Academic Integrity for Instructors

Highlights include:

3.3 Investigating Potential Academic Misconduct
If a person (or persons) suspect(s) a breach of academic honesty:

3.3.1 on assignments, term papers, essays, theses and dissertations, etc., the matter shall be reported to the concerned course director or supervisor. For courses, if the evaluator is  not the course director, the evaluator shall retain possession of the suspect material and provide a written report, together with the confiscated material, to the course director;

3.3.2 on non-course work, the person discovering the potential breach of academic honesty, shall retain possession of the suspect material and provide a written report, together with any confiscated material to the department chair/school director  (or his/her designate), graduate program director or the Associate Dean of the Faculty;

3.3.3 in an examination, the invigilator, who is normally the course director, in cases of suspected impersonation, shall ask the student concerned to remain after the examination and shall request appropriate University identification or shall otherwise attempt to identify the student. In other cases of suspected breach of academic honesty the invigilator shall confiscate any suspect material. In all cases, the student will be allowed to complete the examination. The invigilator, if other than the course director, shall give a full report, together with any confiscated material, to the course director (See the Senate Policy on Invigilation of Examinations for further information);

3.3.4 for research not conducted as part of a course, major research papers/projects, comprehensive examinations, theses and dissertations, person(s) suspecting potential academic dishonesty shall report the matter to the student’s supervisor and, as appropriate, the supervisory and examination committees and/or the Associate Dean of the Faculty.

3.4 Initiating an Investigation of Potential Academic Misconduct

3.4.1 When a faculty member directing a course, or having or sharing responsibility for a student's research, examination, or dissertation preparation, becomes aware of a possible violation of academic honesty, it is the responsibility of the faculty member to forthwith notify the designated unit or Faculty office and initiate an investigation of the matter.

3.4.2 It is the responsibility of the faculty member to collect or assist in the collection of the necessary information, to participate in the exploratory meeting and to be prepared to act as a witness at any committee hearing of the matter.

3.4.3 Once notified of a potential breach of academic honesty, the designated Faculty office shall post a block on enrolment activity in the course. The student may not drop or be deregistered from the course for any reason, nor withdraw from the University, nor may transcripts be released to the student until a final decision is reached. A request by a student for a transcript to be sent to another institution or to a potential employer will be processed, but, if the student is found guilty of a breach of academic honesty, the recipients of the transcript will be provided automatically with an updated transcript.

3.4.4 If the investigation relates to work already presented for evaluation but not yet evaluated, the faculty member may elect to defer the evaluation of the work until after the matter has been dealt with. Normally, any evaluation of a work which relates to a charge will not be entered into the student's record until after the matter is concluded.

3.4.5 If the faculty member or person designated by Faculty policy decides to proceed with a formal complaint alleging a breach of academic honesty, the complaint shall be submitted in writing to the appropriate office as soon as is reasonably possible. The complaint shall contain a full, but concise, statement of the facts as perceived by the complainant and be accompanied by all available supporting evidence.

What forms are to be completed by the instructors?

The instructor does not fill out forms. The UPD and/or the committee in the department handling Academic Integrity cases completes Forms A and B.