Student Rights & Responsibilities Office

UFV/Student Rights & Responsibilities Office/Faculty resources/Academic matters/How to report academic misconduct

How to report academic misconduct

If as an instructor you suspect or have evidence of academic misconduct, the first step is to review the Student Academic Misconduct (70) Regulations and Procedures. 

The regulations describe academic misconduct and outlines the procedural steps in place to address student conduct violations.

For additional information about the process, best practice when responding to academic misconduct, and email templates, review Responding to Academic Misconduct - A Faculty Guide. 

Faculty-led response to minor cases of plagiarism

If you detect a minor case of plagiarism, first review the faculty-led response process outlined on pages 4-5 of the Student Academic Misconduct (70) Regulations and Procedures.

You will need to report the case at the time it occurs using the digital form for plagiarism, minor cases. This form includes reporting on the assigned penalties. If you submit the form and indicate the academic integrity workshop as a penalty, the workshop will be automatically administered by the Student Rights & Responsibilities Office.

Report a minor plagiarism case »

 

Academic misconduct - Formal reporting procedure

 

Notify the student

Inform the student by UFV student email within 2 days of detecting the alleged misconduct that you suspect a misconduct and that you are investigating further. Also inform your department head or designate of the same.

Faculty can use up to five days to "use any reasonable legal methods in order to determine if there is a Standard of Proof that Academic Misconduct has occurred" (2.5, outlines reasonable methods). 

 

Present details to department head

Present results of the investigation to your department head or designate.

Please note, in cases where the instructor is also the Department Head, according to Policy 70 Procedures 2.3.1, the case should be referred to the Dean/Associate Dean.

If there is sufficient evidence to support a finding of academic misconduct, the instructor alerts the student via UFV student email regarding the nature of the academic misconduct. (2.6.1)

If there is insufficient evidence to support a finding the instructor alerts the student via UFV student email that the investigation is complete and there is no finding of academic misconduct (2.7)

 

Inquire with Registry

The department head must contact the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office to check for any prior reported incidents to determine penalty options. Please note that faculty-led responses are not recorded on the student record, and are not included in the search results.  The department head also arranges a Resolution Meeting with the student within 10 days of the reported conclusion of the finding investigation. 

 

Meet for resolution

A resolution meeting occurs between the department head and student. The department head shares evidence provided and allows the student an opportunity to respond. The matter may be resolved with or without penalty. It may be helpful to have the department assistant take part in the meeting if the student agrees.

Review Conducting Resolution Meetings: A Faculty Guide for suggested structure and language to use in these meetings. 

 

Submit notice to Registry

The result of the meeting is documented using the Academic Misconduct Reporting form. The Student Rights and Responsibilities Office will email a Notice of Disciplinary Action form to the student, the Office of the Registrar, the Department Head/Director, and the instructor.  The Office of the Registrar is responsible for recording the misconduct on the registry. 

If the student does not respond to email or attend a resolution meeting, the student is deemed to have agreed with the finding and the penalty assigned.

 

Students may appeal a finding of Academic Misconduct

The student is responsible for submitting their own appeal of a finding of Academic Misconduct within five days of the resolution meeting (see section 5 of the regulations and procedures.)

Contact Us