Academic misconduct strikes at the heart of the educational process. Faculty members have the right to demand honesty in all academic pursuits and have the responsibility to report all cases of academic misconduct to the Student Conduct Officer.
This process protects the academic integrity of the institution and guarantees that the due process rights of all students are protected.
Students accused of academic misconduct have the right to have their case heard in a fair and impartial manner with all the safeguards available within the documented and approved student conduct processes.
Initiation and Evaluation of Complaint
Within fifteen (15) University business days from the time of detection of an alleged violation, complaints of suspected academic misconduct against a student should be reported to the Office of Student Conduct via the Academic Infraction Reporting Form. This complaint shall include:
Name and MGA ID number of the student alleged to have violated the Code.
Date(s), time(s), and location(s) of the alleged violation.
Type or nature of the alleged violation.
Supporting documentation related to the alleged violation including but not limited to:
Student’s original submission or assignment
Turnitin.com Similarity Report
Similar uncredited source documents
Course Syllabus
Student’s signed acknowledgement of program or course expectations
Other relevant documents or emails
Failure by the complainant to provide any or all of these documents may impact the ability to proceed with alleged violations.
The Office of Student Conduct, in consultation with the faculty member of the class in question, will determine:
If an alleged violation shall be pursued or dismissed.
The appropriate alleged violation.
The appropriate sanction.
In the absence of a published minimum sanction in the course syllabus, at minimum, the student will receive a grade of zero for the work involved.
The appropriate means for addressing or adjudicating the alleged violation.
The student respondent will be provided an opportunity to hear and review the nature of the charge, review the documentation associated with the charge, and choose from adjudication options.
The student shall have at least three (3) University business days to respond to the allegation and select his/her adjudication option.
Adjudication Options
Respondent accepts responsibility for the alleged violation, accepts the sanction, and waives hearing and appeal rights.
Respondent denies responsibility and requests a hearing on the alleged violation.
Resolution/Hearing Process
When a student accepts responsibility for the alleged violation and accepts the sanction, he/she will acknowledge this acceptance in writing or via email from their MGA email account.
The sanction will be imposed, and the case will be considered closed.
When a student denies responsibility for an alleged violation, he/she will have the opportunity to have the case heard before a Student Conduct Hearing Panel or before a Student Conduct Hearing Officer.
The student will schedule a preliminary meeting with a Student Conduct Officer to review the initial complaint and sanction and will confirm the request for a hearing in writing.
The Student Conduct Officer will coordinate a hearing based on the student’s choice of a Hearing Panel or a Hearing Officer within ten (10) University business days after the written request is received.
If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent or limit the ability to schedule a hearing, the Student Conduct Officer will notify the student in writing and shall request an extension of no more than ten more days to schedule the hearing.
A written notice of the date, time, and location or manner of the hearing shall be provided at least three (3) days prior to the hearing. This notice shall be provided by institutional email, or by alternative method, as necessary.
Hearings will be held during regular hours of operation on the Cochran or Macon campus, or online via Teams.
The student may also request a continuance if circumstances are such that a delay is warranted. This request must be made in writing. A continuance may be granted at the discretion of the Hearing Officer with written notice of the rescheduled hearing provided to the student.
A Student Conduct Officer shall serve as the non-voting Chair of the hearing body, be it a Hearing Panel with members of the Student Conduct Board, or Hearing Officer, either based on availability of those individuals.
Findings
After both parties (complainant and respondent) have had an opportunity to present their side of the case, the hearing body will, in a closed session, deliberate and reach a decision regarding the responsibility of the respondent related to the violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
In cases heard by a Student Conduct Hearing Panel, a majority vote is necessary to reach a decision regardless of the quorum.
During deliberation, the hearing body will make a decision based on whether it is more likely than not that a violation of the Code of Conduct occurred.
If the student is found responsible for academic misconduct, the hearing body will determine an appropriate sanction.
While this sanction may be in accordance with the published sanctions for academic misconduct as published in the course syllabus or other documentation distributed to members of the class, the hearing body may review prior student conduct history only after reaching a determination of responsibility in the current case.
A higher sanction, not limited to the grade of “F” for the course, may be entered at the discretion of the hearing body, provided they offer reasoning and justification for the higher sanction.
If the student is found not responsible, the Hearing Officer will refer the assignment in question to the appropriate department chair/dean and ask them to facilitate a resolution concerning a fair grade for the work in question.
Following a hearing both the respondent and the complainant shall be provided a written decision via institutional email of the outcome and any resulting sanctions. The decision shall include details as to how to appeal.
Sanctions
As previously noted, in the absence of a published minimum sanction in the course syllabus, at minimum, the student will receive a grade of zero for the work involved.
