the meeting, ask them to take notes so you are able to be fully present in your conversation with the student. 
  • Remind the other faculty in attendance to keep the meeting and discussion confidential per FERPA. 

2) Complete and submit a Reporting Academic Dishonesty Form to the Dean of Student's Office (ADM 1200) with the following supporting documentation:

• Course syllabus.
• Copy or original of the student's assignment or exam:  
  • Please note that if you suspect Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) was used, submit the original version of the student's submitted assignment. Original documents (especially Word and PDF), as identifiable properties (metadata) may exist to help determine the likelihood of A.I. use.  
• A summary of your verbal instructions or copy of your written instructions for the assignment/exam.
• Please highlight the areas of alleged academic dishonesty on the student's assignment/exam and the suspected source of dishonesty (e.g. website, A.I., or another student’s assignment).
• Any useful context or conversations you've had with the student that may help Student Conduct to effectively approach the educational conversation with the student: 
  • Summaries of in-person communication, general demeanor in class, and your personal (factual) observations (avoid including your personal assumptions, determinations, etc. in the referral as this is part of the student's record which they have access to). 
  • Canvas Course messaging, posts, email or other written communication with the student(s). 
  • Supporting Evidence:
    
    • Original student's paper, assignment or exam if the same or another student plagiarized the original version. 
    • "Screenshots" or recordings (audio/video) submitted by other students if a group chat or social media site/page exists for your course. 
      • Always assume there may be a Discord Channel or similar platform created for your course, which will likely lead to collaborative cheating. Monitor the Canvas Course posts or other established course communication to see if students are asking for classmates' contact information in order to invite them to join a group chat, Discord Channel or other group communication modality. Or - address this with the class directly to establish your expectations and limitations should this exist. 
  • Any additional documentation such as website links, screenshots, test copies (note if there were different versions of the test), etc.

3) Dean of Students Office meets with student to determine responsibility and student status.

• We employ a CARE-centered approach to our developmental conversations with students and are here to help guide them at a potentially difficult time.
• We often collaborate with Cougar Care Network to address concerns that come up during conversations with students; which often include referrals to necessary resources and support. Personal struggles often may be a large contributing factor to the student's academically dishonest behavior.

4) Dean of Students Office emails referring professor regarding case outcome and any sanctions; educational and disciplinary. (Student Academic Dishonesty and Disciplinary Sanctions). 

• In some instances, students may be unresponsive, drop their CSUSM courses, transfer to a different university, etc. In those cases, the referring faculty will receive an update from the Dean of Students Office that the case is "Pending". 
  • For pending cases, an Administrative Hold is placed on the student's account which prevents enrollment and access to transcripts. A case may be re-opened and processed should the student attempt to return as an active CSUSM student or need their transcripts to apply to another institution, program or profession. 

More information is available from the Dean of Students Office at 760-750-4935, or by contacting Leslie Rockwell, Interim Associate Dean of Students, through e-mail at dos@csusm.edu. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions or to seek advice in addressing an incident.