F.A.Q.s: Instructors | Academic Integrity

Yes! Adhering to the University’s policies on Academic Integrity is both the responsibility of the student and faculty/staff. Faculty and staff are obligated to report academic dishonesty as soon as they discover it. We have a process in place for dealing with addressing these accusations. The reporting process is simple and does not require much action on your part after submitting an accusation report. Any member of the academic community may bring forward a violation of academic integrity accusation to the appropriate college judiciary committee. The accusation should be submitted using the online reporting form found on the academic integrity website within two weeks of the discovery of the alleged offense.

Accusations are only accepted electronically from this website. Accusations must be reported within two weeks of the discovery of the offense. Include all the information you can about the accusation in the report, including the names of any witnesses (usually TAs) who must attend a hearing should the student appeal. You will be asked to forward all relevant materials (to include highlighted or numbered similarities in documents, copies of suspected sources, the course syllabus, assignment instructions, SafeAssign reports, class postings, emails, and handouts) within a day or two of this report to the Academic Judiciary email address at academic_judiciary@stonybrook.edu.

When the Academic Judiciary office receives an accusation, each student is notified by email and instructed to make an appointment to come in and discuss the accusation. A copy of the accusation report (including instructor’s recommended penalty) and supporting documentation, if any, will be given to all parties named in the report of dishonesty. Those parties accused will have two weeks from the date of notification to inform the staff within the Academic Judiciary Office whether or not they intend to appeal the accusation. If the student does not appeal, he/she is found responsible by default and gets a Q for the course. If the student does appeal, we will schedule a hearing (a student who challenges an accusation for a course that is in progress should continue attending the class and completing coursework until the case is adjudicated). The office will notify the instructor either way. In the meantime, a student’s academic record will notate an “I” grade in the course signifying that there is a pending academic judiciary matter. The “I” grade will remain until the matter is adjudicated. Student are informed to direct all questions to the academic judiciary office.

Hearings generally last an hour. The person(s) reporting the accusation makes a statement at the hearing summarizing the accusation and reviews supporting documentation, if any. Any student who is granted a hearing and is found not responsible for violating academic integrity will receive his or her earned grade in the course. A student who is granted a hearing and is found responsible for violating academic integrity will receive penalties set by the hearing board.

An F for the course is considered to be an appropriate penalty grade for an academic integrity violation that occurs within the context of a course or courses. A typical grade penalty would range from a zero on the assignment in question to an F in the course. More serious acts may warrant suspension or expulsion (egregious acts, such as forging documents or using a “ringer” to take an exam) In cases where the student does not appeal, the penalty is typically what the instructor recommends. A student who is granted a hearing and is found responsible for violating academic integrity will receive penalties set by the hearing board.
A student who is found responsible of a first offense will have an academic dishonesty guilty notation on their record and will be given a Q grade for the course, signifying that he or she has committed an act of violating academic integrity. The Q grade is removed and replaced with the earned grade including any penalty assigned by the instructor and the Academic judiciary committee when the student completes a non-credit academic integrity course (called “the Q course”).

The Q course is the University's mandatory required course for students found responsible for violating academic integrity and includes topics to develop a student’s academic skills and promote academic success without violating academic integrity. The ten-week course is held twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring semester. It meets on Wednesdays during Campus Lifetime. A student must attend all sessions during the semester and complete the assignments to have the Q removed from his/her transcript.

WHEN SUBMITTING FINAL GRADES FOR STUDENTS ACCUSED OF VIOLATING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Once the Academic Judiciary Office receives an accusation report, our office notifies the Registrar's Office to notate student's academic record with an "I" in the course until the academic judiciary matter is resolved.
If the student is not appealing, our office will notify the Registrar's Office to notate student's academic record with a "Q" in the course.

Please note- the grade roster will not allow instructors to enter/choose a grade. The "I" and "Q" grades have an "Administration" grading basis. Only the Registrar's Office can make any changes. Therefore no action is required by the instructor/department for the accused student. Please leave grade area blank for the student when submitting your class/course grades.

The Academic Judiciary Office will contact the reporting instructor for the student's final grade. Once the student completes the Q Course, then our office will request for an update of the student's academic record; replacing the "Q" letter grade with the "penalty grade".

No action/change of grade form is required from department.

Frequently Asked Questions: Faculty & Staff