Contact the Aggie Honor System Office
Working with the Aggie Honor System Office protects the rights of the student and the faculty member, provides a resource for assistance in facilitating the process, and helps address situations involving repeat offenders.
Define Academic Misconduct
The University has established and defined nine different types of academic misconduct.
Gather Information
Faculty and instructors who observe or document a situation involving academic misconduct should be prepared to provide information about the situation to the AHSO and the accused student. This information may include:
- Copies of the syllabus which clearly explains the instructor's expectations and consequences of academic misconduct
- Copies of the assignment/exam in question
- Turnitin.com reports.
- Copies or links to unauthorized source materials
- Notes retrieved from the student
- Emails between the instructor and student relating to the event
- Summary statement by the instructor of any intervention that occurred during the execution of the violation (such as moving the student to a different seat in the class, witness reports, etc.)
- Written reports of observations made during the event
While filing the violation, electronic copies of relevant information can be attached directly to the violation report.
Identify the Appropriate Process (Informal Process, Administrative Conference, or Honor Council)
There are a number of factors that go into an instructor's decision of whether to handle a violation informally, through an Administrative Conference, or refer it to the Honor Council.
Repeat violations must be referred to the Honor Council
If a student has a previous violation on file with the Aggie Honor System Office, subsequent violations cannot be handled informally by the faculty member or administratively by the AHSO and must be referred through the Honor Council process. This notification will occur after the violation has been filed.Informal Process
When a faculty member chooses to address a violation through the Informal Process, they identify a potential violation, perform their own investigation (frequently a review of the artifacts of the case), and communicate the outcome and sanctions to the AHSO through the online report. More than 90% of cases filed with the AHSO are addressed in this manner.
AHSO Staff members will meet with students and walk them through the process, their rights, and the information submitted by the faculty member. This will occur specifically if the faculty member cannot schedule a meeting with the student or simply wants the AHSO to facilitate the entire process from start to finish. The AHSO will facilitate as much or as little as faculty members desire.
In order for a faculty member to file a violation report and address it informally, they must be more certain than not that a violation occurred, or at least 51% certain. The AHSO utilizes a preponderance of the information standard.
Administrative Conference
An Academic Integrity Administrator meets with the accused student and faculty member. They consider all relevant information provided by the faculty member, the accused student, and relevant witnesses, including any statements of the faculty member and student, and determines, based on a preponderance of the information standard, whether the student is responsible for academic misconduct. Preponderance of the information is whether it is more likely than not, based on the information provided, that a particular behavior or event occurred.
Honor Council
When a case is referred to the Honor Council, the Aggie Honor System Office will assign two Honor Council investigators (one faculty, one student) to meet with the faculty member, the student, and any witnesses to collect the facts of the case. The Honor Council investigators will determine if the case should be referred to the Honor Council for a hearing. If a hearing is recommended Aggie Honor System staff will work with the faculty member and student to identify a convenient time for a hearing. Hearing panels are made up of three Honor Council members consisting of students, faculty, and/or staff. A member of the AHSO will serve as a non-voting Chair of the hearing. The panel will determine whether the student is responsible for academic misconduct and, if necessary, assign appropriate sanctions.
Determining an Appropriate Sanction
It is recommended for faculty reporters to consider all relevant factors in determining sanctions, such as aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
File the Violation Report
The form to report a violation to the Aggie Honor System Office is online. It requires you to authenticate using your NetID and have some specific information at hand.
Responding through the Informal Resolution Process
If the case was filed through the Informal Resolution process, the student can choose to agree with the charges and recommended sanction(s), or they can forward the allegation to an Administrative Conference.Participate in an Administrative Conference
- For cases moving through the Administrative Conference proceeding, you will be asked to provide information to the Academic Integrity Administrator about the allegation and your concerns about academic misconduct. You are able to add, amend, emphasize or clarify anything on the record related to the facts of the case; the student is able to do the same.
- The AHSO will coordinate scheduling for the Administrative Conference between your availability and the student’s academic calendar. We can facilitate your participation in person in the AHSO office or through Zoom.
The first step of a case that is referred to the Honor Council is a fact finding investigation prior to the hearing process.
An Honor Council investigation has several purposes:
- Gather information from the alleged violator, the reporter, and any witnesses
- Provide verification that there is a possibility that academic misconduct occurred, which is the threshold required for investigators to send the case to a hearing panel
- Present a complete picture of the situation for a subsequent hearing panel
An Honor Council Investigation Team consists of 1 student and 1 faculty member from the Honor Council, who will interview individuals involved in the case. Usually this will just be the alleged violator and the instructor. Occasionally there will be others involved with a case, such as a witness, tutor, teaching assistant, or other members of a study group. Investigation Team members are not allowed to sit on the Hearing Panel for the same case.
AHSO Academic Integrity Administrators coordinate the scheduling of the investigations. To protect confidentiality and provide a private setting, AHSO prefers to hold the meetings at the Aggie Honor System Office. If this presents a problem for you, notify the Academic Integrity Administrator when providing your availability.
During the Meeting
While meeting with participants, the Investigation Team may ask questions as they take notes. This questioning is not meant to be a criticism or suggest a finding, but are tools to reach a full understanding of the circumstances surrounding the alleged violation. If reporters have not already provided copies of the course syllabus and other evidence of the violation to the AHSO Academic Integrity Administrator, it should be provided at the time of the investigation.
The Investigation Team should not express opinions or a hypothesis of what might have happened. Similarly, they cannot offer any predictions of what a Hearing Panel will decide.
Follow Up Notification
The Investigation Team will submit their report and recommendation on the need for an Honor Council hearing within 2 business days. The AHSO Academic Integrity Administrator will notify the accused student and reporter by email of the results of the investigation.
What to Expect in a Hearing
An Honor Council Hearing is an administrative meeting where information is presented to a panel of three Honor Council members. These panelists evaluate the information and statements by all participants and determine if a violation occurred. This same group also determines and assigns appropriate sanctions.
Appeals
There are three bases for a student to appeal through the Administrative Conference and Hearing Panel processes, to be filed within five (5) business days of receiving their decision letter:
- Substantial new evidence not available at the time of the original finding of responsibility by the instructor
- Violation of due process rights
- The sanction is not commensurate with the violation
The appeal will be reviewed by the Aggie Honor System Director to determine whether a subsequent appeal hearing is warranted.