My instructor says I cheated, what happens now?
When a student is reported to the AHSO, their case will move through one of two processes. No matter what, a student will receive a notification from the AHSO with information about their next steps.
What Happens Next?Define Academic Misconduct
The University has established and defined nine different types of academic misconduct.
- Cheating
- Fabrication
- Falsification
- Multiple Submissions
- Plagiarism
- Complicity
- Abuse and Misuse of Access and Unauthorized Access
- Violation of College, Program, Departmental or Course Rules
- University Rules on Research
FAQs
Your first point of contact should be the Aggie Honor System Office. Call 979-458-3378 or email aggiehonor@tamu.edu.
The Academic Integrity Development Program (AIDP or remediation) is required to remove Honor Violation Probation and is often assigned as an additional requirement with other sanctions.
AIDP is a one-month long course, completed asynchronously online every month of the year, that strives to provide students with education and resources for integrity, ethics, writing, research, and real-world implications of ethical and academic misconduct. Completion of AIDP is a requirement to be removed from Honor Violation Probation.
Students who are assigned this sanction will need to sign up on our website for the month of their choosing. All available months are listed in the sign-up form. Students who do not finish in their chosen month must sign up for and attempt to complete the program in another month, but they cannot take it in back-to-back months due to the grading cycle. There is not currently a fee or charge for the course. Extenuating circumstances, such as a documented illness or other university excused absence, should be communicated to the AHSO to determine if a make-up option is necessary.
Students in AIDP will complete learning modules that are tailored to their finding of responsibility. Students will write reflections on assigned readings and videos and may be asked to do some basic research. These assignments require students to reflect on how their finding of responsibility and sanctions affect themselves, Texas A&M University, their future profession, and other current and future stakeholders. Students also may have quizzes to complete depending on their assigned modules.There are several things students can do to avoid finding their academic integrity in question.
Students are responsible for taking steps to avoid committing, or appearing to commit, academic misconduct. Some foundational approaches students should consider include:
- Communicate with instructors early and often about expectations for the course
- Clearly understand writing expectations and expectations about working in groups
- Don't wait until the last minute to start or complete an assignment
- Assign portions of group assignments to specific group members and ensure that each group member keeps a copy of their contribution
- Visit the definitions page for other examples of behavior that may be academic misconduct
Honor Violation Probation Modification Request
All students placed into a status of Honor Violation Probation will be informed by an Aggie Honor System Office (AHSO) employee of their right to request a modification of the individual restrictions affiliated with the “Not in Good Standing” status. This request for modification does not remove the “Not in Good Standing” status. This process is the official method for the University to modify one or more of the restrictions affiliated with “Not in Good Standing.” Specifically, these restrictions, as listed in Student Rule 20 include:
- Ineligibility to hold an office in any student organization recognized by the university or to hold any elected or appointed position within the university.
- Ineligibility to represent the university to anyone outside the university community in any way, including representing the university at any official function, intercollegiate athletics or any forms of intercollegiate competition or representation.
- Ineligibility to receive a university-administered scholarship or fellowship when the “Honor Violation Probation” is in place for longer than one semester. Some scholarships adhere to more strict guidelines, and, therefore, ineligibility may result from a lesser length of time on Honor Violation Probation.
- Ineligibility to receive an Aggie Ring, to pre-register for classes, or to receive a diploma. **
- Additional restrictions or conditions also may be imposed, depending on the timing, nature and severity of the misconduct. Examples are inability to receive an official transcript and inability to participate in commencement exercises.
Once the case reaches its final disposition with the Aggie Honor System Office, students placed on Honor Violation Probation have three (3) university business days to submit a written request for restriction modification. This request is not an appeal to modify the decision of the Honor Council or faculty member. This Request for Modification of Restrictions is intended to allow the student to demonstrate why the removal of one or more restrictions affiliated with Honor Violation Probation is appropriate.
Requests for modification of restrictions will consist of a document review only. There will not be an in-person meeting or hearing of any kind. Once the student submits a request for modification of restrictions, the Director for the Aggie Honor System Office will coordinate a review of the request by the members of the Honor Violation Probation Modification Committee (HVPMC). For undergraduate students, the HVPMC will be composed of the Director for the Aggie Honor System Office, the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, and the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies. For graduate and professional students, the HVPMC will be composed of the Director for the Aggie Honor System Office, the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, and the Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies.
The HVPMC may only consider restrictions affiliated with Honor Violation Probation. The HVPMC may not review or modify the outcome of any process or decision made by the Aggie Honor System Office. The AHSO Appeals process is the only method available to modify or review the outcome of a decision made by the AHSO.
** The Honor System Office Advisory Board, which created and voted on the approval of this process, specifically determined that the HVPMC may not remove the restriction affiliated with ordering an Aggie Ring. Students will need to complete the AHSO’s processes to remove the “Not in Good Standing” status from their record in order to order their Aggie Ring. A student who requests a modification to this restriction will not have their request considered by the HVPMC.