Introduction
It is each student’s responsibility to be aware of all rules and policies applicable to their program. All students registered for classes at Northwestern must adhere to the University’s standards of academic integrity. School of Communication procedures, described here, operate within the broader Northwestern policy framework detailed on the academic integrity page of the Office of the Provost’s website.
School of Communication Procedures for Cases of Alleged Academic Dishonesty
I. INITIATION OF A COMPLAINT
All cases of alleged violations of academic integrity by students in courses in the School of Communication must be referred to the appropriate Associate Dean (AD) or Program Faculty Director (PFD).
- Cases involving undergraduate students are investigated by SoC’s Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Advising (Lori Barcliff Baptista).
- Cases involving graduate students enrolled in The Graduate School (TGS) are investigated by SoC’s Associate Dean for Graduate Education (Rayvon Fouché).
- Cases involving students enrolled in SoC professional programs are investigated by the designated program faculty director. Consult the relevant program office for details.\
A. Suspected cases of academic integrity violations should be reported to the course instructor or the appropriate AD or PFD. Reports must be brought within 1 month of the date the reporting individual becomes aware of the alleged incident. The AD or PFD will review the report and decide whether to bring a charge. Students charged with an academic integrity violation may not change their registration or grading basis in a course in which the charge is pending, or in which a finding of an academic integrity violation has been made.
B. If the AD or PFD determines that there is cause for further investigation, he or she shall provide the student with written notice of: the facts and evidence underlying the charge of an academic integrity violation; the principle(s) of academic integrity said to have been violated; and the procedure by which the accuracy of the charge will be determined.
The student will have reasonable time, if requested, within which to prepare a response to the charge. Ordinarily, an initial meeting with the AD or PFD will take place within 7 business days of receiving written notice of the charge. The student will have the right, before meeting with the AD or PFD, to review relevant original materials and discuss the matter with a faculty adviser or other individual.
If the student does not schedule a meeting to take place within seven business days, the AD or PFD may decide whether there was sufficient evidence of a violation of academic integrity. The AD or PFD may, at their discretion, grant reasonable requests for an extension of this deadline.
C. In certain cases where timely notification is important–as, for instance, if a student is about to leave campus for vacation–oral notification may be made, but such notification should be followed by a written notice.
II. MEETING WITH THE ASSOCIATE DEAN OR PROGRAM FACULTY DIRECTOR
A. The AD or PFD has the authority to determine whether there was sufficient evidence of a violation of academic integrity.
B. In meeting with the student, the AD or PFD will describe the allegation and detail the evidence provided by the instructor. At this initial meeting, the student may decline to discuss the matter and/or request that the AD or PFD defer making a determination until after a subsequent meeting between the student and the AD or PFD, at which time the student may present other relevant information or evidence. This second meeting must be requested at the initial meeting and must be scheduled for a time within seven business days of the initial meeting.
C. After reviewing evidence and the statements made by the student in the meeting, the AD or PFD shall inform the student in a written statement of decision on whether there was sufficient evidence of a violation of academic integrity, and the sanction. Any finding of violation must be supported by a brief description of both the process used to come to that determination and the evidence supporting the finding. Except in cross-school cases, the statement will include the sanction to be imposed.
III. SANCTIONS
Sanctions will be imposed by the school in which the student is enrolled. (Note: For dual degree students, sanctions will be jointly decided by the relevant administrators in the applicable schools.) More information about possible sanctions (as well as grade modifications by the instructor) can be found in the relevant section of the academic integrity policy on the Office of the Provost’s website.
IV. SCHOOL-LEVEL APPEAL
A. The AD or PFD’s finding of violation and/or school-level sanctions imposed as a result of the violation may be appealed to the School of Communication (SoC) Academic Appeals Committee by the student filing a written notice of appeal within 10 business days of the date of the AD or PFD’s written statement of decision. Grades modified by the course instructor following a finding of academic integrity violations may not be appealed.
