Academic misconduct is any behavior that gives a student an unfair advantage in their assessment(s) or intentionally and unduly disadvantages other students. It is done knowingly or unintentionally. The misconduct can include obvious actions like taking notes or bringing a phone during an exam, but it can also involve plagiarizing or submitting work that is not your own. It may even be working on a project with a friend when you intended to work alone. The most common academic misconduct types are plagiarism, collusion, and examination misconduct. Looking for a defense for academic misconduct? Before reaching out to a lawyer, check out the points mentioned below:
How to handle the situation?
If you’ve been accused of academic misconduct, here’s what you should do. As a student, you have the right to due process. If you suspect you’ve been falsely accused of academic misconduct, read through to find out how to fight an allegation of academic misconduct.
- Firstly, one should try to understand why they are being accused. It implies getting all the information regarding the allegation of misconduct.
- Then, a student generally makes an appointment with their instructor; requests a meeting with your instructor by email or phone to discuss what happened. Also, it’s always suggested to hold these sessions in person so one may have a productive conversation about the allegation, and communication can be done openly without any hesitation.
What are the things to do before reaching out to a lawyer?
In almost all cases, an experienced instructor would refer you to many credible ‘Student Defense lawyers,’ which is a very inappropriate way of dealing with academic misconduct. Before approaching lawyers, it is of utmost importance that a student has communicated transparently with the instructor and even with the area chair or director of the department or school. It is essential as a lawyer would also prefer to have statements of the instructor or director which will be monumental in helping the student; this will also help the lawyer pace up the case.
Summing Up
So the key takeaway is to reach out to a student defense lawyer in every case of defending the accusation of academic misconduct. The lawyer will be in constant touch with your director and instructor. After the process of hearing, if the student is found clean by the hearing board, the involved instructor will recalculate your grade. Each college has its own distinct and confidential process and a dedicated department to deal with academic misconduct. A student defense lawyer can help you navigate through all the required steps smoothly and help the student present the case to arrive at fair judgments.