In determining the severity of the sanction or corrective actions the following should be considered: the frequency, severity, and/or nature of the offense, history of past conduct, the respondent’s willingness to accept responsibility, previous institutional response to similar conduct, and the institution’s interests.
The following are appropriate academic sanctions that may be imposed upon the student. This list is not exhaustive, and the University reserves the right to modify or enlarge the list at any time depending on the nature of the violation.
Sanctions may include but are not limited to:
Opportunity to rewrite or re-submit assignment for a lesser grade within a specific deadline (NOTE: Instructor will be asked to provide a specific point or grade reduction)
Grade of “0” on the assignment, or portion of assignment
Grade of “F” on the assignment (NOTE: Instructor will be asked to provide a specific point value for the assignment, if other than “0”)
Grade of “F” for the course
Suspension, as previously defined
Expulsion, as previously defined
Students who are responsible for any type of violation of the Code of Conduct may not be permitted to avoid sanctioning by withdrawing from a class or from the University. An administrative hold may be placed on any student who does not respond to requests to adjudicate alleged violations. Student who withdrawn from a class before adjudication occurs may be added back to the class and the appropriate sanction applied.
Other than expulsion or revocation or withholding a degree, sanctions shall not be made a part of the student’s permanent academic record but shall become part of the student’s conduct record.
Students should be aware of the impact any sanction may have on their educational standing including, but not limited to, the following:
Academic standing
Tuition, Housing/Residence Hall costs and fees (suspension does not forgive financial obligations)
Student financial aid including HOPE and institutional scholarships
Co-curricular participation and eligibility to include athletics and recognized student organizations
Health insurance
Participation in the Residence Life program
Meal plans
Use of University resources and access to University facilities/campuses
Visa/immigration status for international students
Benefits related to veterans and dependents of veterans
Internships, co-ops, and study abroad opportunities
Class withdrawal
Appeals
A respondent found responsible for a violation of the Code of Conduct, regardless of the sanction, shall have the right to appeal the outcome on any of the following grounds:
To consider new information, sufficient to alter the decision, or other relevant facts not brought out in the original hearing, because such information was not known or knowable to the person appealing during the time of the original hearing.
To allege a procedural error within the hearing process that may have substantially impacted the fairness of the hearing, including, but not limited to, whether any hearing questions were improperly excluded, whether the decision was tainted by bias, or whether there was a violation of the student’s due process.
To allege that the finding or sanction was inconsistent with the weight of the information.
Appeals may be made by the respondent for the above reasons in any case where sanctions are/were issued by a Hearing Panel or Hearing Officer – even those in which such sanctions are held “in abeyance,” such as probationary suspension or expulsion.
The appeal must be made in writing and must set forth one or more of the bases outlined above and must be submitted within five (5) University business days of the date of the final written outcome decision.
Students who choose not to use the above form should direct their written appeal to the original Student Conduct Officer who served on the case.
Appeals shall be a review of the record only, and no new meeting with the respondent, complainant, or witnesses will be held.
The Student Conduct Officer will convene an Appeals Body. This Appeals Body may be a Hearing Officer or a Hearing Panel, neither of which shall be comprised of any individual involved in the original hearing. These proceedings will be held within five (5) University business days of the receipt of the written appeal by the respondent.
In rare cases, the Student Conduct Officer may ask for an additional five (5) University business days when it may be challenging to coordinate availability of the Appeals Body.
The Appeals Body will make one of the following decisions:
Affirm the original finding and sanction.
Affirm the original finding but issue a new sanction(s) of lesser severity.
Remand the case back to the original decision-maker to correct a procedural or factual defect.
Reverse or dismiss the case if there was a procedural or factual defect that cannot be remedied by remand.
The Student Conduct Officer shall issue a decision in writing to the respondent and complainant within five (5) University business days of the Appeal Body’s decision.
This decision may be then appealed in writing within five (5) University business days (as determined by the date of the appeal decision letter) to the President of the University solely on the grounds set forth above.
The President will make one of the following decisions:
Affirm the original finding and sanction.
Affirm the original finding but issue a new sanction(s) of lesser severity.
Remand the case back to the original decision-maker to correct a procedural or factual defect.
Reverse or dismiss the case if there was a procedural or factual defect that cannot be remedied by remand.
The President’s decision shall be issued in writing to the respondent within five (5) University business days.
The President’s decision shall be the final decision of the institution.
Should the respondent wish to appeal the President’s decision, he or she may request an Application for Discretionary Review from the University System of Georgia and the Board of Regents.
Applications for review shall be submitted in writing to the University System Office of Legal Affairs within 20 calendar days following the final institution decision.