The student’s written notice of appeal must state what is being appealed-whether the finding of violation, the sanction imposed, or both-and must describe in detail the grounds for the appeal. The student’s written notice of appeal should also state whether the student desires to present the appeal in person to the SoC Academic Appeals Committee.
B. If the student so requests, he or she will be granted an opportunity to appear in person to present his or her case to the SoC Academic Appeals Committeee and to hear and respond to any testimony provided by the AD or PFD or witnesses appearing before the SoC Academic Appeals Committee. Likewise, the AD or PFD may be present to hear and respond to the testimony of the accused student or any witnesses appearing before the SoC Academic Appeals Committee. If the student wishes to present witnesses before the SoC Academic Appeals Committee, they must inform the Committee Chair at least 7 business days before the appeal is to be heard of the names of the proposed witnesses and of the nature of the evidence they are prepared to present. However, the SoC Academic Appeals Committee has sole discretion to determine what witnesses other than the accused student and the AD or PFD will hear, if any. The SoC Academic Appeals Committee. shall review the appeal as soon as practical after it has been filed.
C. Following its review, the SoC Academic Appeals Committee may sustain or reverse the finding of violation, if that portion of AD or PFD’s decision was appealed, and may, if a finding stands, sustain or modify (but not increase) the sanction, if that portion of the decision was appealed. The SoC Academic Appeals Committee. shall inform the student in writing of its decision.
V. APPEAL TO THE PROVOST
A. Final review of an unsuccessful appeal if requested in writing by the student within 10 business days, by the Provost or an advisory committee designated by the Provost. The Provost will review unsuccessful appeals only after a finding and a sanction have been issued. Bases for appeal can be found in the relevant section of the academic integrity policy on the Office of the Provost’s website.
VII. CROSS-SCHOOL CASES
A. When a student who is enrolled another school is suspected of an academic integrity violation in a School of Communication course, the authority of the School of Communication will extend only to determining whether there was sufficient evidence of a violation of academic integrity. Any finding of violation will be referred to the relevant administrator of the school in which the student is enrolled for imposition of a sanction.
B. When a student who is enrolled in School of Communication has been found in violation of academic integrity in a course based in another school, the AD or PFD will contact the student in writing to request a meeting to take place within 7 business days, at which the student present any evidence of mitigating circumstances, but not regarding the finding of a violation. If the student does not schedule an appointment within the allotted time, the AD or PFD may determine a sanction based on the available information.
C. The AD or PD will inform the student in writing of a sanction to be imposed and of the student’s right to appeal that sanction within the school.
D. In a cross-school case, an appeal of a finding of violation will take place in the school in which the course is based (i.e., the school in which the finding of violation was made). An appeal of a sanction imposed by the school in which the student is enrolled should take place in that school (i.e., the school that has imposed the sanction).
VII. SCHOOL-SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS
A. Once a matter has been referred to the AD or PFD, it may not be withdrawn without the AD or PFD’s approval, nor may the referring faculty member resolve the case without the AD or PFD’s approval.
B. At any stage of the proceedings described above, the student may be accompanied by a fellow student, a faculty member, or another individual of the student’s choosing, but not by an attorney. This person may not, however, take part in the proceedings; the student must speak on his or her own behalf.
C. Sanctions specified by AD or PFD, as modified by the SoC Academic Appeals Committee or the Provost (if an appeal has been filed), shall take effect at the expiration of the period for appeal of a decision if an appeal has not been filed, and after a decision has been reached by the Committee on Academic Appeals or the Provost if an appeal has been filed. If the appeal is not granted, the sanction will be retroactively applied to the date specified by the AD or PFD, and, if necessary, current registrations may be canceled.
D. All materials relating to an allegation of an academic integrity violation will be kept in the School of Communication Office of the Dean for 10 years after the incident.
E. All references to the AD or PFD in these procedures include the AD or PFD’s designee if circumstances prevent the AD or PFD from participating.